This is my second day EVER of not being able to access Express VPN at all. The first time was when they were doing some sort of upgrade, so I don't count that. Is anyone else experiencing problems? I will go home (awesome internet) in two hours, and check from there.

Hasn't worked for the last week for me.

I'm back on now.

Hello there:
I was looking into giving Express VPN a try but I saw this comment about issues with Express VPN. Do you recommend Express VPN? I wouldn't want to spend money on Express VPN if is not reliable. I never had a VPN service before. Do you recommend it or is there a better option?
I wish Express VPN had a free trial!
Thank you,
JJ

If they had a true free trial, nothing would prevent people from getting trials over and over again using different email addresses. I'm pretty sure they offer free cancellation within 30 days, though.

Next time we meet, I'll try to help you optimize. It's honestly an extremely reliable service, but a bit of tinkering (including occasional chats with support staff) is necessary at times.

Two weeks ago, I was at the Shanghai brewery on laowai jie organizing Google docs, and an expat teacher approached me for VPN advice. She had paid subscriptions to express, strong, and astrill
..and, claimed all three were worthless.

I only helped her with express because it's what I know, but simply showing her how to select servers and removing DNS configurations (presumably set by herself) did the trick.

In any event, my uptime percentage is very high (downtime generally only happens when I'm in a new city trying to find fast servers).

Good afternoon! I have read this thread with interest, I have so far managed to survive without a VPN when I am in Beijing, but I think that now is the time to get one and make life a lot more flexible.

My worry is that the installation of the VPN will mess up other settings on my computer and create trouble - not only when I set it up in Beijing, but also when I am elsewhere. Is this a risk for someone like me, who is probably the least computer literate person here?

Thanks very much for your advice.

Most VPNs are fine in my experience. A few (mostly the cheaper Chinese ones) need to have minimal savvy (I am also mostly a luddite, but can manage).

tb

Thanks, that is good to know! Can I ask you what happens when you are outside China...does the VPN need to be uninstalled or deactivated?

No. You only launch it when you need to.

Thanks, that is very helpful...I am a bit embarrassed asking such basic stuff, but my fear is always to mess up my settings and then be completely stuck !

So each time you switch on your pc, you select the VPN manually ?

By default, Express launches (but, doesn't connect) when your computer starts up. This setting is really easy to change.

Thanks for your advice. It seems that I can go ahead and download Express VPN without any worries.

Last question, if I may, does it work as easily on a smartphone (I have an Android phone).

Thanks again.

Yes. And, express permits simultaneous use on phone + computer.

Thanks once again for your advice, I now feel sufficiently reassured to give it a try !!