March 22, 2021 – Currently, in the latest ExpressVPN version 10.1.0(11) for Windows, the protocol options supported for connectivity are Automatic, Lightway-UDP, OpenVPN-UDP, OpenVPN-TCP, IKEv2, and L2TP/IPsec, of which L2TP/IPsec has a low security protocol and not many supported servers, so it will not be used to connect in non-essential situations. In this test, I will compare the speed of the first five protocols with the same servers in Windows 10 platform, hoping to find out the fastest connection protocol in mainland China, and test the connection of OpenVPN-UDP and OpenVPN-TCP by the way, because Automatic, Lightway-UDP, and IKEv2 are the three protocols I want to test. I often test these three protocols and know more about their connections. The test servers will be selected from the six officially recommended servers as the main body of the test.
This is the first time I’ve tried this “same server/different protocol” comparison test, and I hope it will help you understand the use of ExpressVPN in depth!
The daily speed test will help you understand the following three points:
1. the server connection success rate of the VPN in the device under test.
2. the server connection time of the VPN in the tested device.
3. the speed of the VPN after a successful connection to the server in the device under test.
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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. This site has opened a new [Micro test] column, which is a way to test “single device + single protocol + single server” through “fragmented” free time.
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Starting Time: Mar 22, 2021, 1:24 PM
Local device and network: Windows10 / 300M China Telecom / WiFi;
Protocol: Automatic、Lightway-UDP、OpenVPN-UDP、OpenVPN-TCP、IKEv2;
Hong Kong- 4 Server Speed Comparison Test:
Auto – Hong Kong- 4: First success; (Time efficiency: 45s)
Speedtest Ping: 271 ms. Download: 12.77 Mbps. Upload: 9.55 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 11 Mbps;
Lightway-UDP – Hong Kong- 4: First success; (Time efficiency: 4s)
Speedtest Ping: 251 ms. Download: 8.94 Mbps. Upload: 12.97 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 11 Mbps;
OpenVPN-UDP – Hong Kong- 4: First success; (Time efficiency: 71s)
Speedtest Ping: 190 ms. Download: 80.2 Mbps. Upload: 16.63 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 58 Mbps;
OpenVPN-TCP – Hong Kong- 4: Failed; (Try once)
IKEv2 – Hong Kong- 4: First success; (Time efficiency: 27s)
Speedtest Ping: 240 ms. Download: 6.93 Mbps. Upload: 2.53 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 4.6 Mbps;
Japan – Yokohama Server Speed Comparison Test:
Auto – Japan – Yokohama: First success; (Time efficiency: 5s)
Speedtest Ping: 52 ms. Download: 88.3 Mbps. Upload: 27.5 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 6.7 Mbps;
Lightway-UDP – Japan – Yokohama: First success; (Time efficiency: 3s)
Speedtest Ping: 69 ms. Download: 200.89 Mbps. Upload: 6.71 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 5.6 Mbps;
OpenVPN-UDP – Japan – Yokohama: First success; (Time efficiency: 3s)
Speedtest Ping: 86 ms. Download: 95.52 Mbps. Upload: 23.1 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 20 Mbps;
OpenVPN-TCP – Japan – Yokohama: Failed; (Try once)
IKEv2 – Japan – Yokohama: First success; (Time efficiency: 13s)
Speedtest Ping: 74 ms. Download: 8.66 Mbps. Upload: 8.52 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 3.1 Mbps;
USA – Los Angeles – 5 Server Speed Comparison Test:
Auto – USA – Los Angeles – 5: First success; (Time efficiency: 7s)
Speedtest Ping: 189 ms. Download: 41.76 Mbps. Upload: 17.38 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 17 Mbps;
Lightway-UDP – USA – Los Angeles – 5: Failed; (Try once)
OpenVPN-UDP – USA – Los Angeles – 5: First success; (Time efficiency: 7s)
Speedtest Ping: 187 ms. Download: 41.28 Mbps. Upload: 12.77 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 30 Mbps;
OpenVPN-TCP – USA – Los Angeles – 5: Failed; (Try once)
IKEv2 – USA – Los Angeles – 5: Failed; (Try once)
Singapore – Marina Bay Server Speed Comparison Test:
Auto – Singapore – Marina Bay: First success; (Time efficiency: 6s)
Speedtest Ping: 71 ms. Download: 94.67 Mbps. Upload: 22.32 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 61 Mbps;
Lightway-UDP – Singapore – Marina Bay: First success; (Time efficiency: 4s)
Speedtest Ping: 90 ms. Download: 34.52 Mbps. Upload: 16.75 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 61 Mbps;
OpenVPN-UDP – Singapore – Marina Bay: First success; (Time efficiency: 6s)
Speedtest Ping: 201 ms. Download: 115.31 Mbps. Upload: 18.81 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 96 Mbps;
OpenVPN-TCP – Singapore – Marina Bay: Failed; (Try once)
IKEv2 – Singapore – Marina Bay: First success; (Time efficiency: 4s)
Speedtest Ping: 69 ms. Download: 58.46 Mbps. Upload: 6.81 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 83 Mbps;
UK – Wembley Server Speed Comparison Test:
Auto – UK – Wembley: First success; (Time efficiency: 7s)
Speedtest Ping: 227 ms. Download: 80.26 Mbps. Upload: 20.89 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: The server don’t support Netflix;
Lightway-UDP – UK – Wembley: First success; (Time efficiency: 3s)
Speedtest Ping: 226 ms. Download: 103.87 Mbps. Upload: 10.96 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: The server don’t support Netflix;
OpenVPN-UDP – UK – Wembley: First success; (Time efficiency: 7s)
Speedtest Ping: 224 ms. Download: 113.32 Mbps. Upload: 8.37 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: The server don’t support Netflix;
OpenVPN-TCP – UK – Wembley: Failed; (Try once)
IKEv2 – UK – Wembley: First success; (Time efficiency: 5s)
Speedtest Ping: 226 ms. Download: 24.32 Mbps. Upload: 3.7 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: The server don’t support Netflix;
USA – Santa Monica Server Speed Comparison Test:
Auto – USA – Santa Monica: Failed; (Try once)
Lightway-UDP – USA – Santa Monica: First success; (Time efficiency: 3s)
Speedtest Ping: 163 ms. Download: 33.14 Mbps. Upload: 14.41 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 15 Mbps;
OpenVPN-UDP – USA – Santa Monica: Failed; (Try once)
OpenVPN-TCP – USA – Santa Monica: Failed; (Try once)
IKEv2 – USA – Santa Monica: First success; (Time efficiency: 6s)
Speedtest Ping: 163 ms. Download: 7.51 Mbps. Upload: 0.31 Mbps;
Netflix Fast: 2.4 Mbps;
Summary: The above is a test of ExpressVPN’s 5 protocol options, Automatic, Lightway-UDP, OpenVPN-UDP, OpenVPN-TCP, and IKEv2, on a Windows 10 device. From the test results, the four protocol options that ExpressVPN can connect to are Automatic, Lightway-UDP, OpenVPN-UDP, and IKEv2. From the test results of “USA – Santa Monica”, we can understand that although “Automatic” is an automatic protocol selection option, it does not necessarily mean that it will try all protocols in a limited time. There are also differences in the protocols that different servers can connect to successfully. Please watch the above test protocols and server selection carefully, it will help you in your daily use of ExpressVPN.
Windows10 ExpressVPN Version: 10.1.0(11)
Today’s Test Score: ★ ★ ★ ★