China - expressvpn conga

Hi, guys. I dropped strongvpn a few months back because it started to suck (only ime), and moved on to expressvpn earlier today.

Like most vpns, those guys have a referral scheme that allows us to get free months by passing on the word.

While I could easily spam 25 people with invites in order to avail of a year of service for the $13 I gave them, I don't see a need for a full year because there's a pretty good chance that the Big Brother will kill them within the next 6 months.

That having been said, I'm starting this thread since I've been pleased with what I've seen thus far (last 12 hours)... Google Plus still exists!

Basically, I signed up under one of my bosses, and I asked lady1964 to use me (based on her suggestion).

In short, for those of you that aspire to browse the real internet in China, I encourage you to join in the action. In the event expressvpn meets its maker, we can simply switch horses, but the game will go on!

Thanks for the tip. I've resisted getting a VPN because I have a corporate one anyway which keeps me sufficiently connect. Plus I assume whatever I sign up for will just get nuked. However the restrictions of late have just gotten completely bonkers that I'm starting to cave.

Will look into expressvpn a little more and see if I'll finally take the leap!

I've never really considered a VPN but as of now I cannot even access espn to get the lowdown on the NFL games. This is the straw the breaks the camels back! How do you go about signing up for expressvpn?

I've never really considered a VPN but as of now I cannot even access espn to get the lowdown on the NFL games. This is the straw the breaks the camels back! How do you go about signing up for expressvpn?

Well, you just go to their website (.net in the event .com is down). If you have time, try to allow someone to refer you (I wonder if there is a way to do this without posting email addresses here, something I'm not too keen on doing) because that gets them a free month. The way I see it, each one of us pays for a month and gets a free month. I am not inclined to sign up for one of the longer term plans because it's anyone's guess what the future holds for specific vpns in China (Big Brother has far more resources at his disposal than any one vpn).

Hi,
Moondog has kindly sent us the invite/referral but as yet we haven't taken it up as hubby initially had a problem connecting (he's in Beijing now) so he's managing with what he has. He's home on Thursday then we are going to Beijing in 11 days time so fully intend to try it then, happy to report back on our findings if folk are happy to wait.
Thanks Moondog for the referral ^

I'm bumping this thread in order to proclaim that I really like these guys. While things were rough at first, their customer service people are great; they are fast to reply to my emails, and have helped me to optimize their product.

I ran a speed test yesterday, and, believe it or not, my on-VPN result was 5 times faster than off-VPN.

Am I correct to assume that the reason for VPN isn't to keep people from seeing what you're sending or receiving, but rather to open a clear path to the outside world (to avoid China's internet blocks)? That by using a VPN China can't tell what part of the 'net you're accessing because it's essentially encoded at the source (the company offering the VPN services)?

Having just returned from China, this issue is quite interesting to me. I was getting my 'net services via simcard (China-Unicom 3G most of the time) and found the blocking to be highest in Beijing, a bit less in Xi'an, and almost non-existant in Shanghai. I was quite surprised that it would vary by region. The most-obvious issues were with Google and Facebook.

If this is something not comfortably discussed here, feel free to delete this post. Thanks-

I ran a speed test yesterday, and, believe it or not, my on-VPN result was 5 times faster than off-VPN.

That's impressive, and odd! I usually get faster upload speeds (? govnt not keen on bloggers??) but much slower download speeds when on vpn.

Where the clocked speeds faster than what your connection was meant to be?

tb

Am I correct to assume that the reason for VPN ...

Basically yes, although as moondog and trublu point out it can also help with upload and/or download speed. My VPN provider was hit badly with the increased security at the start of this year but still works for a few servers. I can still sometimes get the 4-5x download speed increase, but this varies from session to session.

Even more surprising than the regional variation is the local variation. I have never had a problem with basic Gmail, though others in Beijing have. Sometimes I can access sites from my home, and not from my office. Right now I can only access Flyertalk at home with a VPN, but it was fine from my office this afternoon.

moondog: does that SecurityKiss VPN work for you still? I used it for a while when mine was blocked, but now it no longer works for me.

That's impressive, and odd! I usually get faster upload speeds (? govnt not keen on bloggers??) but much slower download speeds when on vpn.

Where the clocked speeds faster than what your connection was meant to be?

tb

No, but they were at least close to China Telecom's promise (950 v. 1000). I suspect that part of the problem is that speedtest.net's Changchun server is rather crappy.

moondog: does that SecurityKiss VPN work for you still? I used it for a while when mine was blocked, but now it no longer works for me.

I gave up on SecurityKiss in part because it stopped working well, and in part because my Windows 7 computer doesn't get along with it (asks me to log in as an administrator, even when I already am). I don't mind paying these expressvpn people because they have been exceedingly helpful (very fast responses to emails).

Just to add we arrive in Beijing on Monday so we will load expressvpn conga onto our home desktop ready for us to try when we arrive in Beijing. Give me a few days after arrival to sort myself out & I'll report back. I am encouraged though by the positive reports already on here.
We already loaded gotomypc (UK) while my hubby was in Beijing and that worked fine for him so it will be good to compare. We suspect that Expressconga will be better.
Regards

UPDATE:

We loaded express vpn onto my netbook which took under 5 minutes and after a few initial problems getting a server list up, we have now resolved that after emailing and getting good advice.
I'm impressed at the speed and service so far, we connect via the UK so we can watch UK tv programmes and get the websites we want.
I suspect we will subscribe to the service fully if all continues as well as it's started.
regards

Good to hear. I use an academic vpn, but it does mean that I have to kick my wife off from using it (and her checking fb!) when I'm at work.

We might look into this. You can PM me a referral link you like.

tb

Good to hear. I use an academic vpn, but it does mean that I have to kick my wife off from using it (and her checking fb!) when I'm at work.

We might look into this. You can PM me a referral link you like.

tb

Not sure I can tb, Moondog sent me the referral, I wouldn't want to step on anyone's toes, hope you understand.

Not sure I can tb, Moondog sent me the referral, I wouldn't want to step on anyone's toes, hope you understand.

My understanding of the thread title was 'a conga', but happy for moondog to send me a referral if you prefer.

tb

After getting a referral from moondog, have been playing with this for a couple of days. It's very user friendly and easy to use: haven't tried it on my smartphone yet.

Re: speeds, at least going by speedtest.net (and anecdotally), I do notice a significant drop in speed on vpn compared with off, for routine browsing. But this drop is no worse, and usually better than my academic vpn.

The question for me is whether it's worth the cash outlay, since I have a free academic option -- which is more of a hassle, and not quite as good.

In the spirit of this thread as intended by moondog, if anyone wants to try this out for themselves, feel free to PM for a referral, and we can get the conga going!

tb

Re: speeds, at least going by speedtest.net (and anecdotally), I do notice a significant drop in speed on vpn compared with off, for routine browsing. But this drop is no worse, and usually better than my academic vpn.


Interestingly, I downloaded some TV shows yesterday. With the VPN off, I was getting something atrocious like 15k down. But, after turning it on (Chicago server), that shot up to 100k in a matter of minutes. I suspect that my ISP is probably throttling P2P bandwidth. Strangely, skype seems to work better with it on as well. I'm not sure why.

Interestingly, I downloaded some TV shows yesterday. With the VPN off, I was getting something atrocious like 15k down. But, after turning it on (Chicago server), that shot up to 100k in a matter of minutes. I suspect that my ISP is probably throttling P2P bandwidth. Strangely, skype seems to work better with it on as well. I'm not sure why.

This could well be the case. Many of the ISPs here throttle the bandwidth depending on the internet port that the connection goes through on (for good reason given the amount of downloading that goes on ....).

When you connect through VPN the ISP only sees the (encrypted) internet traffic going to the VPN port/address. This may be fixed or variable depending on your VPN provider, and so is another potential source of day-to-day variation in downloading speed.

I'm heading over in a week or two. Should I sign-up for a back-up option as well, or has expressVPN been stable? Also, anyone know if I can have one account and use it with my iOS devices and my macbook, or do I need separate accounts for each device?

I'm heading over in a week or two. Should I sign-up for a back-up option as well, or has expressVPN been stable? Also, anyone know if I can have one account and use it with my iOS devices and my macbook, or do I need separate accounts for each device?

I'm currently using two different VPNs: expressvpn and also an academic vpn. Both were brutally slow yesterday, but not unusable. This morning, things seem to be back to normal, so not sure what the disruption was due to.

tb

I'm currently using two different VPNs: expressvpn and also an academic vpn. Both were brutally slow yesterday, but not unusable. This morning, things seem to be back to normal, so not sure what the disruption was due to.

tb

Interesting. Yesterday was one of my fastest internet days in quite a while.... was getting 350k+ down on utorrent. Which expressvpn server are you using? I tend to avoid that Los Angeles server because I figure everyone else is using it.

Interesting. Yesterday was one of my fastest internet days in quite a while.... was getting 350k+ down on utorrent. Which expressvpn server are you using? I tend to avoid that Los Angeles server because I figure everyone else is using it.

I was using the LA one, but as I said, had similarly slow rates on my academic vpn that goes through Boston. Since I didn't really need to be on a vpn for long, just came off it: speeds were generally a little slower at home yesterday, so maybe that was more of the issue, but was noticing x20-x50 slower on the vpn.

I don't tend to download large files, but happened to be updating some software, which took forever.

tb

I was using the LA one, but as I said, had similarly slow rates on my academic vpn that goes through Boston. Since I didn't really need to be on a vpn for long, just came off it: speeds were generally a little slower at home yesterday, so maybe that was more of the issue, but was noticing x20-x50 slower on the vpn.

I don't tend to download large files, but happened to be updating some software, which took forever.

tb

Hmmm. I'm also at Qinghua today, and must confess that your internet up here is considerably slower than what I've grown accustomed to down south. I'm using expressvpn's Chicago server.

ETA: I just ran a speed test off VPN, and got decent results. Seems like something funky is going on. If I lived in this area, I would definitely send them an email about this.

Second edit: Off VPN, I got 1.0 m up and .2 down. Chicago server = really bad, Seattle South = .55 down and .62 up. A few years ago, the Comcast guy in Portland told me that up speeds more important than most people realize wrt to overall experience.

Hmmm. I'm also at Qinghua today, and must confess that your internet up here is considerably slower than what I've grown accustomed to down south. I'm using expressvpn's Chicago server.

ETA: I just ran a speed test off VPN, and got decent results. Seems like something funky is going on. If I lived in this area, I would definitely send them an email about this.

Second edit: Off VPN, I got 1.0 m up and .2 down. Chicago server = really bad, Seattle South = .55 down and .62 up. A few years ago, the Comcast guy in Portland told me that up speeds more important than most people realize wrt to overall experience.

Off vpn we can get 6Mbp/s down 0.8up, but it's so temperamental that one can't rely on it. At our apartment, we routinely get ~2 Mbp/s down off vpn. Getting 0.55 down on vpn is a good result round these parts!

tb

I must say that I really like these guys (no, they are not paying me to write this, though perhaps they should be). While internet life China is tolerable sans VPN, having one that works reliably is kind of nice. Apart from Facebook, Twitter, G+, youtube, and IMDB, if you are logged on to a US server, you can call all of your friends in North America for free (via Google voice)... the call quality is on par with Skype (incidentally, for those big business deal phone calls, it's still best to use an actual phone).

I've had great difficulty accessing twitter during the past several days (with expressvpn on). This is the ONLY site I've had trouble with. Anyone else?

I've had great difficulty accessing twitter during the past several days (with expressvpn on). This is the ONLY site I've had trouble with. Anyone else?

Don't use twitter, so can't comment. My wife reports no problems in accessing fb. I find it odd that I still get chinese adds when on vpn -- I presume that's because of cookies being enabled...

tb

Don't use twitter, so can't comment. My wife reports no problems in accessing fb. I find it odd that I still get chinese adds when on vpn -- I presume that's because of cookies being enabled...

tb

I don't really care about twitter, but sometimes I like to check out beijingair. I emailed expressvpn, and they told me to use the Silicon Valley server for twitter, and it worked.

Have to add how impressed I am with expressvpn. I leave mine logged on most of the time via LA and speeds are sometimes a little slower but on the whole, it's great. I don't use twitter but FB is easily accessible.

To watch tv programmes from the UK, we have to log in via London or Berkshire but after being slow initially, I can watch Corrie as if I'm in the UK watching on tv, but I think that's more of an iplayer issue, not sure, I'm not sufficiently educated in IP and bandwith issues to know.

Have to add how impressed I am with expressvpn. I leave mine logged on most of the time via LA and speeds are sometimes a little slower but on the whole, it's great. I don't use twitter but FB is easily accessible.

To watch tv programmes from the UK, we have to log in via London or Berkshire but after being slow initially, I can watch Corrie as if I'm in the UK watching on tv, but I think that's more of an iplayer issue, not sure, I'm not sufficiently educated in IP and bandwith issues to know.

You guys out east are obviously getting better download speeds than us out west. I may need to contact CS about this (am usually reticent about this sort of thing).

tb

You guys out east are obviously getting better download speeds than us out west. I may need to contact CS about this (am usually reticent about this sort of thing).

tb

I could have sworn that you told us, or perhaps just me, that you were getting 6mb down speeds sans VPN. If so, that is very fast for China, and the VPN shouldn't slow you down more than ~10%. If it is, then contacting CS would be a wise move.

I could have sworn that you told us, or perhaps just me, that you were getting 6mb down speeds sans VPN. If so, that is very fast for China, and the VPN shouldn't slow you down more than ~10%. If it is, then contacting CS would be a wise move.

At work can get 6MB/s download speeds at off-peak times. However, on vpn that goes down to 0.4 MB/s, so more than 90% slower. At home, speeds are 2MB/s off and 0.3MB/s on vpn...so a real pain for downloading movie files.

Will probably get in touch with them after CNY since it appears to be an east-side problem!

tb

At work can get 6MB/s download speeds at off-peak times. However, on vpn that goes down to 0.4 MB/s, so more than 90% slower. At home, speeds are 2MB/s off and 0.3MB/s on vpn...so a real pain for downloading movie files.

Will probably get in touch with them after CNY since it appears to be an east-side problem!

tb

My VPN license runs out at the end of Feb. (with Witopia) so when I return to Beijing in mid-Feb I will also give these guys (expressvpn) a go. That should give us one more "west-side" data point ... I can still connect to a couple of "extra secure" Witopia servers, but it is a real problem to connect to a UK server (though I mostly just need this for online banking).

Have to add how impressed I am with expressvpn. I leave mine logged on most of the time via LA and speeds are sometimes a little slower but on the whole, it's great. I don't use twitter but FB is easily accessible.

To watch tv programmes from the UK, we have to log in via London or Berkshire but after being slow initially, I can watch Corrie as if I'm in the UK watching on tv, but I think that's more of an iplayer issue, not sure, I'm not sufficiently educated in IP and bandwith issues to know.

I increasingly think that their Los Angeles server is a sucker's bet. While they may claim "it's the best for Asia," it clearly isn't. I've had much better results with Seattle, Silicon Valley, and Chicago.

I increasingly think that their Los Angeles server is a sucker's bet. While they may claim "it's the best for Asia," it clearly isn't. I've had much better results with Seattle, Silicon Valley, and Chicago.

I might give those locations a try then, not that I'm having any real issues with LA but happy to try anything that might increase speed as it is a tad slow on occasion, usually with FT of all sites ;)

I've had excellent results lately with VyprVPN (https://www.goldenfrog.com/vyprvpn) (no affiliation except as a customer). In particular, their Hong Kong server is extremely speedy from within the mainland (getting about 13mbps on average, which is right about the same as to mainland servers) and still gets around the GFW quite nicely. They also support PPTP, OpenVPN, and IPSec protocols, which helps when logging in from public Wi-Fi that blocks one or two of the above.

Not sure how it compares with ExpressVPN as I've never tried their service, but it might be worth a look for anyone in the market. :)

Random question:

Whenever I'm on Skype and am running expressvpn, I frequently get random chat messages from people I haven't seen in years asking me what I'm doing in Trinidad. It doesn't matter what server I use, but the location Skype displays is always "Trinidad and Tobago". Do the rest of you have the same issue? What is the cause of it? (I don't really care -- so what if my skype friends think I work for the CIA -- just curious.)

Random question:

Whenever I'm on Skype and am running expressvpn, I frequently get random chat messages from people I haven't seen in years asking me what I'm doing in Trinidad. It doesn't matter what server I use, but the location Skype displays is always "Trinidad and Tobago". Do the rest of you have the same issue? What is the cause of it? (I don't really care -- so what if my skype friends think I work for the CIA -- just curious.)

I never use skype on vpn since i find it too slow for good call quality. However, I do find the server locations quite random. E.g. connecting to the SF server, if I go to 'speedtest.net', it shows my location as london! I do think that the company rather picks out random servers rather than dedicated ones, but I'm not enough of a techie to fully understand this.

I have found speeds on vpn to have improved considerably over the last week, however....let's see if it continues.

tb

Can one sign up for expressvpn in China or does one do it before arrival? I am trying to access the expressvpn.com site in China and everything but the home page seems to get hung up. Other sites (newspapers, yahoo, etc.) are not having that problem.

Can one sign up for expressvpn in China or does one do it before arrival? I am trying to access the expressvpn.com site in China and everything but the home page seems to get hung up. Other sites (newspapers, yahoo, etc.) are not having that problem.

Yes. If you can't access their site, just email their support team (I'm pretty sure you can guess their email address), and they will provide you with an alternate. Even if you go this route, you'll still have an opportunity to permit someone here to refer you.

Thanks, moondog.

Little time left on this trip, but I may contact you before returning.

I made a quick decision to subscribe to expressvpn before returning to China, and have been extremely happy with the results. That is, until today! Not only has it been able to access previously forbidden sites, but whenever I think my internet access is slow, I check and find the vpn has lost its connection. Restoring it, speeds up everything.

But now it keeps giving me error messages that "other VPN applications" are running in the background. Rebooting doesn't help, and everything is slow. Attempting to login to expressvpn.com gets me the usual "...can't connect to the server…" message.

Have the authorities suddenly discovered this service and blocked it?

UPDATE:
It's back after another reboot and change of connection location!