For regular VPN users, experiencing a slowdown in their VPN connection speed is probably something that they’re already familiar with. Sometimes, you will have the full VPN speed to stream all your favorite videos in high definition, while some other times, you might have a slowdown in VPN speed that allows you to stream videos only in standard definition. Sometimes, your VPN can load some websites very quickly, while some other times, the same websites cannot be loaded as quickly as before. This happens, and the regular VPN users understand that the VPN connection speed might have its up and down due to various reasons.
However, there are still a lot of people, especially those who are new to VPN, who know very little about VPN speed. They are quick to complain whenever they experience certain performance problems without trying to understand about those problems. Here are 5 things most people don’t know about VPN connection speed:
1. Your VPN Speed Depends On Your Internet Connection Speed
This is something that many people don’t understand, since they think that VPN is like some kind of an internet service provider with its own network connection. If you think about VPN as something that is similar to ISP (Internet Service Provider), then you have to learn more about it. VPN connection depends fully on your internet connection. So, if your internet connection is bad or slow, then the VPN will naturally be slow as well. If the connection is good or fast, then the VPN will be fast as well. So, the first thing that you need to do when you encounter a problem related to VPN speed is to check the internet speed of your ISP.
2. Not All VPN Services Offer The Same Server Performance
Two different VPN services might ask the same monthly fee from their users, but it doesn’t mean that their service quality is similar. This is because the performance of the private connection will depend on the servers that they use. Different servers bring different performance of their service, and depending on the service reliability, you might find that one VPN service has faster speed than the other VPN service. Whether the service provider uses their own servers or rent the servers of a third party will also affect the overall speed of the private network.
3. VPN Speed Varies Based On The Server Location And Quality
The location of the servers and the quality of the individual server will also affect your private connection speed. For instance, if you are using the server that is located far away from your current location, you might find it to be slightly slower than when you use the server that is located near you. The individual server quality, such as the server specification, can also impact the overall performance of the server. Also, the more people that use the same server, the more likely that the server will be overloaded with too many requests, which will slow down the server performance.
4. There Are VPN Services That Limit Your VPN Speed And Bandwidth
Not all VPN services will provide you with unlimited speed and bandwidth. Of course, unlimited speed here refers to the maximum speed that your ISP will allow you to use. For instance, if you are using the ISP that offers 40 Mbps download speed, then the VPN that you use will be able to achieve the maximum of 40 Mbps download speed. The bandwidth usage in the VPN refers to the amount of data (in MB or GB) that you consume using the private network. Some VPN services have limitations on the maximum speed that they can allow for the users, as well as the bandwidth usage that the users can have with their VPN service.
5. Switching Servers Might Help Improve Your VPN Speed
Since different servers might offer different performance based on various things, such as server location, specification, quality, the number of current users, and so on, it is always a good idea to switch between servers and see which server offers the best speed. This can be a quick remedy for the slow connection problem with your private connection, since it can potentially improve your VPN speed. Or, if your VPN software offers a feature for you to automatically choose the best or optimal server to use, then you can use this feature to find the fastest server on your private network without having to switch servers manually.
Those are 5 things most people don’t know about VPN connection speed. The more you understand about how a VPN works, the more you can familiarize yourself with the troubleshooting process of various VPN-related problems, including slow connection. So, before you write your complaining testimony about the private network service that you use, it’s better to analyze the problem first, and determine the best solution for that problem.