This topic is for making comments and asking questions about Express VPN
I know I should have started using a VPN a long time ago, but for various reasons, mainly money, I didn’t. I did think long and hard about using a free one, but I shy away from free things.
I recently canceled Dropbox, so I have more money in my budget for services.
I was in the middle of setting up to return to the US and move my last remaining stuff from a storage unit in Honolulu to one on the mainland. The storage company’s website blocked me for being out of the country.
I signed up for Express VPN and got my business with the storage company done.
Then I realized that I should try to log onto my on line pharmacy. Yes! it worked.
Then I remembered that since I have started traveling a few of my favorite websites had stopped working. I went back to them and found that now that I seem to be in Tampa Florida, they too are working.
I am glad I made the change, and I am sure my business manager back in the States will be glad that he doesn’t have to help me with the online pharmacy any more. I am sure he wasn’t looking forward to helping me navigate the Storage company’s site.
I am looking forward to when I get back to the EU later in the year, not to be getting all those notices that certain sites are not GDPR compliant.
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I tried Express VPN, but honestly, I don’t have much need for it. Connection from Australia to the UK was a bit disappointing for watching media. I run my own VPN server so if I am on public wifi or overseas, I can use that if there are any Australian geoblocked services i needed to get to.
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That is one reason, I really wasn’t too interested in VPNs before. I have no need for steaming video. I did test it out streaming some movies I have with Amazon, it worked pretty well streaming from the US. I have no home base, so setting up my own VPN wasn’t an option. If I was still only traveling for business, I probably wouldn’t have gotten one, but now that I am traveling full time, I think it is going to be worth it.
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Yes, I can see the advantage when you are nomadic. Would be very advantageous I in certain countries too.
My only previous use of VPNs was for work, to connect to home base when I was working remotely.
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The main problem that I have with Express VPN specifically is that their “Connect to local devices” option effectively doesn’t work. It specifically says that it’s supposed to allow you to connect to things like Chromecasts while the rest of your traffic goes through the VPN, but I have never been able to get the connection to work. Disable the VPN and I can connect. I don’t have a router with a VPN client capability, and getting one is not in the budget right now. Eventually, I plan to get one and just have all my traffic going through ExpressVPN from the router outward.
That is interesting. The tech I travel with is pretty paired down. I have a laptop, iPad, and iPhone. Express VPN is working well with the WiFi in my current Airbnb. It will be interesting to see how it works with different Airbnb routers as I travel.
I have signed up for a year + the three extra months for the TWIT special. I will have to reevaluate in 15 months to see if I want to keep it.
Hi @SWfan85
I currently use Mullvad VPN and the “Local network sharing” which is probably the same as Express VPN “Connect local devices” works fine on Windows and Linux. You can buy a months access for 5 euros. I am not talking you or others out of Express VPN or promoting any VPN provider etc etc. If you have not sorted the issue after talking with Express VPN support. Using an alternative supplier, may be even one with a free trial for testing if the issue is related to the Express VPN app or your machine could help you diagnose the issue.
rah
Oh, it works just fine on all my devices in terms of the VPN connection itself. It’s the “split tunnelling” functionality that they advertise in the app to connect to devices on the local network that doesn’t work as described. I have yet to get a reasonable explanation from ExpressVPN on it, which is the only negative thing I have to say about it. I know that the tech I communicated with is not one of the engineers that designed to feature and could explain it, but he didn’t even try to provide an explanation on what the feature is or how it’s supposed to work. Based on a plan-English reading of the description in the app and on their website, that one feature doesn’t work as described.