I’m wanting to install a VPN but wasn’t sure where it should be installed. On my Firestick or on my network.
So you can install the VPN apps on the individual devices. This will just protect each device that has it installed and connected. They do have VPN routers that will already have it on your network’s router. This will protect all devices that run through it. There are drawbacks to each way, I would read up on it.
A family with young kids. Then do the modem/router connection. A family with all adults. Then do the device connection.
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There is another issue I don’t believe addressed in the article. This is for those apps that you must bypass the VPN for them to work. I am not aware you can do that if the VPN is installed on the router. If so, it would be nice to know even though I am not able to do that nor really have the need to.
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I have surfshark on my router and yes you can bypass whatever you want. I have currently 6 surfshark servers all running on same router and different devices assigned to whichever seems to work best.
Wouldnt you still need vpn installed on a mobile device (tablet, laptop, phone, etc) for when not connected to your personal router?
Yes! Your phone and tablet are mobile and maybe even your laptop.
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Yep, I have surfshark on my phone, tablets etc. However when im home they automatically turn off their vpn and connect to the router, when I leave they connect. Always protected but not necessary as I could just leave the phone vpn always on, but the settings allow for whatever you want.
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It got a little confusing, so I never got the router setup…my results are the same, tho…covered!
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Surfshark has a neat feature that turns off if selected when it connects to a trusted network. My only trusted network is my home and its on surfshark…so always on 
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That’s good to know. I still cannot do this on my ISP’s equipment and I really don’t want to buy a router to bridge it that I believe I could do. SS is on all my devices and I only run it when needed.
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I got a new TP-Link router that supports VPN.
- Is it better to install the VPN on the router or just keep it running through the Firestik? I get 350mbs download on my laptop now, 50mbs down on the Firestik running IPVanish. 2. Will it slow everything down if I add the VPN to the router?
- If so, which VPN is the best ‘bottleneck’? My IPVanish is about to expire so I can make a change if needed. Thanks
It’s a personal preference on which way to do it. Personally, I don’t need or want any other speed being slowed down by a VPN since it would affect everything. If I need it on something for a reason, I just turn it on as I have SS on all my devices, just not running.
** You can probably say goodbye to your 350 down on your laptop but some others have a different experience. You will not get close to your ISP bandwidth using a VPN server.
I prefer router method. The router can be instructed as to what to run through the vpn etc.
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My Proton VPN actually increases my speeds. About 5-10%, over what my ISP rates my speeds. At high traffic times I get my full speed at the worst.
Yes, I recall you mentioning that. Honestly, I don’t understand how it could since VPN or not, your ISP has 100% control over your bandwidth. I will google sometime and try and find out how it’s possible. I would only check something like that with an Ethernet connection in the event something is going on with internal wifi.
I was not aware of that. So you can bypass the devices that don’t need a VPN? I cannot use a VPN on my modem/router. 100% impossible. It’s the ISP’s but if I bridged it, I probably could. For me there is not point though. I don’t need extra hardware.
What Miki speaks of I have also seen. My theory is the isp is throttling the un-protected connection and the vpn they are not.