Due to the current method of testing each VPN in turn, all today it’s finally ExpressVPN’s turn to be tested. Today I’d like to run a test of ExpressVPN on a Macbook/MacOS. If there’s time I’ll include a quick test in IOS/iPhone (only the results will be published), and if you’re an Android user you can leave a comment to let me know how you’re using it. Since it’s already the 26th of today and it’s almost October, hopefully the flip-flop restrictions will be looser this October. Well, let’s start testing!
Note: There will be a major firewall upgrade blocking operation at the end of September – beginning of October, so be aware!
Barry’s nag: I’ve been hoping to convey a message to my readers that the firewall will be around for the foreseeable future; with it, using any VPN or other tool in China is a dynamic process and there’s no one-and-done solution. That’s why I keep updating the [Daily Test] section. The purpose of the test is to tell you the real usage of the changed VPN at the moment, whether it is available or not, and I will tell you so. In order to speed up the testing, I will be running only SpeedTest tests on it as it is only a reference for the speed test.
Local Device and Network: Macbook/200M带/WiFi;
Speedtest Ping: 11ms; Download: 230Mbps; Upload: 16.7Mbps;
ExpressVPN Last 6 test reports: [See More]
Checking out multiple test reports can help you understand more effectively how this VPN works in the long run.
- ExpressVPN IOS/iPhone Test in China-2021/5/9 - May 9, 2021 VPN Test Report: Today will be a test of ExpressVPN in iOS/iPhone, first went to check its latest version as 10.0.8, which currently supports the protocol options Automatic, UDP, TCP, IKEv2, now in the official version of both Windows and Mac have been introduced its latest protocols Lightway-UDP and Lightway-TCP. The description of UDP and TCP in IOS is a bit ambiguous, whether it is OpenVPN-UDP or Lightway-UDP, or both are combined, before the Lightway protocol was developed, IOS has extremely UDP and TCP. TCP, so I prefer that they refer to OpenVPN.
- ExpressVPN Macbook Test in China -20210506 - May 6, 2021 VPN Test Report, Today I will be testing 4 protocol options for ExpressVPN in my Macbook. Today's first test of ExpressVPN's Lightway-tcp, a connection protocol option that has been released in the official version for some time, but due to a bug, the protocol could not be selected for connection in either Windows or Mac. It has been confirmed that the problem has been fixed in the latest Windows and Mac versions. Since I was testing Mac-ExpressVPN today, I also wanted to test it and see how it was. I'm sure that the protocol is better than Lightway-tcp in terms of connection speed, but Lightway-tcp is much better than Lightway-tcp in terms of packet loss rate, so the choice depends on the user's needs. But the premise is that I need to test if Lightway-tcp is available in mainland China.
- ExpressVPN Win10 3 Protocol in China-2021/04/28 - April 28, 2021 test report, today will be tested in Windows10 devices on ExpressVPN's three connection protocol options, respectively, the officially recommended Automatic, Lightway-UDP, IKEv2. According to the last round of testing has been about 2 weeks, although I did not test the report during the period, but I myself usually have been in the I have been using the Macbook, iPhone, and occasionally Windows 10 for connection or speed reduction problems. However, such a test report will help readers and myself to have a more intuitive and comprehensive understanding of its operation in mainland China. I hope such a test report will be helpful to everyone, if you have any questions, please leave a message to exchange (the message is anonymous).
- ExpressVPN 3 device IKEv2 test in China - April 13, 2021 - Due to an operational error yesterday testing ExpressVPN's IKEv2 protocol in IOS, the test results were invalid. Today, in order to get a comprehensive view of ExpressVPN's testing, a test will be conducted in Windows 10, Macbook, IOS/iPhone via the IKEv2 protocol, and to verify ExpressVPN's "Auto+Official Recommended 6 Servers" In order to verify the current use of ExpressVPN's "Auto+ Official Recommended 6 Servers", this part of the test will be added to Win10, while other devices will only be tested with the IKEv2 protocol. We hope this test will be helpful for you to refer to the use of ExpressVPN.
- ExpressVPN IOS/iPhone 3 Protocol test in China - Today, April 12, 2021, ExpressVPN will be tested in IOS/iPhone for APP direct VPN connection in mainland China. Based on previous tests and today's normal use of the connection in Macbook and Windows 10, it was determined that ExpressVPN currently still works very smoothly in both devices at this time. We first checked the latest version in IOS and determined that the latest ExpressVPN IOS version is 10.0.5 (19359). At the same time, its current optional connection protocol options are still only Automatic, UDP, TCP, IKEv2, a bit disappointed in the IOS version is still to join the latest Lightway protocol. This test will test 5-10 servers for each of the three protocol options Automatic, UDP and IKEv2.
- ExpressVPN Macbook 4 protocol Test in China - March 30, 2021, according to the last test report ExpressVPN currently has four available connection protocol options Automatic, Lightway-UDP, OpenVPN-UDP, and IKEv2. The difference between today's Macbook and the last Window is that this test is primarily intended to understand the connection of each protocol, rather than a speed test of the same server under different protocols. Since this morning has been busy with their own work, so only now began to test, between the time is relatively tight on each protocol option for 5-8 servers. If you have any questions, please leave a message to communicate.
ExpressVPN – MacOS Test in China:
Starting Time: Sep 26, 2020, 1:52 PM
The following servers from official recommend;
Protocol: Auto;
Hong Kong – 4: First success. (Time efficiency: 55s)
Speedtest Ping: 225ms; Download: 7.2Mbps; Upload: 1.71Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 2.4Mbps;
Japan – Yokohama: First success. (Time efficiency: 4s)
Speedtest Ping: 156ms; Download: 5Mbps; Upload: 1.55Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 1.6Mbps;
Singapore – Marina Bay: First success. (Time efficiency: 36s)
Speedtest Ping: 210ms; Download: 4.84Mbps; Upload: 2.28Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 2.7Mbps;
USA – Los Angeles – 5: First success. (Time efficiency: 2分18s)
Speedtest Ping: 163ms; Download: 9.27Mbps; Upload: 3.26Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 2.7Mbps;
Summary: The above test of the officially recommended method: “Auto protocol + 4 servers”, can successfully connect to the wall. The speed is not very fast, but it is not a problem for normal users. It is worth noting that the time efficiency of “USA – Los Angeles – 5” is quite long, taking more than 2 minutes. Next I will test the IKEv2 protocol.
The following server is random;
Protocol: IKEv2;
USA – Santa Monica: Failed. (Try once)
USA – New York: First success. (Time efficiency: 9s)
Speedtest Ping: 252ms; Download: 2.19Mbps; Upload: 2.05Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 400Kbps;
USA – San Francisco: First success. (Time efficiency: 45s)
Speedtest Ping: 259ms; Download: 3.93Mbps; Upload: 2.23Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 400Kbps;
USA – Chicago: First success. (Time efficiency: 10s)
Speedtest Ping: 203ms; Download: 3.8Mbps; Upload: 2.5Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 22Kbps;
USA – Washington DC: First success. (Time efficiency: 11s)
Speedtest Ping: 217ms; Download: 8.35Mbps; Upload: 1.98Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 1.9Mbps;
USA – Dallas: First success. (Time efficiency: 10s)
Speedtest Ping: 211ms; Download: 5.46Mbps; Upload: 2.98Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 1.3Mbps;
USA – Miami: First success. (Time efficiency: 73s)
Speedtest Ping: 226ms; Download: 3.79Mbps; Upload: 2.41Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 42Kbps;
USA – Los Angeles – 3: Failed. (Try once)
USA – New Jersey – 1: First success. (Time efficiency: 12s)
Speedtest Ping: 275ms; Download: 1.74Mbps; Upload: 2.53Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 130Kbps;
USA – Los Angeles – 1: First success. (Time efficiency: 78s)
Speedtest Ping: 154ms; Download: 3.21Mbps; Upload: 3.53Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 4.1Mbps;
USA – Los Angeles: First success. (Time efficiency: 5s)
Speedtest Ping: 214ms; Download: 18.1Mbps; Upload: 2.89Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 1.1Mbps;
Canada – Toronto – 2: First success. (Time efficiency: 2分23s)
Speedtest Ping: 235ms; Download: 10.3Mbps; Upload: 2.37Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 1.3Mbps;
Canada – Toronto: First success. (Time efficiency: 45s)
Speedtest Ping: 217ms; Download: 9.55Mbps; Upload: 2.91Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 60Kbps;
Canada – Vancouver: Failed. (Try once)
Canada – Montreal: Failed. (Try once)
Japan – Tokyo – 2: First success. (Time efficiency: 8s)
Speedtest Ping: 217ms; Download: 9.55Mbps; Upload: 2.91Mbps;
Netflix Fast: Can’t use the tool, But can open google and youtube;
Summary: Today I tested ExpressVPN’s IKEv2 protocol on a Macbook, and although the success rate was quite high, I personally felt that it took a bit longer than the previous tests with Time efficiency, and the speed seemed to be a bit less than before. I don’t know if this has anything to do with the big blockade in October. But on the whole, IKEv2 protocol still works fine in mainland China for connectivity over the wall. I’ll keep watching its actual usage as well.
ExpressVPN MacOS Version: 7.11.4 (4); Protocol: Auto/IKEv2
Today’s Test Score: ★ ★ ★ ★
ExpressVPN – IOS/iPhone Test in China:
Due to time constraints, the following tests on IOS/iPhone are intended to test the server connection success rate, not the speed, so that you can test as many servers as possible. This is done in the hope of understanding its current use of the wall over the various IOS servers.
Device: iPhone/IOS
Starting Time: Sep 26, 2020, 4:03 PM
Network: 200M/4G
The following servers from official recommend; Protocol: Auto
Hong Kong – 4: First success. (Time efficiency: 58s)
Japan – Yokohama: First success. (Time efficiency: 33s)
Singapore – Marina Bay: First success. (Time efficiency: 83s)
USA – Los Angeles – 5: First success. (Time efficiency: 70s)
The following servers is random; Protocol: IKEv2
USA – Santa Monica: Failed. (Try once)
USA – New York: First success. (Time efficiency: 5s)
USA – San Francisco: First success. (Time efficiency: 21s)
USA – Chicago: First success. (Time efficiency: 3s)
USA – Washington DC: Failed. (Try once)
USA – Dallas: First success. (Time efficiency: 12s)
USA – Miami: First success. (Time efficiency: 72s)
USA – Los Angeles – 3: Failed. (Try once)
USA – New Jersey – 1: First success. (Time efficiency: 3s)
USA – Los Angeles – 2: First success. (Time efficiency: 5s)
USA – New Jersey – 3: First success. (Time efficiency: 20s)
USA – Seattle: Failed. (Try once)
USA – Miami – 2: First success. (Time efficiency: 25s)
USA – Denver: Failed. (Try once)
USA – Salt Lake City: Failed. (Try once)
USA – Tampa – 1: Failed. (Try once)
USA – Los Angeles – 1: First success. (Time efficiency: 70s)
USA – New York – 2: Failed. (Try once)
USA – Hollywood: Failed. (Try once)
USA – Dallas – 2: Failed. (Try once)
USA – Los Angeles: First success. (Time efficiency: 6s)
USA – Atlanta: Failed. (Try once)
Canada – Toronto – 2: First success. (Time efficiency: 43s)
Canada – Toronto: First success. (Time efficiency: 29s)
Canada – Vancouver: Failed. (Try once)
Canada – Montreal: Failed. (Try once)
Hong Kong – 2: Failed. (Try once)
Japan – Tokyo – 2: Failed. (Try once)
Japan – Tokyo: Failed. (Try once)
Singapore – Jurong: Failed. (Try once)
Singapore – CBD: Failed. (Try once)
Australia – Sydney: First success. (Time efficiency: 67s)
Australia – Melbourne: Failed. (Try once)
Australia – Perth: Failed. (Try once)
Australia – Brisbane: Failed. (Try once)
Australia – Sydney – 2: Failed. (Try once)
Summary: These are the tests of ExpressVPN in IOS/iPhone. I tested it on servers in the US, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia, all major regions. From these tests, you can get a general idea of how the IKEv2 protocol works in this device. However, it should be noted that due to the constant upgrades and changes in firewalls in China, the number of servers that can be connected will change accordingly. Therefore, the above tests should only be used for immediate reference. In the meantime, the officially recommended method is currently available.
ExpressVPN IOS/iPhone Version: 8.3.5(13231)；Protocol: Auto/IKEv2
Today’s Test Score: ★ ★ ★
