VPN woes

by Lonely-Environment57

**UPDATE

So I've been running my firestick 4K without VPN for a few days to try it. I have 100MB/s+ wifi and around 90MB/s+ wired. In both situations, even without VPN, I get buffering. Sometimes it will work 20 minutes without buffering, sometimes it will be seconds before it starts. Am I doomed to be someone who never gets to use IPTV!!? Starting to feel like it!

If I was to buy a Formuler Z8, is that really going to solve my problems? I've googled extensively and many people seem to be able to use the Firestick 4K without issues. Why am I getting buffering with a decent internet speed!? **

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OK, so here is my problem. I've posted before about my issues with VPN/wifi. Now, I have moved into my own place with my own internet. I'm using a firestick and have the ethernet adapter so it is wired. I'm getting 300MB/s wired and 50MB/s with VPN.

Without VPN, IPTV (several options) works almost flawlessly. With VPN (even 50MB/s) I cannot watch many live TV channels, particularly sports.

I have Express VPN which so far has been the fastest VPN in terms of speed.

I really don't want to use IPTV without a VPN, but I don't see any other option. I'm curious if anyone has similar issues with Express VPN, or if perhaps people have similar stats and more success with another VPN?

All of the 'you don't need a VPN' chat doesn't work for me. It may not be an issue now, but there's no telling when tracking/enforcement will become a real issue and I want to protect myself to the level of a VPN.

Thanks

T0mKatt

so clearly you ignored my message a month ago about issues with Express VPN

diamondeye24

I’ve never had any luck getting the fire stick to play great. Your better off with a android box.

FredTilson

IPVanish works fine for me. Have you tried different servers? Probably the best is to take trials from 5-6 providers and see which one works best.

custardy_cream

Something is letting you down. Sounds like it could be your Vpn. I use Surfshark - cheap but effective. As well as trials don't forget that most offer a 30 day refund so you've got a month to test free

joob-myDOOT

Yes, the issue you described is very common with ExpressVPN and other vpn providers as well.

The problem seems to be UDP protocol. Try switching to TCP protocol and see if that has an impact. Is the vpn installed on the firestick?

Also, expressVPN has a new vpn protocol named "liteway" currently in beta testing which offers significant increases in throughput performance. It is available on the android app and should work on the firestick. U might want to try it for comparison purposes.

Be advised TCP can be much slower than UDP.

YeetingAGoose

Tried swapping from ovpn to Wireguard in the settings? Not sure if express has that option, but many report better performance when doing that.

mrneilypops

I have used a few VPN providers. I need them for geo-unblocking. I tried Express VPN but found both speed and geo-unblocking ability variable. My preferred is Torguard. They have various discounts on subs. There is a discount code here; https://www.vpntierlist.com/vpn-tier-list/ TorGuard are also introducing WireGuard support. It never lets me down for streaming or geo-unblocking. Note: For streaming you will need a streaming IP from them. EDIT: Do you have the firestick 4K?

doobydooby72

I had some issues with my VPN client slowing down speeds, im with surfshark... my laptop is old and slow which didnt help me but the openvpn implementation is sucky az even on modern androids... try the openvpn client with the .ovpn files if your vpn has them (a few errors pop up but vanish once adding the auth-nocache and change AES from CBC to GCM since thats what surfshark uses which is all super easy either in a text editor or in the app itself). ps the openvp client im using is the open source one not the closed source google play openvpn connect one.

Surfshark client, 256-AES-GCM, ikev2, 80% of a 2.3Ghz cpu windows edit... dual core

Open vpn client, 256-AES-GCM, UDP, 25% of a 2.3Ghz cpu windows

Surfshark client, chacha20, ikev2, 4G max 100mbps, with vpn 80-90mbps, android

Open vpn client, 256-AES-GCM, UDP, 4G max 100mbps, with vpn 100mbps android

Surfshark client, 256-AES-GCM, UDP, 4G max 100mbps, with vpn 30mbps, android

note: for me the difference between chacha and AES was negligible.

Lonely-Environment57

Thanks all for the replies. Without VPN, the firestick (4K) streams fine. And with VPN it streams fine on some channels but not others.

Probably unrelated, but with my laptop on wifi I'm getting 300mb/s. But with firestick WIRED I'm only getting 90mb/s, and with VPN the firestick is getting 50mb/s. Is it weird that the firestick has such slower speeds even though wired?

Bigbob666

Your problem is the firestick does not have a powerful enough cpu to decrypt the vpn faster than 50mbps.

I'm betting if you run the vpn on a laptop you will get nearly the same speed as without vpn.

You could try running the vpn on a decent Asus vpn router and the firestick will only have to process the iptv.

bobgoodall

stop using a vpn. in the history of digital piracy they have never made a legitimate wide spread effort to sue non corporate end users. safety in reaaaaaaaaallllllllllllyyyyy big numbers.

Jarrod_Mullins

Streaming requires a fast internet connection and very low latency in order to process audio and video in real-time. When you use a wireless connection, your speed is compromised and latency is easily 10 times worse than during a wired connection.