Does VPN Slow Down Internet?

Privacy & Security by Admin on December 6, 2022 add comment 1982 Views 8 min read

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The internet is among the most basic utilities of the modern-day world. It facilitates almost every aspect of human life, be it travel, education, work, entertainment, or anything else. Though, the horror begins when one experiences poor internet speeds.

Slow internet speeds tend to frustrate the user beyond anything. Whether it is a laggy game, buffering during video streams, or a slow-loading web page, a slow internet connection is haunting.

There are numerous ways to speed up an internet connection, but one should always ensure that the internet is safe. And that is where VPN services come into play. VPN services can hide the actual location of the user and keep all personal and private information of the user hidden.

However, the original problem of slow internet might come back with a VPN service. A VPN slows down internet, but that depends on the VPN service one uses. If users opt for the right VPN service, the internet might slow down, might the speed difference will be negligible.

Let’s look at everything needed to know why VPN slow down internet connections and what to do to prevent VPN slowing down internet. So, without any further delay, let’s get started:

Does VPN Slow Down Internet?

In short, yes, a VPN does slow down the internet connection. That being said, it all depends on the VPN service chosen. If the right VPN service is chosen, the decrease in speed will be negligible, leaving online activities unaffected.

In simple terms, a VPN service slows down the internet because the information travels through a different server physically situated further away from the original one. This, in turn, causes the users to experience latency. And this is what common users refer to as poor or slow internet speed.

What Causes Users to Experience Latency?

There are several reasons users experience latency when connected through a VPN service. Here are the most prominent ones:

Distance from the Server

First and foremost, the biggest reason for slower or poorer internet speeds is the distance from the server. A user originally connects to a server nearby to go online. However, when the connection is established via a VPN service, the connection travels through a remote server. Due to this physical distance, the internet user experiences delay in the transmission of information.

Load on the Server

The other major reason for users to experience is traffic. If the server is overcrowded, it is bound to become overwhelmed. The limited capacity of the server may often not be enough to cater to larger quantities of users which causes the server to overload and ultimately offer slower internet speed due to poor latency.

Level of Encryption

The next possible reason for poor internet speed or latency is the level of encryption put in place. Any VPN service is as good as the level of encryption it offers. Encryption is the process of making the transmissions private and secure. If the encryption is not properly executed, users will likely experience latency.

Internet Speed Offered by the ISP

All other factors become irrelevant if the internet service provider (ISP) has not offered the internet speeds the user is looking for. Users must ensure that the internet speed they are paying for is the speed they are getting. To assess this, there are numerous speed test tools present online. Users can test their internet connection with their help to know the actual internet speed they are getting.

What Affects Internet Speed?

A VPN service’s primary job is to encrypt the communication traveling to and from a device. All other functions are secondary to it. That being said, if users subscribe to VPN services such as Ivacy VPN, the speed decrease they might experience will be negligible. A VPN service will affect the internet speed at times. And it is the same reason that causes the users to experience latency.

Does a VPN Service Make the Internet Faster?

On the flip side, there is a possibility that a VPN service will make the internet faster instead of slowing it down. Some users might be experiencing ISP Throttling without having any knowledge of it. ISP Throttling is when the ISP restricts the internet speed on a specific platform to increase it on other websites.

Fortunately, Ivacy VPN is a VPN service that can counter ISP Throttling. By enabling its subscribers to connect to remote VPN servers that are less crowded, users can experience a faster internet connection with the help of a VPN service.

How to Make VPN Service Faster?

Does VPN slow down internet? Yes, it does. But there are countermeasures that the users can take to rectify this problem. Here are a few things that internet users should do to make their VPN faster:

Run a Speed Test

There are specific internet speed test tools designed to analyze the capability of an internet connection. Tools such as Ookla Speed Test and FAST Speed Test can help users determine their download speed, upload speed, ping, latency, and other factors to determine the network’s capability.

Change VPN Protocol

There are designated VPN protocols for each activity on VPN services like Ivacy VPN. Ivacy VPN’s Smart Connect feature will assist VPN users in identifying their reason for going online. Moving on, they can connect to the right VPN protocol, thus creating a faster, rather VPN environment.

Restart the Internet Router

Sometimes, the solution is the simplest one. And at times, simply restarting the router may resolve the problem. If users are experiencing slow internet speeds with a VPN service, they ought to disconnect the VPN service and then turn off the internet router. Then restart the router after a short delay. Hopefully, the problem will be resolved then.

Use a Wired Internet Connection

The world may have gone wireless, but wired connections are far superior to wireless connections. Wireless connection can be interfered with if physical objects are in the way or the server is overcrowded. On the other hand, Wired connections cannot be tampered with by objects in between. Additionally, wired connections are far more stable than wireless connections.

Never Use a Free VPN Service

Some users might be tempted to rely on free VPN services to encrypt their connection. While they may work at times, doing so can be problematic. Free VPN services are less reliable since they often sell user data to third parties. And the benefit of avoiding payment is compensated with a lack of performance, i.e., internet speed.

Will a VPN Service Stop the Buffering?

Streamers often complain, “I have high speed internet but slow buffering.” Well, buffering is often the result of ISP throttling. And as discussed earlier, ISP throttling is when the ISP reduces the internet speed on a certain website to increase the speed on other sites. A VPN service like Ivacy VPN can help since it can connect users to remote VPN servers instantly. Users can instantly connect to a different VPN server in a region of their choice and avoid making VPN slower.

What Is a Good Speed for the Internet?

Good internet speed depends on the activity of the user. For most internet activities, such as browsing, even 1.5 Mbps internet speed is sufficient. Going further, for online activities such as video streaming, any internet speed higher than 25 Mbps is more than capable of supporting HD streaming. Then there are more competitive activities, such as high-performance online gaming where split-second decisions are needed to be made. Even then, an internet connection with a download speed as high as up to 100 Mbps will get the job done.

Which Country Has the Fastest Connection?

According to a study, Iceland has the fastest internet speeds worldwide in 2022. The country offers average internet download speeds of 216.56 Mbps, meaning that internet users in Iceland can download a file as large as 5 GBs in merely under four minutes.

Liechtenstein follows Iceland, with Andorra in third place and Taiwan in fourth place. The United States has the eighth fastest internet speed in the world in 2022.

On a Final Note

For those seeking an answer to the question, “does VPN slow down internet?” here is everything there is to know. A VPN service can slow down the internet connection in some situations. However, it depends on the VPN service chosen and the VPN protocol the user is connected to. It is better to rely on industry-leading VPN services such as Ivacy VPN to avoid any problems.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to check VPN speed?

To check what internet speeds users get when connected through a VPN service, one should test the internet speed using an internet speed test tool. The internet speed test tool will shed light on all the relevant factors, such as download speed, upload speed, ping, jitter, and latency. By analyzing these factors, users can determine the cause of poor VPN speed and how to rectify the problem.

Do VPNs slow down your internet?

In most cases, a VPN service does slow down the internet connection. However, if the right VPN service is chosen, the internet speed might even become faster rather than slowing down. And if the VPN service slows down the internet, the difference is negligible.

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