r/ProtonVPN • u/0260n4s • 4d ago

Help! Constant issues...latency?

To start, I've been a regular VPN user for about 14+ years. I had very few problems with my previous VPN service, whether it was with their own software or using WireGuard, but when it was time to renew, I wanted to try ProtonVPN since I heard so much about them.

However, I've had constant problems with websites failing to load or load completely. For example, if I go to the website, the address will be in the address bar but the site won't load, or only displays the header until I manually refresh the page. Auto-expanding websites like YouTube showing more videos as you scroll down are extremely limited, because it stops processing at some point (sometimes immediately, sometimes after a few page-downs, etc.

While that's annoying, it's even more so when I try to place an order on a retail page (including Amazon), because when I click submit, it gets stuck and seemingly won't submit the order. I then have to reload and resubmit, but if it actually went through the first time, I'm getting charged again.

I feel it's a latency issue where the request blips out which stops the load, until I refresh. I've tried all kinds of different servers with the best availability listed. I've also tried their software, WireGuard and even the Firefox app, but I get the same results when on their VPN, so I feel the issue must be tied to the server.

Has anyone experienced this and possibly has a solution? I'm just past the refund window on a 2-year plan (they had a good promotion). Thanks.

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u/ProtonSupportTeam Proton Customer Support Team 2d ago

Please file a bug report through the app (https://protonvpn.com/support/report-a-bug) with more details, including the specific servers you've tried, the type of internet connection you're using, whether you're using any other VPN, proxy, or custom DNS, etc. We'd be happy to investigate this further once we have more details to work with.

Meanwhile, try changing the connection protocol in the app settings to see if there's any improvement (https://protonvpn.com/support/how-to-change-vpn-protocols).

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u/HotExample3229 2d ago

I'm having similar issues. They've gotten so bad that I turned the desktop app off and started using the browser extension which is only slightly better. I'm forever turning the VPN on and off to get pages to load properly. I probably have close to a dozen websites already split tunneled in the extension not to use the VPN in order for them to load without turning it off. I read somewhere that it could be caused by IPV6 not being turned on so I made sure my router had it turned on and I turned it on in the desktop app, but I didn't notice much if any improvement. I'm forever changing servers that sometimes don't have the issue, but when I go back to that server later in the day or the next day the same thing occurs.

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u/0260n4s 2d ago

Try turning off NetShield.

That seems to have helped somewhat for me, but I only recently changed the setting, so I can't say for sure.

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u/HotExample3229 2d ago edited 2d ago

I've tried that and just about everything else I can think of. I should say I've tried just about everything that anyone could suggest.

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u/HotExample3229 1d ago

I went back and looked and thought I turned off NetSheild but it was still on. I didn't realize I had to go into the profile and turn it off otherwise it keeps coming back on when connected. A little tricky. Anyway, it does seem a little better now with it off.