How to Speed up Your Slow VPN
VPN technology can be a very useful online sidekick, but it does limit your online experience in the sense that it will degrade your internet speed to a certain level. This is normal for every VPN service, but when you also have to deal with constant slow connection speeds, speed fluctuations, and connection drops, it can get really frustrating. In this week’s Zlog post, we will share with you some tips on how you can check and improve your internet speed if you’re often suffering from slow VPN connections.
What is Slowing Down Your VPN Speed?
You can tell symptoms of a slow internet connection even if you’re not that tech-savvy. Bad connections cause web pages to load slower, make online streaming choppy and sluggish and downloading next to impossible. But, what can cause this slowdown? Crowded servers play a big part in this, and are the number one reason why you might be experiencing slow internet. The more people connected to a particular server, the slower it’s going to be. The slowdown can also be caused by your home network. This can happen if you’re running a slower device or your router is experiencing issues.
Sometimes, the problem could also be your ISP. Internet Service Providers don’t always deliver on their promises when it comes to speed. So no matter how fast the VPN is, it won’t be faster than your local internet connection. If that’s the case, there’s nothing you can do, except change the ISP. In other cases, there are some things you can do by yourself, that will make your slow VPN speeds faster.
How to Speed Up your Slow VPN
The above-mentioned examples are just a few reasons why your internet connection could be underperforming. If you’ve noticed unusually slow VPN speeds, there are ways you can fix it. To that end, here are a few ways you can improve your VPN connection and get the most out of it.
Connect to Another Server
If you’re connecting to a server half a world away or a crowded one like Washington or London, you will most likely experience slow VPN speeds, as these locations are usually overwhelmed by users around the clock. Instead, you can let the client automatically connect the best server or choose one manually. Try a couple of nearby servers and you might be surprised with the results.
Switch Between Protocols
ISP’s tend to throttle or restrict some protocols, so an easy way you can go around this is to change the encryption protocol. You can open your VPN client and choose between different encryptions, including IKEv2, PPTP, L2TP/IPsec, and OpenVPN. OpenVPN is regarded as the best protocol, though all of them have certain benefits and drawbacks tied to them. We’ve reviewed and talked about fast VPN protocols on our blog before, so you can also check and compare them to find the best one for you.
Tinker with your Home Network
If the issue is on your end, or to be more precise, on your device’s end, you can just restart your system. More often than not this actually does the trick. By restarting your device, you will free more RAM, speed up your device, and perhaps your internet connection too. If it doesn’t work, you can also try restarting your router and giving it another go.
Adjust Protocol Settings
Lastly, if you’re a more advanced VPN user, you can resort to this option. Although this is a bit more complex and requires in-depth knowledge, it can sometimes make a dramatic difference.
The VPN Provider’s Client
It’s worth keeping in mind that a quality VPN will give you an adequate and stable speed with a regular slight reduction of your normal internet speed. This is simply because your connection goes through an encryption process which makes it private and secure. Some VPN providers, like ZoogVPN, provide their own custom VPN clients that make the process of setting up a VPN connection streamlined and much easier. In addition to being very simple to set up, custom VPN clients usually come with a number of extra features, some of which can prove to be very useful. This provides you with a secure VPN option that is available on all PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android devices. But, besides the custom protocols, it’s important that a VPN also supports an OpenVPN protocol on all of the abovementioned platforms.
Pick a Quality VPN Service and Enjoy Fast Internet
Experiencing slow connections is a hassle, but not using a VPN because it can slow down your internet is a dangerous way of thinking when online. If you choose a quality VPN service, there will be fewer chances of internet speed degradation. However, you may still face this issue from time to time and that’s why it’s important to know what to do when it comes to it.
A reliable and fast VPN will make your internet browsing activities much more enjoyable and worry-free. Pick a provider that suits you the best and has all of the necessary VPN features to provide you with a reliable and stable service. A provider like ZoogVPN.
- Yaroslav S.CEO at ZoogVPN. Yaroslav is a versatile manager with extensive customer support experience. His historical background and a deep passion for philosophy perfectly complete a real desire to create meaningful content and tech products.
