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Poor VPN speeds using Private Internet Access

happyhammer7
Newbie
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎10-05-2013

Poor VPN speeds using Private Internet Access

I have been having an ongoing issue with my VPN connection. I am currently using Private Internet Access across my PC and iOS devices.
I have the VPN configured within a Asus RT-N16 Router with Tomato firmware installed.
I normally get around 11Mbps d/l with 0.8 u/l speed.
With the VPN, I use 3 different server locations -
London
East America
Netherlands
Now, when I first configured the router, speeds were a little bit less then the above speeds. Now, it seems that the traffic is being throttled. When I connect to the London VPN, I was barely getting 0.4Mpbs download with the same upload speed. Sometimes, rebooting the router seemed to help but then the issue would come back within 24 hours.
I have also checked Astrill VPN, which gave me very similar results so it's not the VPN provider causing this issue.
I have checked my usage on the Plusnet sit which gave the following results -
Activity Allowance Overnight usage Total usage
Web 19% 1% 20%
Email 0% 0% 0%
Broadband phonecalls 0% 0% 0%
Gaming 2% 0% 2%
Streaming 49% 10% 59%
PlusNet FTP 0% 0% 0%
Peer-to-peer 0% 0% 0%
Usenet 0% 0% 0%
FTP (non PlusNet) 0% 0% 0%
Other 18% 1% 19%
Total usage so far 88% 12% 100%
I do a lot of streaming through Netflix, which makes up the majority of traffic at 59%. Normal web browsing accounts for 20% whilst under "other" there is 19% usage.
Under which category should VPN connections be under? I really need some assistance with this.
Thank you
15 REPLIES 15
dvorak
Moderator
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Posts: 29,473
Thanks: 6,623
Fixes: 1,482
Registered: ‎11-01-2008

Re: Poor VPN speeds using Private Internet Access

VPN will appear under other I think..
I've just tried private internet access..
from my phone I got 11MBps down and 3 up for london
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If it fixed it click 'This fixed my problem'
happyhammer7
Newbie
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎10-05-2013

Re: Poor VPN speeds using Private Internet Access

Any idea what could be causing the drop in speed?
adie:quote
jimbof
Grafter
Posts: 348
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎02-05-2013

Re: Poor VPN speeds using Private Internet Access

Most likely something about either your connection or local setup ; I'm on their NL server at the moment and was getting 48mbit up 10mbit down yesterday (on fibre FTTC).
happyhammer7
Newbie
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎10-05-2013

Re: Poor VPN speeds using Private Internet Access

Can anyone recommend any diagnostics I can run? I don't believe there is an issue with the line as the performance is stable whilst using the isp connection.
happyhammer7
Newbie
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎10-05-2013

Re: Poor VPN speeds using Private Internet Access

I purchased the "Pro" pack as I thought it would give me better results. This did for about 24 hours but now it's crawling back to 0.4Mpbs. Got near enough max speed but gone back to poor performance. Not getting anywhere with this.
chrispurvey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 5,369
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎13-07-2012

Re: Poor VPN speeds using Private Internet Access

Hi there,
I'd suggest running a wireshark capture and we can take a look if there's anything amiss.
happyhammer7
Newbie
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎10-05-2013

Re: Poor VPN speeds using Private Internet Access

How long should I run this for?
Also, what instructions should I follow and how do I send it to you?
Thanks for assisting.
dick:quote
chrispurvey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 5,369
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎13-07-2012

Re: Poor VPN speeds using Private Internet Access

If you run the wireshark capture priory to accessing the VPN, then a couple of minutes will be more than sufficient.
Once you've got the caputre, you would need to ZIP this and then you can send it to us via a ticket.
happyhammer7
Newbie
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎10-05-2013

Re: Poor VPN speeds using Private Internet Access

I have submitted it under question ID #69585095
MsDizzie
Grafter
Posts: 132
Registered: ‎21-11-2012

Re: Poor VPN speeds using Private Internet Access

I use VPN to connect to work (using CISCO AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client) on my work's provided laptop.
If I connect and use IE9 (which includes going through a proxy server), using Speedtest, I see a drop from 12.29/1.01 (D/U) to 1.36/0.79 (D/U) with a ping rate doubled to 60ms.
If I set up IE9 to bypass the proxy then I have to login to my company's Intranet, but I then see speeds back to normal 12.30/1.01 ping rate 33ms.
I wonder if this helps you at all happyhammer7?
(I'd be loathed to install wireshark on this laptop  Sad )
happyhammer7
Newbie
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎10-05-2013

Re: Poor VPN speeds using Private Internet Access

Thing is, the performance is replicated through my ios devices. It's not computer/device specific. It's across the whole network.
chrispurvey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 5,369
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎13-07-2012

Re: Poor VPN speeds using Private Internet Access

We've got the wireshark capture, we'll take a look and see if we can see anything not right.
chrispurvey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 5,369
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎13-07-2012

Re: Poor VPN speeds using Private Internet Access

When you ran the wireshark capture were you doing anything else at the time as there seems to have been quite a bit going on.
MsDizzie
Grafter
Posts: 132
Registered: ‎21-11-2012

Re: Poor VPN speeds using Private Internet Access

Quote from: w23
No cap on current products: http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/speed_guide/download_speeds.shtml
Some older products did have a rate limit on VPN (I seem to recall 2Mb/s on some products for example 'Legacy Unlimited': http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/products/archive/plusnet_unlimited_archive.shtml#trafficManage...
VPN can be also limited by the speed of the connection at the other end.

@chrispurvey can you confirm that 2Mb/s cap isn't in place as per the above quote?