With about Mbps you can still browse but forget about HD video streaming or downloading. Its layout feels like too much is going on but with all these ugly buttons and tabs, you can’t configure pretty much anything. There is no automated connection so you’ll have to choose a preferred server manually. It uses the same encryption and connection protocol all the time so there is no way to change this. In the settings tab, you can configure TAP Adapter but this is rather for advanced users.
So, we tried out all four available VPN servers in the USA with Netflix, and as we suspected, we didn’t move further than a proxy error. Service didn’t work with the HBO and HULU either, and We couldn’t test it with BBC iPlayer because it doesn’t provide any working servers in the UK. At the moment this provider appears to be using about 31 servers for its infrastructure. That takes out more than half their servers, straining the remaining servers with loads of torrent users.
Ra4W VPN Review
RA4W VPN recommends torrenting through their servers in Romania or Russia to avoid problems – not the best solution from the security standpoint if you ask us. Sadly, these numbers haven’t changed since our initial review in September 2018. Not improving in this area means getting worse, and that’s just what RA4W has been doing so far. RA4W VPN has a pretty plain client that features connection information on the main screen alongside a drop-down list of available servers.
Ra4W VPN Cons
On the left side, you can access different tabs, including your personal dashboard, statistics, settings, and about. RA4W VPN has servers in over twenty countries across the globe in order to ensure that there is a server always online near you. All their plans come with unmetered bandwidth, mobile access, encryption, no logs, OpenVPN, and free port forwarding. Their connection gave off leak warnings in addition to a potentially malicious file in their app. And the extremely limited device support makes using Ra4W VPN a pain outside of Windows devices.
Allows Unlimited Torrenting
This means that if the tool fails, your IP address will be exposed. If that was not enough (it is), this service has no leak protection or DNS servers of its own.
The service doesn’t have its own DNS servers so it has to rely on those of the third-party. Sadly, they didn’t perform well so our original location became known. RA4W VPN doesn’t offer any protection against DNS leaks but their websites suggest two solutions on how to avoid it. According to the service, you can either configure a DNS server on your router or network adapter. Neither of these methods is particularly user-friendly, especially when RA4W VPN lacks information on how to do it.
‘Lightning fast’, ‘unrivaled browsing performance’ – this is how RA4W VPN describes its connection. We never believe marketing tricks so we tested a few servers in the USA and Europe to see how fast they are. With only 30 servers on their network and only 14 currently online, we didn’t expect any good speeds. When we faced 70% slow-down on the US server, we weren’t surprised. European servers performed a little bit better but still far away from ‘lightning-fast’.
Still, as you probably know, not every service is the same. While most providers claim that they allow excellent speed and security, that is rarely the case. Examples of excellent providers are NordVPN, CyberGhost, and ExpressVPN. These offer thousands of servers and are known for good speed, as well. How does the aforementioned provider compare with these, though?
RA4W VPN recommends using servers in Russia and Romania but we don’t think these countries have friendly anti-piracy laws. One of the most affordable VPNs, RA4W VPN is not just very cheap, but also has minimal logging, works for Netflix unblocking, allows torrenting and has anonymous payments.
- RA4W VPN is a relatively new provider which still struggles with the challenges of growth.
- It was unable to increase its server network which resulted in slow speeds, limited torrenting, and failed attempts to unblock geo-restricted websites.
- RA4W VPN should work hard on adding more features, especially Kill Switch and DNS leak protection, as well as updating its Windows VPN client.
The only thing we liked about RA4W VPN app is connection statistics and real-time data about download and upload speeds. Generally, the speed tests for this RA4W VPN review showed bad results, and we operated at 5-10% of our standard connection speeds. There are a number of facts that will affect the final result of any speed test, including the distance to the server, the original connection and the hardware itself. Ultimately, however, we wouldn’t recommend this VPN for users who are focused on speed.
All VPNs slow down internet speeds to a certain extent; it’s not possible to use a VPN and also get your full download speeds. Some only slow you down by a factor of 5% whereas others slow you down by 95% – it’s all dependent on the servers and connection quality. When looking for an affordable VPN that can provide you with reliable performance, RA4W VPN looks quite interesting. It has been around for just above six years and has attracted thousands of fans.
If you break their ToS and torrent on any of the restricted servers, don’t be surprised if you receive a DMCA report. Considering the fact that this provider offers servers on three different continents, doing a thorough analysis of speed is quite important. For this RA4W VPN review, we have used a benchmark of 235 Mbps in download speed and 211 Mbps in upload speed. Many VPNs brag they can unblock geo-restricted websites.
In reality, however, it ends up being nothing more than empty promises. Still, we decided to test it out with some popular streaming services. To be honest, the result was predictable in advance since RA4W just doesn’t have enough servers.
RA4W VPN is a relatively new provider which still struggles with the challenges of growth. It was unable to increase its server network which resulted in slow speeds, limited torrenting, and failed attempts to unblock geo-restricted websites. RA4W VPN should work hard on adding more features, especially Kill Switch and DNS leak protection, as well as updating its Windows VPN client. Also, we would want it to develop more dedicated apps for other popular platforms and devices.
Many VPN providers forbid P2P traffic so that they can avoid troubles if their clients download something illegally. But, the problem is there are not many servers in torrent-friendly countries. The service has servers in the Netherlands and Switzerland (which are great options for safe torrenting) but the Swiss server, surprisingly, didn’t support P2P connection.
RA4W is a VPN provider known for its decent connection speeds and budget-friendly prices. Its main advantages include the usage of the OpenVPN protocol and its strict zero logs policy. Good encryption doesn’t guarantee complete anonymity and safety. If a provider can’t stop leaking, user identity is at risk of revealing. Unfortunately, this is what happened with RA4W VPN. During our tests, we discovered DNS leaks.
NordVPN is an excellent VPN service that offers superb speeds and equally impressive security and privacy features. They offer over 5,600 servers in 60 countries, making it for everyone to find a server near their location.
RA4W will not wow people used to more feature-rich VPNs like ExpressVPN or Private Internet Access. Considering its lack of important features — such as a killswitch — and the DNS leaks reviewers found, most had a hard time recommending RA4W VPN. Many people use VPNs to bypass geo-restrictions and watch Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and other similar services. Sadly, none of the RA4W’s servers allowed experts to unlock content in different regions. Using VPNs for P2P sharing and torrenting keeps your personal data safe, and it’s good to know that RA4WVPN has your back.
That is something we will be discussing with our review and test of RA4W VPN. While testing this VPN for the purposes of our RA4W VPN review, its performance varied depending on the server we used. Some of the server locations provided us with quite decent connection speeds while others were disappointingly subpar.
Limited ‘Official’ Device Support
All in all, our testing phase revealed a VPN that can meet the demands of average VPN users. However, RA4W VPN might not be the best solution if you’re performing data-heavy tasks on a regular basis, including online gaming, HD streaming, and torrenting.