VPN testimonials…

[rawTOP]

VPNs are a hot topic lately, so I figured I’d start a thread where they could be discussed. 

I’m headed to China in a few weeks. It’ll be interesting to see what I can and can’t access without a VPN and how well the VPNs work. China is at the top of their game playing whack-a-mole with VPNs, so I’m thinking what works in China should work in slightly less restrictive locations.

Anyway, the three I’ll be trying are:

1. ExpressVPN, $13/mo, but comes with a 1GB eSIM which should be useful. Historically this has been the best VPN for China, but lately there have been reports of issues. 
    
2. Mullvad, €5/mo ($5.83), has a stellar reputation for privacy. 
    
3. V1VPN, $6/mo, Europe-based but targeted to work in China. My theory is China focuses on the major VPNs, so I’m hoping this one is somewhat off their radar. 

When I’m back I’ll let you know my thoughts on each. 

[PozBearWI]

Thanks @rawTOP and safe travels to you.  

[bare28]

Have you considered to use the TOR network? It would be quite interesting to see if China blocks that completely. It works well for me to connect to here

 

[Incognito91]

5 hours ago, rawTOP said:

VPNs are a hot topic lately, so I figured I’d start a thread where they could be discussed. 

I’m headed to China in a few weeks. It’ll be interesting to see what I can and can’t access without a VPN and how well the VPNs work. China is at the top of their game playing whack-a-mole with VPNs, so I’m thinking what works in China should work in slightly less restrictive locations.

Anyway, the three I’ll be trying are:

1. ExpressVPN, $13/mo, but comes with a 1GB eSIM which should be useful. Historically this has been the best VPN for China, but lately there have been reports of issues. 
    
2. Mullvad, €5/mo ($5.83), has a stellar reputation for privacy. 
    
3. V1VPN, $6/mo, Europe-based but targeted to work in China. My theory is China focuses on the major VPNs, so I’m hoping this one is somewhat off their radar. 

When I’m back I’ll let you know my thoughts on each. 

I've found travel esim to work on sites outside of China. China don't seem to block travel esim that are roaming (I've tried mobimatter, airalo and starhub, but heard from other friends and family who travelled there who are the same). You'll be able to use Gmail, YouTube etc on Sims are are roaming in China.

 

It is primarily when you use the hotel's wifi that you'll encounter issues visiting sites outside of China. You wouldn't be able to use WhatsApp, telegram, Gmail etc when your phone goes into the hotel wifi. Turning it off and using your roaming data will work for me 

 

Because I like working on my computer, as a contingency if my VPN didn't work, I also set up a computer at home I can remotely access. They work fine on hotel wifi (eg parsec, TeamViewer, anydesk).

 

I had nordvpn. It was spotty success. I would say it worked 20% of the time over wifi. Someone since told me that if you use the data point instead of wifi, the VPN works better. I don't know how true that is

[NeedBredAnyTakers]

I use VPN unlimited thru Keepsolid I pay like $10.69. And get access to alot of other countries i can set it to like I'm in Indianapolis Indiana and the VPN is set to Austria and it works just fine 

[AirmaxUK]

I think it is important to recognise that people on this site who are interested in VPNs are likely the use case that they are in a place that has been blocked by BreedingZone, so the aim here is to try and appear to be located somewhere different than the zones being blocked. What's important here is the exit node and where it appears to be, and if it is on any blacklists.    

Testing a VPN on a trip to a zone where the zone itself blocks traffic is a different use-case: you're trying to circumvent a firewall or block in the zone where you are located. What's important here is the entry node being accessible in the zone where you are located. 

A VPN that's good in one scenario may not be good in the other. 

The suggestion from @Incognito91 to have a computer at home with TeamViewer running is a good one. When I travel for work, that is my backup plan and also works if you get your stuff stolen - you can get up and running again with almost any computer.