fbcooper

Almost never nearly had a problem with expressvpn, also use nortons vpn from time to time. For some reason time to time expressvpn says turkey but it gives me like dutch netflix but ip says turkey for example. You can also install it on your router to use it for your tv.

Dubai Stu

From what I am reading elsewhere, some of the streaming services will start using latency detection to guess when you are on a VPN.

bocastephen

What if you just have a crappy ISP?

Jaimito Cartero

Apple TV+ usually doesn’t require a vpn. Netflix has lots of content in many countries. Sure there are some differences, but I’d say it’s 80-95% the same. I have forgotten to turn the VPN off when using Netflix, and then get a “Are you outside your normal area” notice a week later. My Netflix is $7 something a month for their 2 user HD plan in Indonesia.

I find Max not too picky with VPNs. Paramount+ is usually not bad, but they turned their VPN blocker up to 11 for the Stuperbowl. Peacock and Hulu+ are moderate.

I use VPN Unlimited. 5 users, lifetime membership for $30-40 on a black Friday deal a number of years ago. Usually works well.

StuckInYYZ

Keep in mind that Apple and Netflix produce a lot of their own content so the licensing issues (at least for their own content) is minimal. Amazon for is starting to get there with some material as well. But for stuff they don't own the rights to, licensing is an issue.

frappant

Are there appliances which will run OpenVPN server, as opposed to routers?

Seems like you're limited by your upload bandwidth, which typically is a fraction of your download.

I've had connections of several hundred Mbps while overseas but when I turn on VPN connecting to my home network with an old Asus router running Open VPN server, the bandwidth will choke to like 5-8 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up.

That's still good enough to stream most video.

I have Surfshark subscription as well, which runs until June or so. Not sure if I will renew.

I've mostly used OpenVPN back to home because I can maintain all the cookies settings. For instance, if I connect to a hotel Wifi and loaded forums like FT or some other, then you get prompted to set cookie permissions again.

Problem with SurfShark and I assume most commercial VPNs is that sites like FT block it. And if forums block it, likely streaming apps will block it as well. When I'm overseas I typically use the Xfinity Stream, for live TV as well as recordings, Max and maybe some Apple TV + and Amazon Prime Video.

Like I said, most of the time I'm using OpenVPN, which probably has slower throughput than SurfShark but fewer problems connecting to streaming and other sites.

DYKWIA

Not an "appliance" as such, but a Raspberry Pi with PiVPN will run OpenVPN or Wireguard. Extremely simple to set up.

KRSW

The GL-Inet routers are practically appliances. and you can run Wireguard on them for better throughput

frappant

How are they as routers, especially Wifi 6 or soon Wifi 7 support?

Also, what are good Wineguard clients for iOS or MacOS. Is there something comparable to OpenVPN clients and apps

moondog

Astrill might be hard to justify from a cost standpoint if you don't need to be in countries that are clever about thwarting VPNs (e.g. China), but its performance and is quite solid wherever I travel. Their chat based customer service is also awesome; readily accessible real people who thoroughly understand their product.

bocastephen

Is China able to thwart a hardware based private VPN you manage from another location?

StuckInYYZ

Recognized ones like Nord or ExpressVPN more easily than a private one. Technically VPN providers are supposed to register with the government if they want to operate in China... I forget if they have to provide a back door or not as one of the conditions of operation. Obviously if you are providing your own VPN connection, it's likely not registered. But if you aren't using it for long, you could likely get away with it. I would recommend if you do it, you don't use the internet connection of a friend or relative. If it does get flagged it could trace back to them. But that could be one of those internet rumours.

moondog

Neither of those work very well in China, in part because by promoting themselves so aggressively (e.g. Nord sponsors lots of vloggers that piss off Beijing and exp used to brag about being "the best VPN for China"), they've made themselves targets. The net nannies can easily cripple any individual commercial VPN if they make doing so an objective.

Ast, by contrast, has done an excellent job of maintaining a low profile while simultaneously staying one step ahead technologically.

Tmk, none of them are legal to use in China, but everyone I know (including government employees) has a working solution of some sort.

There is a procedure you can use to legally install a VPN in your office, if your business scope requires such. That's a lot of red tape and it isn't especially relevant to the scope of this thread (i.e. I don't watch Netflix in my office, and if I did, I'd still want access to higher end severs than my company leases).

StuckInYYZ

Oh, I have no doubt. The vloggers I am aware of primarily promote Nord but occasionally they push ExpressVPN so the target is first and foremost with them. Although some of them have left China due to the more hostile environment.

The only one I know of is like "Golden somethingorother" Not having to go to China for the last several years I haven't kept up with them. That said, I don't subscribe to any of the streamers so it wouldn't be something I would monitor. I suspect they use some sort of SPI to detect VPN usage, but since the Great Firewall is a fragmented lot, it wouldn't be applied evenly until the central authorities approve it. But they can certain trace to at least the location any VPN usage.