Sponsored Links

VPN experiences

teleman6868

Pro Member
Hi all,

I was wondering if people could share their experience of using VPNs with 4G; particularly relevant for those of us on Three who can use a VPN to overcome stalling, but also good for privacy.

My understanding is that there are three broad ways of using a VPN:

1. Install VPN apps on your devices. Such apps can't be installed on everything though (eg TVs).
2. Configure your modem/router combo to use a VPN, which is heavily dependent on the VPN protocols supported by your router. But all devices are then covered.
3. Bridge your 4G modem to a more-capable router that supports the full range of VPN protocols, or allows installation of custom firmware that offers this support. Again, all devices are covered, and typically you can select devices which bypass the VPN if you choose.

I'm currently running Cloudflare Warp apps on my phones and laptops which has stopped any stalling with minimal performance hit to my Three service (ie Option 1).

My Huawei router only supports PPTP/L2TP VPN clients which are offered by a few providers but considered insecure these days (Option 2).

I could bridge my Huawei to a suitable 'VPN router' (Option 3) from the likes of Asus or TP-Link.

Does anyone have experience of running VPNs with 4G? I'm particularly interested in Option 3 as routers with powerful processors to handle the VPN are quite cheap these days. And I think this is the most elegant solution, with VPN services also being incredibly cheap from the likes of NordVPN or ExpressVPN.

Thanks in advance.
 
I am using NordVPN configured to use OpenVpn with an Asus RT-AC87U router running the Merlin OS.
As you say this means the entire house is going through the VPN and I also have Pi-Hole setup as a DNS server.
I have my Three B311 connected to the WAN port on the ASUS router with DMZ enabled as no bridge mode on the B311.

I have had no issues, except sometimes Google will ask for a captcha when searching but that's about it.

I also use YazFi on the Asus to have separate WIFI SSIDs away from my internal network for IOT devices and Work VPN connections

Speeds are reduced but still getting 40-50Mbps (80-100Mbps without)
 
I'm similar to twocats, Asus router running Merlin connected to an OpenVPN with a raspberry pi running pihole, WAN port connected to a Huawei modem in DMZ (also no bridge mode).

The differences are my Asus router is an AC86U which has hardware AES encrypt/decrypt so maintains VPN speeds better - up to low 200's I've read (but haven't experienced) - that's connected to Huawei H112-370 (5G CPE) rather than B311, and the OpenVPN I self-host from my own VPS.
I do have routing rules for some devices on my network to prevent them using the VPN, namely my Shield TV to ensure streaming services aren't blocked and my NAS.

I've never had issues with captcha, and I don't have any additional add-on tools on my Asus router.
 
Last edited:
Sponsored Links
Probably too simple for what you're really interested in, but...
I only have a desktop computer (Linux) on which I have openVPN, connected via a cheap old Alcatel 4G MiFi device to Three using a USB cable, I don't use wireless. I use two providers - Private Internet Access and VPN Area - in case one has a bad day and misbehaves. PIA is the more reliable of the two, but VPN Area is generally "OK" if you don't mind the occasional drop.
It's all rather unexciting, things "just work" 99% of the time, though I do sometimes get the same captcha problem as twocats if using Google.
 
I did try Surfshark on my B535 to get around the Three page stalling issue. You can get the L2TP settings from their support team. Performance was good although lots of sites would throw up security capchas when using the VPN which made it unusable for me on a day to day basis
 
I use a Vigor 2860n+ with AAISP's L2TP service. Doesn't add any security per se, but gives me static addresses on EE 4G. I use other VPNs over the top to connect to office servers etc. (I work from home) which do provide security.
I used to load-share between Three 4G and ADSL, but when I moved to EE the difference in speed caused more problems than it solved so I dropped ADSL.
 
Sponsored Links
Hi folks. Thanks very much for the valuable insights. I didn't appreciate how many variations there were on solutions and VPN providers. I also hadn't appreciated why I'd received one or two more captchas than usual thanks to Cloudflare. The only actual issue I've experienced is being unable to download a BBC podcast, for which I temporarily disabled my VPN.

I'm tempted to go down the Asus AC86U route, although that'll cost me £150 and a VPN subscription to investigate. I will give it some thought.

In theory this will also allow me to get a public IP from any provider.

Happy days
 
Raspberry Pi running Pivpn and Wireguard
Please can I test my understanding. Are you running a Raspberry Pi hooked into your router that encrypts all your traffic? I’ve had a quick look at Pivpn as it’s not something I’ve considered to date. Is setup straightforward?
 
Sponsored Links
I found it straightforward to install and the instructions very clear. The RPi4 connects to my LAN by Cat5 and the only other connection is the power supply.
We run the Wireguard app on phones and tablets and when not at home I “flick the switch”. I am then able to securely access my NAS, camera system, alarm system and music player over an encrypted connection.
 
Good deal currently on lifetime KeepSolid VPN who apparently have an L2TP service. Search for KeepSolid over on hotukdeals.
 
I found it straightforward to install and the instructions very clear. The RPi4 connects to my LAN by Cat5 and the only other connection is the power supply.
We run the Wireguard app on phones and tablets and when not at home I “flick the switch”. I am then able to securely access my NAS, camera system, alarm system and music player over an encrypted connection.
I liked the RPi approach but I would not want to have Wireguard on all devices.
Is there an option to have Raspberry Pi with installed Wireguard talking to a Wireguard installed on a hosted VDS? And all LAN clients will go through the VPN connection without installing anything.
 
I just installed Cloudflare WARP on my PC for my Smarty connection. WARP is free, and does the job to overcome any issues I was happening with Smarty randomly assigning IP addresses.
 
Sponsored Links
I've used VPNs with 4G, including popular ones like NordVPN and ExpressVPN. While they were generally okay for privacy and overcoming network stalling, they sometimes impacted my connection speed, mainly when used with a 4G network. This was an issue, as I needed a stable and fast connection for streaming and browsing.

So, I decided to switch to a proxy service. Now, I use an individual proxy from proxys.io. It's been a game-changer for me because it offers the privacy benefits of a VPN but with better speed and stability over a 4G network. Plus, it's affordable at only $1.4. I've found that a proxy provides a more consistent online experience, especially regarding streaming or heavy browsing, without the performance downsides I experienced with VPNs.
 
Last edited:
I liked the RPi approach but I would not want to have Wireguard on all devices.
Is there an option to have Raspberry Pi with installed Wireguard talking to a Wireguard installed on a hosted VDS? And all LAN clients will go through the VPN connection without installing anything.
I install Wireguard client (it’s tiny) on any device that needs to remote Access my network
 
I use Surfshark (who are actually owned by the same company as NordVPN) and before that had NordVPN.

I only use them on devices, but i have found both to be fine and work good over 4G, never had any issues with ether.
 
I've had "half-price for life" Torguard VPN for quite a few years. The desktop client (per-user) on Linux slows things down slightly but I generate Wireguard configs and use those at system-level which has no impact on speed and sometimes reports faster speeds on consecutive tests.

My ever fastest speed in my sig was with Wireguard engaged.
 
Top
Cheap BIG ISPs for 100Mbps+
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Virgin Media UK ISP Logo
Virgin Media £24.00
132Mbps
Gift: None
Plusnet UK ISP Logo
Plusnet £27.99
145Mbps
Gift: None
Zen Internet UK ISP Logo
Zen Internet £28.00 - 35.00
100Mbps
Gift: None
Sky Broadband UK ISP Logo
100Mbps
Gift: None
Large Availability | View All
Cheapest ISPs for 100Mbps+
Gigaclear UK ISP Logo
Gigaclear £15.00
150Mbps
Gift: None
YouFibre UK ISP Logo
YouFibre £19.99
150Mbps
Gift: None
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
BeFibre UK ISP Logo
BeFibre £21.00
150Mbps
Gift: £25 Love2Shop Card
Hey! Broadband UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Large Availability | View All
Sponsored Links
The Top 15 Category Tags
  1. FTTP (5445)
  2. BT (3497)
  3. Politics (2513)
  4. Openreach (2285)
  5. Business (2242)
  6. Building Digital UK (2227)
  7. FTTC (2040)
  8. Mobile Broadband (1955)
  9. Statistics (1770)
  10. 4G (1649)
  11. Virgin Media (1603)
  12. Ofcom Regulation (1447)
  13. Wireless Internet (1384)
  14. Fibre Optic (1384)
  15. FTTH (1380)
Sponsored

Copyright © 1999 to Present - ISPreview.co.uk - All Rights Reserved - Terms  ,  Privacy and Cookie Policy  ,  Links  ,  Website Rules