Using windows 11. My normal speed is over 900 mb/s and upload speeds of 50 mb/s. When VPN is on I get like 28 download and under 9 upload. Any suggestions or help would be great
Is that while connected to a nearby VPN server?
Is your computer powerful enough to encrypt/decrypt the data at high speed? Speed tests also use CPU time.
My RPi4 is capable of more the 250Mbps, but only speed tests around 200Mbps.
For me and my experience with VPN’s, this is normal behavior. I never see anything close to what I get with my VPN off. When you turn on your VPN, you are going through another server/access point and there is no guarantee of what kind of speed you will be seeing. And it will depend on what you are trying to do as well. If you are torrenting using a VPN (always a good idea), you are not only dependent on the VPN’s servers but how many seeds are available for that torrent and the upload speeds of the seeders.
It is a compromise I am willing to live with for the anonymity I am provided with the VPN active.
I have river and my speed slows down, remember it’s a vpn so the service is concentrated on securing the tunnel. You can also pick a server that’s geographically closer to your location.
Sort your server list by latency and pick the server with the lowest ping. This usually helps a lot as sometimes even a geolocated server closer to you might be overloaded.
You may get better performance from different servers, but in general, VPNs will slow you down, sometimes considerably.
If I am doing a 20 GB download of a game from a known and trusted source, I will often disable the VPN temporarily (we have 300mbps service here). But for most things, the speeds you describe are more than adequate. Web surfing, streaming, downloading moderately sized files and apps… those are generally fine with slower speeds from a VPN.
Are you using OpenVPN or WireGuard? I get around 700 Mbps on my old 2nd gen i5 using WireGuard. My line speed is gigabit fiber.
Your vpn provider is slow. Try another server of theirs that isn’t a major hub.
Or you are on a free account and throttled.
Try using WireGuard protocol. It’s in PIA app settings.
yes
my computer was recently upgraded to newest cpu and gpu, DDR 5 ram and high performing msi motherboard. I am also using ethernet cable and not wifi.
turning off vpn and on I notice incredible different speeds.
It depends on CPU speed and also nearest server, I tested with Wireguard and a geographically closer server I can get like 90% of speed, there will be some drop but won’t like OP’s experience.
ping lowest is 40. I still don’t understand the drastic speed drop
To go along with this:
I recall seeing my ISP sharing an illustration for different speed requirements for different activities. For streaming and gaming (rated the highest demand activities) it said 10-15Mbs was ideal.
not a free account. I will try WireGaurd
i will try WireGuard. What is the difference?
My only suggestions are to try a different VPN server and make sure your test is going to a speed test site near the end of the tunnel. I have had issues with the browser remembering the test site near me and not changing to a better choice.
Since my Pi seems to outrun your new computer I assume the problem is with the VPN server or the testing. There is not much else that can be done with the app to fix a big difference like you have.