There are many benefits to using a VPN. With, unfortunately, most often the inconvenience of a strong reduction in consumption. However, everything can be improved.
Using a VPN adds a fairly effective layer of protection to your internet connection by encrypting your traffic and passing it through a server, most often located in another country. In this case, unfortunately, the speed of your connection suffers greatly. And there really is no solution to this.
This loss of speed can sometimes be imperceptible, but is sometimes very annoying. For example, for games, streaming or video calls. Also, if your VPN isn’t as “fast”as you need, here’s what you can try.
Connect to a server physically closer to your home
Generally speaking, the closer the VPN server is to you, the faster the speed should be. Your traffic will have to wander less, so information will return faster. This is not always possible if you need to connect in a certain country, for example, but if you can, feel free to try.
Some VPNs have a speed test feature in their apps, but you can always use a dedicated site like Ookla Speedtest to perform the test.
Connect to a server that is not overloaded
When too many users use the same VPN server, it gets overloaded and your connection slows down. Some VPNs display the status of their servers in real time. If you choose a non-overloaded server, you should see a difference in throughput. If you don’t have this information, try several servers to see which gives you the fastest speed.
Try a different VPN protocol
The VPN protocol is a set of instructions between the VPN app on your device and the VPN server that determines how a secure connection should be established. There are several of them, each with its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of speed and security. If you connect via one protocol on top of another, you can get better speeds.
OpenVPN is the most popular today, offering a good compromise between speed, stability, and security. Many vendors also offer newer protocols such as IKEv2 and WireGuard, which promise to be faster while still being very fast. Some have even developed their own proprietary protocols, such as ExpressVPN’s Lightway and NordVPN’s NordLynx. Switching to one of these protocols can increase throughput. However, be careful, they are not as well established as OpenVPN.
If you prefer to use OpenVPN, please select UDP over TCP. Although TCP is often more stable, it is slower than UDP. Most VPN apps allow you to change the protocol in their settings. Try switching to see what gives you the highest speeds.
Enable split tunneling if available
If your ISP offers a split tunneling feature, try enabling it to see if your throughput improves. This allows you to send only the traffic you want through the VPN connection, and the rest of the traffic is sent by your ISP in the traditional way.
For example, if you’re using a VPN for streaming, you can only stream through the VPN so you don’t slow down your online gaming sessions. It also optimizes the speed of your VPN for certain activities. The less data passes through the channel, the higher the throughput.
Use a wired connection
Using a wired connection often provides faster speeds than using Wi-Fi. Chances are you have multiple devices connected to Wi-Fi all the time. This is already using a lot of bandwidth. If you have the necessary equipment, try connecting directly to your router with a wire and then connecting to the VPN.
Close unnecessary background apps
If you have apps running in the background that you are not using, they can consume resources and slow down your connection. Take the time to tidy up and close what you don’t use. You will get a faster computer and possibly better performance.
Reboot your router and other devices.
When was the last time you rebooted your devices? Computers, routers, and the like also need to be rebooted from time to time. When you restart your computer, you free up RAM, close long-running processes, and more. As trite as it may sound, rebooting can affect performance. Try.