VPN seems to help Map Downloads

It sounds like AT&T throttles your data. By using a VPN it encrypts everything so AT&T has no idea what type of data you are even transferring thus doesn't intentionally slow it down. Nice workaround for your situation.

You could also check with friends or family, depending on the router they have, you could potentially get free VPN access. My router, I can create a secure VPN to it. I have the software on my smartphone and laptop. If needed, I can create a free VPN connection to my home router.

Most of the time, a VPN will reduce your internet speed, but if your ISP was doing some throttling, then a VPN might help, and sometimes considerably. Having said that, AT&T has been notorious for bandwidth throttling (https://windowsreport.com/stop-att-throttling/).

For a good discussion of VPN's and why they might help, see https://nordvpn.com/blog/increase-internet-speed/#:~:text=A%... for a good discussion

Good information without the typical BS.

I always thought the VPN would slow down my connection since there would be an additional server for the data to pass through. I have noticed that my large file downloads go through much quicker, and certain conservative sites load much quicker. I wish I knew about this years ago.

I am connecting directly to the cellphone but a private VPN would be a good option if I was using a router.

VPNs are not, in my opinion, good for mom 'n' pop users who just want the danged computer and Internet to work. VPNs require some patience and extra fussing as you use them in day-to-day websurfing. VPNs do give more privacy and can be worth the minor hassle to some users. I would never put a VPN on my wife's computer (or make her go through one on a router), because she would find the hassles discussed below so frustrating that she would frisbee her laptop through the window.

You *can* install a NordVPN app on your cellphone as one of your devices under your subscription account. The cellphone VPN app would not affect cellular calls, just web browsing with the phone.

I personally would not put VPN on my router rather than each of my devices separately, because then all broadband Internet traffic goes through the VPN connection on the router. Sounds convenient, but the problem is that some websites (ironically enough, Bing Maps, if you ask for Directions, is one of them) and some video streaming services do not work with a VPN running. Send an email using Mozilla Thunderbird with a Charter Spectrum email address while connected to NordVPN, and the email vanishes; it does not go through to the recipient, it is not saved in Drafts or Sent... you have lost your work. You're likely to have trouble connecting to Microsoft Live for email and possibly Office 365 as well. Email service providers seem to suspect you as a spammer if you're running a VPN.

If you install and run VPN on a device, and you get blocked at a particular web address, you can click an app button on the device to temporarily disconnect the VPN while you connect to the blocking website or service, and often then the connection is maintained when you reconnect the VPN and go on to browse that website. This temporary disconnection makes more sense when done on an as-needed basis with each device rather than at the router, which is why I would not install VPN to the router.

Disconnect and reconnect the VPN while someone else is using another device on your router, if that's where you installed the VPN rather than on each device separately, and they may (or may not) lose their connection, because disconnect-reconnect can freeze their browser or streaming content. If you freeze them out, even briefly, expect loud complaints. To them, their Internet has gotten much less stable and reliable because of the VPN.

A key problem with running certain video streaming services with VPN is that Netflix, to name one example, has licensing agreements that permit them to show certain programming in the US but not in Europe, etc., so Netflix is afraid you're trying to work around the restrictions by pretending to live in the US when you connect to them through an address they know to be VPN. You can websearch for workarounds that you can try which can enable a VPN to be used with video streaming services that block you, if you can't connect, but even if it works, it may only work for a few days or weeks before needing a redo... more hassle.

Thanks, Lost Anyway. I have been asking myself whether I need a VPN, and your review has a lot of good info!

dobs108

When I was still working (as a network administrator), VPN was a way we could allow employees to take their laptops home and get secure access to the company network while working from home using their various home networks and ISP's. We were of course providing the VPN service through our company firewall, I never really had a need for VPN for my home computers for general Internet access ... UNTIL I bought an e-bike with a Bosch motor. Bosch has an upgrade kit that replaces the standard display controller with a device called a Nyon which adds a smartphone link, navigation and Bluetooth exercise monitoring functions that the standard display doesn't have. Even though the motor was wired for and fully supported this upgrade and Bosch had downloadable NA maps for it, they didn't support it in the US and wouldn't let you download the maps and smartphone app unless you had a European IP address. I was able to buy the Nyon upgrade kit on eBay, but needed a way to download the software and maps. So VPN was the answer. I used a European VPN link to spoof my IP address and get access to the needed software and maps.

Bosch has since changed their policy so you can access the software and maps from a US IP number, even though the Nyon device I bought is still not "officially" supported in North America. Since I had added the VPN function to my BitDefender security software, I do still use it occasionally if I want to be somewhat anonymous in my browsing. It is always interesting to see the changes on certain web sites (like CNN) and in ad popups when you are using an IP from a different country.

I have noticed that my tethering app does not work correctly when the VPN is running on the cellphone. I need to run it on my computer instead. I have noticed a few websites that do not load properly, but most of the time the VPN works for me. AT&T deliberately interferes with certain live streamm services such as Catholic masses. I have not had problems with live streaming since using the VPN. Everyone's mileage may vary.