[SOLVED] ISP Speed When Using and Not Using VPN (Orbi Wifi 6 Mesh Router Ethernet to Laptop)

[DrInfoman]

Hi...

I pay for 500 mbps. Without VPN, I get close to that - 480 mbps or so. WITH VPN, best I usually get is about 135 mbps...sometimes a little higher. I had tried multiple VPNs, multiple protocols, multiple tests - and this is about the best I can get - including testing with specific DNS addresses. I was expecting up to a 30% drop...not a 75% drop. I worked with VPN # 1 support to try anything and everything, and at the end of the testing and configurations, it is what it is, so they tell me. I am in the Phoenix area and need Phoenix servers - which they have - to allow me to stream my local Phoenix channels. I don't get any buffering or issues thus far, and I understand that 135 mbps should be plenty sufficient to do what I need to do. But I am bothered by the 75% drop in speed when using a VPN, best case scenario thus far.

My question is: is this par for the course, or is there something off? VPN support #2 wanted me to test their dedicated servers- a joke at 35 mbps.

Thanks...

Andy

 

[bill001g]

Could be the vpn service has some bottleneck. Although unlikely check your cpu utilization vpn is extremely cpu intensive.

 

[DrInfoman]

No CPU high utilization as far as I'm seeing. It's not just one VPN - all of them cut the speed at least 75%.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

VPN will always run slower than without. Nothing you can do to change this.

 

[DrInfoman]

I understand that because of encryption, etc. But cutting 500 mbps to 135 mbps or so? From what I am seeing today, that's quite possible. I guess I wanted to see if this kind of drop is normal with a VPN...?

 

[ex_bubblehead]

A single VPN tunnel can easily cut things by up to 70%

 

[DrInfoman]

Ah, that's what I was looking for. So, I really don't have any options that I am aware of, other than to not use a VPN - and that's really not a viable option for me. Thanks!

 

[SamirD]

I understand that because of encryption, etc. But cutting 500 mbps to 135 mbps or so? From what I am seeing today, that's quite possible. I guess I wanted to see if this kind of drop is normal with a VPN...?

It's no longer the encryption, etc, but a business decision since having a bunch of people at full bandwidth eats up a lot of the vpn provider's bandwidth. Why give people more unless you have to (or they're willing to pay for it)?

And to be honest, hopping from your isp to another endpoint in the same city is a bit of a moot point unless it pops you out somewhere else in the world, which that in itself is limited by the bandwidth available to that endpoint.

 

[DrInfoman]

Hi, Samir...

Let me ask you this, then....I wanted a VPN server in my own city to be able to allow YOUTUBE TV streaming to include my own local channels - not other cities. Does this make sense, or should I go to the fastest server, regardless of city - and potentially drop YTTV in favor of, say, Sling and get an antenna? I really would rather not do that. Reason for YTTV - unlimited DVR on those channels, and that is a big point for me - network shows, not necessarily the local news.

 

[SamirD]

Hi, Samir...

Let me ask you this, then....I wanted a VPN server in my own city to be able to allow YOUTUBE TV streaming to include my own local channels - not other cities. Does this make sense, or should I go to the fastest server, regardless of city - and potentially drop YTTV in favor of, say, Sling and get an antenna? I really would rather not do that. Reason for YTTV - unlimited DVR on those channels, and that is a big point for me - network shows, not necessarily the local news.

Hmmm...this is an interesting use case. Does your isp somehow block these otherwise? Sounds strange they would block it in your own city--reminds me of the blackouts that wgn and tbs would do for home games in chicago and atlanta.

So anyways, to answer your question--yep, just use whatever is fastest. Because if you're just trying to get a live network station affiliate, it should be the same programming even in a different city.

 

[DrInfoman]

Seriously? I first started with EXPRESSVPN, which set me to San Francisco. YTTV noted my location as San Francisco and gave me THEIR local channels. When I tried to set my location to Phoenix, the YTTV settings said something to the tune of "you can't be in Phoenix and San Francisco at the same time".

 

[SamirD]

Seriously? I first started with EXPRESSVPN, which set me to San Francisco. YTTV noted my location as San Francisco and gave me THEIR local channels. When I tried to set my location to Phoenix, the YTTV settings said something to the tune of "you can't be in Phoenix and San Francisco at the same time".

lol--that was probably a dns leak or cookie that gave it away.

So how can you get local channels in phoenix when yttv will basically block local channels when you have local internet access in phoenix? If you're set to another city, you get that city's channels. I think you simply cannot have local channels via yttv.

 

[DrInfoman]

I agree - even you live with the other city's local channels - or you VPN to a local server - in my case, Phoenix - if local YTTV channels are a must.