expressvpn conga
Nov 25, 2011 | 1:30 am
#16
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Bay Area
Programs: BA - Blue
Posts: 4,721
Nov 29, 2011 | 1:37 am
#17
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Bay Area
Programs: BA - Blue
Posts: 4,721
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.
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
Nov 29, 2011 | 2:03 am
#18
Original Poster
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 46,334
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.
Nov 29, 2011 | 2:21 am
#19
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Beijing
Programs: SK EBG, BAEC Gold
Posts: 985
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.
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.
Nov 30, 2011 | 1:48 pm
#20
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: California (Fresno)
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 7
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?
Nov 30, 2011 | 7:39 pm
#21
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Bay Area
Programs: BA - Blue
Posts: 4,721
tb
Nov 30, 2011 | 7:55 pm
#22
Original Poster
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Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 46,334
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.
Nov 30, 2011 | 10:21 pm
#23
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Bay Area
Programs: BA - Blue
Posts: 4,721
I don't tend to download large files, but happened to be updating some software, which took forever.
tb
Nov 30, 2011 | 10:51 pm
#24
Original Poster
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Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 46,334
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 don't tend to download large files, but happened to be updating some software, which took forever.
tb
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.
Last edited by moondog; Nov 30, 2011 at 11:12 pm
Dec 1, 2011 | 12:21 am
#25
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Bay Area
Programs: BA - Blue
Posts: 4,721
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.
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.
tb
Dec 17, 2011 | 9:57 pm
#26
Original Poster
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 46,334
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).
Jan 21, 2012 | 8:25 pm
#28
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Bay Area
Programs: BA - Blue
Posts: 4,721
tb
Jan 21, 2012 | 9:13 pm
#29
Original Poster
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 46,334
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.
Jan 21, 2012 | 10:04 pm
#30
formerly known as lady1964
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Yorkshire
Programs: BA Bronze
Posts: 1,190
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.
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.