How to Troubleshoot Slow Speeds When Connected to VPN
Using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) ensures secure, encrypted access to your work or personal network, but sometimes, VPN connections can slow down your internet speed. This can make browsing, streaming, and remote work frustrating.
🚀 Brought to you by Axio Networks, an award-winning managed IT provider in Scottsdale, Arizona. We help businesses optimize VPN performance for secure and efficient remote work.
📌 Step 1: Check Your Internet Speed Without VPN
Before troubleshooting, confirm whether the issue is with your VPN or your general internet connection.
✔ Disconnect from the VPN.
✔ Run a speed test using Speedtest.net or Fast.com.
✔ Note your download speed, upload speed, and ping.
✅ If your speed is slow even without the VPN, restart your router and contact your ISP.
📌 Step 2: Switch VPN Servers
✔ Many VPN providers have multiple server locations.
✔ If a server is overloaded, it can slow down speeds.
🔹 How to Fix:
✅ Open OpenVPN Connect and select a different VPN server from your list.
✅ If available, choose a server closer to your physical location for faster speeds.
✅ Switching servers can improve performance if the current one is congested!
📌 Step 3: Change from UDP to TCP (Or Vice Versa)
✔ OpenVPN typically defaults to UDP (faster, but sometimes unstable).
✔ Switching to TCP can improve stability but may slow speeds slightly.
🔹 How to Fix:
✅ Open your .ovpn configuration file in a text editor.
✅ Find this line:
proto udp✅ Change it to:
proto tcp✅ Save and re-import the file into OpenVPN Connect.
✅ Try both settings to see which gives better performance!
📌 Step 4: Connect to VPN via Wired Ethernet (Instead of Wi-Fi)
✔ Wi-Fi connections can introduce lag, especially if multiple devices are using the network.
✔ Ethernet is faster and more stable than Wi-Fi.
🔹 How to Fix:
✅ Plug an Ethernet cable from your computer into your router.
✅ Disconnect from Wi-Fi and run a VPN speed test again.
✅ A wired connection eliminates Wi-Fi interference and improves speed!
📌 Step 5: Lower VPN Encryption Level (If Allowed by IT Policy)
✔ Higher encryption (AES-256) can slow down speeds, especially on older devices.
✔ AES-128 encryption is still secure but runs faster.
🔹 How to Fix:
✅ Check if your VPN provider or IT team allows switching to AES-128.
✅ If yes, update your VPN settings or .ovpn file accordingly.
✅ Lower encryption can improve speeds while keeping your connection secure!
📌 Step 6: Enable Split Tunneling (If Available)
✔ By default, VPNs route all your traffic through the secure connection.
✔ Split tunneling allows only work-related traffic to go through the VPN, while personal browsing uses your normal internet.
🔹 How to Fix:
✅ Check if your VPN supports split tunneling in settings.
✅ Enable split tunneling and select apps that should use the VPN (e.g., remote desktop, company intranet).
✅ This reduces congestion and speeds up general internet browsing!
📌 Step 7: Adjust Your MTU Settings (For Packet Loss Issues)
✔ A mismatched MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) size can cause slow VPN speeds.
✔ Lowering the MTU can help improve performance on certain networks.
🔹 How to Fix:
✅ Open your .ovpn file and add this line:
mssfix 1400✅ Save and re-import the file into OpenVPN Connect.
✅ This setting optimizes packet sizes to reduce slowdowns!
📌 Step 8: Check for Background Apps Using Bandwidth
✔ Large file downloads, streaming, and cloud backups can slow down VPN speeds.
🔹 How to Fix:
✅ Open Task Manager (Windows: Ctrl + Shift + Esc) or Activity Monitor (Mac).
✅ Look for apps consuming high network bandwidth (Dropbox, OneDrive, Windows Updates).
✅ Pause or limit background downloads while using the VPN.
✅ This frees up bandwidth for your VPN traffic!
📌 Step 9: Restart Your Router and Modem
✔ A simple restart clears memory leaks and refreshes the network connection.
🔹 How to Fix:
✅ Unplug your modem and router for 30 seconds.
✅ Plug them back in and wait for the connection to restore.
✅ This helps resolve temporary network issues that could be affecting VPN speed!
📌 Step 10: Contact Your IT Team or VPN Provider
✔ If you’ve tried all these fixes and VPN speeds are still slow, it may be a server-side issue.
✔ Your IT team or VPN provider can check server logs, firewall rules, and ISP restrictions.
✅ Provide details about your speed test results, troubleshooting steps, and when the issue started.
📌 How to Prevent Future VPN Speed Issues
✔ Use Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi for a stable connection.
✔ Choose a VPN server close to your location for faster speeds.
✔ Use split tunneling to route only work-related traffic through the VPN.
✔ Restart your router regularly to maintain optimal performance.
✔ Keep OpenVPN Connect updated to fix bugs and improve performance.
✅ Following these best practices ensures a smoother VPN experience!
💡 Axio Networks Pro Tip
For business users, implementing optimized VPN configurations, network monitoring, and bandwidth management ensures fast, reliable remote access for employees. Need expert VPN solutions? Axio Networks provides managed VPN setup and IT security services—contact us today! 🚀