How do I improve my InvizBox 2 connection speed?

You have set up your InvizBox 2 and are wondering if there is anything that you can do to improve download speeds while connected to it.

Here are a few things to consider regarding your InvizBox 2's connection speed:

1. The way that you connect to your InvizBox 2 can have a big impact. A physical ethernet connection will be the fastest and 5Ghz will be faster than 2.4Ghz when it comes to WiFi connections.
2. The type of VPN protocol that you use for your connection. If available IKEv2 will be the fastest protocol with OpenVPN over UDP and over TCP will be more stable but slower.
3. The location of the server that you are connecting to. A server that is physically closer to you will be faster than one that is located further away from you.

In the next sections we will discuss each of these points and determine what would be the best configuration for your set up.

What kind of speeds can I expect to see while using my InvizBox 2?

The below results are what you can realistically hope to achieve while connected to one of the InvizBox 2's VPN networks. These speeds were achieved while connected to the InvizBox 2 using an ethernet cable and using the closest VPN server. The VPN provider is InvizBox.

Connecting to the InvizBox 2

By far the best connection is a physical connection. Use the LAN port (in black) on the back of your InvizBox 2 to connect your devices. Ethernet connections do not suffer from the same interference issues like WiFi connections do.

When it comes to WiFi the 5Ghz frequency is going to offer you the fastest speeds when connected to your InvizBox 2. The 2.4GHz frequency tends to do better over distance and through floors/walls however it is slower. Both the 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz connections can suffer in crowded spaces, as other broadcast signals from your neighbours WiFi routers, other WiFi enabled devices and even microwaves can impact the signal strength.

Choosing the fastest VPN protocol

Of all of the VPN protocols that are currently available on the InvizBox 2 IKEv2 is the fastest option. IKEv2 has both advantages and disadvantages. While switching to IKEv2 should give a nice boost to your speed, it is not as stable as OpenVPN and may result in your connection dropping from time to time if your internet connection is unstable. We suggest that you run IKEv2 on your main VPN networks with other VPN networks using OpenVPN. You can find out how to enable IKEv2 on your VPN network here.

As for OpenVPN, we have seen that OpenVPN over UDP edges out OpenVPN over TCP. However this is VPN provider dependant and in some cases there may not be a major difference between OpenVPN over TCP and OpenVPN over UDP. Our suggestion here is to test this out yourself and see what performs best in your particular set up.

Note: Not all providers have access to all of the protocols. Have a look at the table below to see which providers have which protocols on the InvizBox 2:

Connect to a VPN server that is close to you

You should use a server that is physically closer to you.

If you are connecting to a VPN server that is a great distance away from you, your data has further to travel and over multiple hops. This can impact your connection speed. Connecting to the closest VPN server to you will help ensure you get the fastest connection possible.