“Will VPN make my internet connection faster?” It is one of the top-rated questions in leading VPN forums and blog comment sections. What is the reality of VPN or virtual private network? Can it increase the speed of an internet connection? Can it slow the connection down? This kind of confusion arises because people like to test the speed of their connection with free and popular speed testing tools after getting a new VPN. The sentiment is understandable – You want to see the results after you are paying for a new service. There are the occasional instances when you will get an accurate reading from these tests, but most of the times, the result is much higher than the actual home connection.
It is a myth that VPN boosts the speed of your existing home internet. So why do coders, web users, and corporate offices turn to this service time and again? It can speed up specific activities on the internet depending on the policies of your ISP. Traffic management policies and traffic shaping policies are prevalent among several service providers that can harm the speed. A VPN can help you tackle these restrictive policies and assume higher than average speed during peak hours. If you use torrent for downloading media files, you must have already noticed how it slows your connection down to torrent services. You could end up losing more than half of your net speed for this action. Using a VPN service can keep your ISP from restricting your speed during these activities since they would not know which sites you are visiting. They cannot impose data restrictions. The infrastructure, servers, and connections vary between the VPN providers. Checking the www.fastestvpnguide.com can help you set the good services apart from the average ones for a better browsing experience.
When does VPN boost connection speed?
Have you ever heard about bandwidth throttling? It is when an ISP imposes a regulatory measure to minimize the bandwidth congestion and regulate network traffic during the busy hours. You may have experienced this while using the “unlimited” data packages from one or more providers. The providers reduce bandwidth traffic to limit download and upload activities. That is the reason some Vimeo videos take longer to buffer and download than the latest episodes of Stranger Things on Netflix.
The law on data throttling can vary with your location. In the US, data throttling is unfair when the ISP limits data usage and speed unfairly or deceptively. However, to date, cell phone service providers can cap and throttle network speeds for reducing the congestion in busy networks and populated areas. You can tell if your provider is imposing a bandwidth restriction by taking free traffic-shaping tests online. In case you find no clear answer to the ebbing speed, go ahead and ask your provider.
Can VPN slow your regular connection down?
An amateur VPN provider can lack the infrastructure necessary to increase the speed of your network. That can result in slowing your connection down considerably. If you have noticed slower performance from your VPN, you can try to fix it. There are a few things you need to check and a few steps you need to take to be able to increase the provider’s speed instantly.
- Start by checking the speed of your internet connection. If you ISP is capping or throttling your speed globally, VPN has nothing much to do with it. Check the link without the VPN, using standard speed testing tools. If the speed is slower than usual, then VPN is not to blame. You need to speak with your internet provider about the problem.
- Have you tried to turn it off and back on? The classic IT question that gets almost everyone’s blood boiling! However, if your internet speed is slow, you might want to check your router/modem. Memory leaks are a common problem, and a simple restart can solve the problem. It is worth a try especially since it saves hours of staying on hold till you get to hear a human voice on the customer care line.
- Use a wired connection only. A wireless connection supplies connectivity to several devices inside a building or home. It takes a significant toll on your Wi-Fi speed. A wired connection eliminates this possibility, and you should try one to increase your net speed.
- Change the location of your server. Choosing a server location that is further away from your actual geographic area can have severe implications on your connection speed. Try connecting through a local server location to lower the latency. It might need some trying-and-testing, but you should be able to find one the suits your site within a couple of minutes.
- What is your encryption level? You can try this if you are using a VPN for accessing geographically restricted content. Try L2TP/IPSec to increase the speed. The security risks of the process are real, and you need to learn about their effects in detail before taking this leap of faith.
- Try restarting your device. Your phone or your PC might be tired from all the daily abuse. Before you stomp out of the house to get a hold of the customer care executive who couldn’t help you, try restarting the device once. This trick may be old-fashioned, but it frequently works to increase the VPN speed.
Other factors including the way a VPN routes the connection between several servers, the connection setup, server crowding and the VPN protocol affect the speed of your connection directly. If none of the methods works, try upgrading your ISP connection plan. That usually provides better speed for all web activities. Alternatively, you can try updating your VPN. Read the reviews, chalk out a budget and find the fastest connections on the budget to experience faster connection and better encryption. Always check multiple websites, reports and comparison tables to learn about the pros and cons of each provider. You should be able to find one that meets your budget needs and connection speed requirement with intensive research with the help of reliable VPN review guides.
