VPN Slows Download Speed? Here’s What To Do…

Some VPNs may slow down your internet connection, but luckily you can do something about it...

VPN Slows Down Your Connection?

Yes, a VPN can slow down your internet connection, but it doesn’t have to. In fact, in some cases – there are other reasons why your internet is suddenly feeling sluggish. But then again, it could be that VPN is the one to blame — it all depends what you’re trying to do online.

Modern VPN services operate hundreds, if not thousands, of servers across the globe to deliver the fast experience users demand. Nevertheless, there could be some bottlenecks and things could slow down.

In this article, we’ll try to help you speed-up your internet if a VPN is the one to blame. But first…

Check whether the slowdown is really due to a VPN

To do this, simply turn off the VPN and visit some site offering a speed test, like Speedtest by Ookla. Run the test and open a new tab (or window).

Now turn on a VPN, connect to a local server (to get the fastest speeds) and repeat the test.

You should know that connections to distant servers do slow down performance, and this has little to do with VPN – but with the way the internet works. There are many routers data has to go through before reaching your computer.

If you see a slowdown with a VPN turned on, proceed to next steps. Otherwise, call your ISPs and yell at them until they beef-up your connection. You may have to pay more to get faster, or at least guaranteed speeds.

If your ISP isn’t the one to blame try some or all of the following steps:

Select a different server location

Perhaps you’re always selecting a server in the U.S. or Europe, and say – you live in Asia. If you don’t need to access stuff in the U.S. or Europe, go for the server that is closer to where you live. This will instantly boost the speed of your connection.

Sure, for some things like accessing Disney+ or U.S. Netflix you will need to connect to far off places – but do that only when that is really necessary. Otherwise, select nearby servers while still keeping your anonymity online.

The reason for this is simple – as you connect to distant servers, data has to pass through several networks before getting to your server and that makes a big difference in performance. Also, there could be some international bandwidth limitations standing on your way — and you can’t do anything about it.

Change the protocol

For most people, the OpenVPN protocol is the best — offering the highest level of security and performance. But that doesn’t mean that some other protocol, presuming it is supported by your VPN provider, won’t deliver faster download speeds.

We’ve read stories of people doubling the speed of their connections with the IKEv2 protocol, which provides an almost equal level of security.

Also, there is PPTP, which security features are not on par with the first two mentioned protocols but which should be faster. For video streaming and torrenting, it gets the job done.

Try MultiHop

MultiHop, which is also known as Double VPN, will make two VPN connections, one of which is to a far-off server and the other one to the one that is closer to where you are. This way, you will get data from the closer server which, in turn, will be the one sending your request to the distant server, and which will then route those requests to actual web pages and files.

If your VPN supports this feature, and the best VPNs do, you may want to experiment with it to see whether such set up can improve your connection speed.

Disable “heavy” software

There could be a data-hungry software running in the background that is slowing down your internet. It could be Windows itself or some other app download a heavy update. Also, there is some software that is constantly connecting to the internet. These could be slowing down your experience and you should see in the Task Manager what could be disabled.

Bear in mind that turning off some software may be temporary and you can start it again once you finish what you wanted to do online.

Restart everything

It is a last resort or the first one if you ask some experts.

If you can’t make your VPN to work faster, try restarting your computer and repeat the speed test. Also, try restarting your router — there may be other devices that have been connecting to it for data-hungry tasks (like the mentioned updates). And as far as you (don’t) know, your neighbor may have decided to piggyback on your internet, slowing it down along the way.

If all of the above doesn’t help, perhaps it’s time to switch a VPN provider. But first, you may want to contact their support and explain the (speed) problem. They may be able to help you out by providing you with some specific settings you may not be aware of.

And when that doesn’t help, well – you may have to get another VPN. For that, we suggest you consult our list of Best of the Best VPNs, which has the field-tested services that have been proven to seamlessly work from a number of countries. They won’t let you down.