General speed limit with VPN

Hello, I have recently changed my Internet Service Provider and now I can download up to about 900Mbit/s with my PCs (windows 10 and 11) in LAN.

Unfortunately I experienced that switching on my Bitdefender VPN, the download speed slow down to less than 300Mbit/s, whathever the server/country I choose.

The Bitdefender support says that this could be an issue to be solved with a new SW release. I am wondering if anybody experienced such a slowdown and if it could be a general speed limit imposed by Bitdefender to all users in order to save their server dimensioning.

Thanks for your answers.

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Scott

Hi @maxdefender

Since both Bitdefender and Kaspersky use HotSpot Shield servers, I thought I would try a side-by-side test, just to see on my end. Both were set to the fastest server connection. All tested within 3 minutes of each other. Wireless connection used. One with the VPN enabled and next to it, disabled. My internet is 300/10. So as you can see, there is something throttling it down a bit.

Maybe we need to wait for the update, or a response from forum support who would know more about this than I do, as I've been away for a while and haven't kept up :)

I haven't tried any of these suggestions, as I wanted it to be a spontaneous test, with both vendors.

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/82366/

Kind regards,

Scott

maxdefender

Thank you Scott,

for the time you spent for me. Unfortunately your trial does not answer to my main doubt: if the maximum download speed is below 300Mbit/s is normal to have a slowdown to 200Mbit/s. But if the download speed is 900Mbit/s it is terrible to have a slowdown to 200Mbit/s.

Nobody has an ISP that allowes more than 300Mbit/s in download?

Thanks

Scott

That one I couldn't answer, as if it were a percentage of a slow down, you should be at about what, 750Mbits? So at that speed as you have, I'm not sure why it's such a drop-off, but it is. Yes, you need someone else at that speed to also test and post their results. @Alexandru_BD do you have any thoughts on this?

Scott

@maxdefender I did find another member who posted the same approx. speed and drop-off as you. Alexandru had a follow-up post in the same thread.

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/320379#Comment_320379

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/320435#Comment_320435

dverted

My connection speeds (I was trying to include images but a note came up "You have to be around for a little while longer before you can post links". Piffle!!):

VPN Off: Ping 2 - Download 916Mbps Upload 39Mbps

Bitdefender VPN On: Ping 7 - Download 297Mbps Upload 41Mbps

Nord VPN On: Ping 6 - Download 746Mbps Upload 39Mbps

Huge difference between Bitdefender and Nord.

I bought the Bitdefender Premium product wanting to have security, VPN and password manager all in one. If Bitdefender can't fix this speed problem then I'll have to go back to Nord.

maxdefender

Thanks a lot, @Scott and @dverted .

It seems to be exactly my own situation too.

I agree with dverted. If this major fault will not be fixed by Bitdefender in few days I probably will change to another provider.

It's not accettable to have an ISP that allows you to download at 800Mbit/s and download at 300Mbit/s.

Thanks to you all for your support

Scott

And I remember back when my ISP announced 5Mbps internet speed, and I was so excited about that. My goodness, how times and technology have improved :)

maxdefender

Absolutely true😄

Diego Alonso

Hi, everybody,

Was this issue fixed?

What is the current Bitdefender VPN speed for downloads?

Thanks!

Alexandru_BD

Hi,

The download speed can be influenced by various factors, there isn't a standard internet speed specific for Bitdefender VPN.

Several factors can influence how much a VPN affects network speed, including the original internet connection speed and the VPN protocol used, or even an actual problem with the VPN itself.

Connecting to a VPN server that is far away from your physical location can increase latency and decrease network speed due to the longer distance data needs to travel. VPN servers that are heavily loaded with traffic may result in slower speeds for users connecting to them. Encrypting and decrypting data adds computational overhead, which can slightly decrease network speed.

Your original internet connection speed also plays a role. If you have a fast internet connection, the impact of using a VPN on speed may be less noticeable compared to a slower connection. Also, some protocols may offer faster speeds than others, depending on your specific needs and security requirements.

If your internet is slow when connecting the VPN, try the steps provided in the article below and check if the speed improves:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/82366/

If none of these suggestions help, it is possible that the slow VPN connection is due to an issue with the VPN service itself. In this case, you may want to consider contacting Bitdefender support. They may be able to help you troubleshoot the issue or provide recommendations for improving your VPN connection speed.

You can get in touch with the Bitdefender engineers using the link below:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/help/

Regards,

Alex