Virgin Media and PIA
Hi!
I’m thinking of signing up for VM, but wanted to write on here and ask how PIA works for those of you who have VM and what your experiences have been like using PIA. I personally use PIA through the stock client, and all I want is to make sure it works properly, without having to get another router, which is still an option.
There have been a lot of reports on various messaging boards of people having problems using PIA with the included router (in this case SH3, I’m assuming) because of how it’s configured. These issues may very well have been addressed in firmware updates as they aren’t too recent, which is why I thought I’d ask those using VM to (hopefully) offer some input with regard to its functionality.
Are there specific settings on the router that have to be switched on/off for it to work or should I be able to connect through the client once I’m up and running? Should I consider getting another router for PIA to work? Because of some of the inconsistencies around the SH3, should I consider previous models? Perhaps I should consider another ISP? (If so, which one?)
Generally, I just want PIA to work so that I can work from home, and not sacrifice a lot of speed even if some decrease in speed is inevitable.
I’d more than appreciate all the input and suggestions I can get!
Comments
The Superhub 3.0 is running without config changes - I just installed the client(s), accepted default settings and off it went.
* - Having said I have no problems, I do find it a little unresponsive, but get fair download speeds of 50mbit or more to most servers on my 200mbit connection, so it's not the fastest, but fast enough for the times I need the VPN.
Hope that helps!
As follow-up, if you don't mind, I wanted to ask a few more questions.
If I'm not mistaken, it seems as if you didn't have to turn specific options on or off in the settings of the SH or your account, like Web safe and firewall pass-throughs (IPSEC, PPTP, Multicast) as has been reported elsewhere from looking into it. Is that correct? Again, these issues may have been patched in firmware updates since, as some of these workarounds are from 2 years ago.
What do you think the partial slowdown in speed is the result of? The router or VM? I haven't been able to find any definitive information that suggests they are throttling VPN speeds, so it could be the router itself, I'm assuming?
Separate from that, from your post, it seems like there shouldn't be any issues to get PIA to work then.
Again, thank for taking the time to answer my questions. Much appreciated for sure!
The router is on default settings as far as those settings go. I haven't touched them.
I don't think the slowdown is a VM issue - it seems to be with PIA - if I switch regions the speed can vary considerably. It's probably a mixture of how busy that particular region is at that time, and where I'm trying to get to. With the right combination it's possible to get speeds well in excess of 100Mbit, just don't expect it to be like that constantly, but as I said, I usually get 50Mbit or more.
Have a number of different setups, but a recent Win 10 with latest Kaspersky on installed PIA V80 with no problems and work straight off.
Only slight down side is I also have a 200 MBit download line which slows to 50 when connected to London, sometime get better speed (70) from Southampton.
Hope this helps.
Which servers have you found to be the fastest outside of the UK?