Why Using a VPN Alone is Often Not Enough

To effectively bypass throttling and geoblocking, using a VPN alone is often insufficient. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can specifically target streaming services or IPTV platforms for throttling using DNS-based mechanisms. Additionally, well-known VPN providers are more likely to face these ISP-based throttling measures. It is highly recommended to manually adjust your DNS server settings alongside using a VPN to ensure optimal streaming performance.

1. Why VPN Alone is Often Not Enough

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) encrypts your traffic and hides your IP address, making it harder for ISPs to throttle or block you. However, there are several reasons why a VPN might not be sufficient by itself:

• Known VPN Providers and IP Throttling: Many large VPN providers have public IP addresses that ISPs can easily identify and target for throttling, leading to slower speeds and buffering issues even with a VPN.
• Country Restrictions: Some streaming services actively block known VPN servers, making it difficult to bypass geographic restrictions.

Recommendation: To avoid this, consider using a smaller VPN provider that is less known to ISPs. Switching between different VPN servers or countries can also help in achieving better results.

2. DNS Throttling: A Common Bottleneck

ISPs often use their DNS servers to impose targeted throttling on both specific IP addresses and domain names (URLs e.g. m3u link), particularly for IPTV and streaming services. Since each IPTV channel or streaming service can use its own domain name or IP, ISPs can recognize and deliberately slow down these connections, resulting in buffering and poor streaming quality, even though your overall internet connection appears normal.

This type of throttling primarily affects domain names or URLs (e.g. m3u link) rather than just IP addresses. ISPs can intercept DNS requests, slow down access to certain domains (such as streaming websites), or block them entirely.

Solution: To bypass DNS-based throttling, it's crucial to change your DNS server settings. Many ISPs implement throttling via their default DNS servers, but by switching to external DNS servers like Quad9, you can bypass these restrictions and improve your speed and reliability.

3. Why You Should Change Your DNS Settings

• Bypass DNS-based throttling by ISPs: Switching from your ISP's default DNS server to a third-party service like Quad9 helps avoid specific traffic throttling for both domain names (e.g. m3u link) and IP addresses, especially with IPTV and streaming services.
• Better access to geo-restricted content: External DNS servers can assist in bypassing geographical restrictions, enabling access to blocked content.
• Improved speed and reliability: External DNS servers only reroute DNS requests, not the entire traffic, ensuring a faster and more stable connection.

Guide: Changing DNS on Individual Devices

If you cannot change the settings on your router, you can also adjust DNS settings on individual devices:

Windows:

1. Go to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center.
2. Select your active connection, then click Properties.
3. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click Properties.
4. Choose Use the following DNS server addresses and enter the Quad9 DNS servers:
• Preferred DNS server: 9.9.9.10
• Alternate DNS server: 149.112.112.10

Android:

1. Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi.
2. Hold your connected network and go to Modify Network.
3. Change IP settings to Static.
4. Scroll to DNS 1 and DNS 2 and enter the Quad9 DNS servers:
• DNS 1: 9.9.9.10
• DNS 2: 149.112.112.10

iPhone/iPad:

1. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi.
2. Tap the "i" next to your network.
3. Select Configure DNS and choose Manual.
4. Add the Quad9 DNS servers:
• DNS 1: 9.9.9.10
• DNS 2: 149.112.112.10

5. VPN and DNS Together: The Optimal Solution

Using a VPN together with a custom DNS service like Quad9 is the most effective way to bypass ISP throttling, geoblocking, and DNS-based restrictions. While a VPN masks your IP address and encrypts your traffic, a custom DNS server ensures that your DNS queries aren't routed through your ISP's servers, which could be used to throttle or block access to specific services.

Benefits of Using Both VPN and Custom DNS Together:

• Full Privacy and Anonymity: While the VPN encrypts all of your internet traffic, ensuring that no one can see what you're doing, using a third-party DNS provider like Quad9 ensures that your DNS queries (which reveal the websites you're visiting) are also protected.
• Improved Streaming Speed: By avoiding ISP DNS throttling with a custom DNS and bypassing traffic shaping via the VPN, you can experience smoother and faster streaming, especially for services like IPTV, Netflix, and other geo-restricted platforms.
• Additional Security: VPNs protect your data from being intercepted, while DNS services like Quad9 provide built-in security features, such as blocking malicious domains, which adds an extra layer of protection.

Additional Tips for Optimizing Your VPN and DNS Setup:

• Use a Smaller or Less Known VPN Provider: Large VPN providers are often targeted by ISPs for throttling, while smaller, lesser-known VPNs may have servers that are not as easily blocked or throttled.
• Regularly Switch VPN Servers: If you notice slow speeds on a particular server, switching to a different server in the same country or region can help avoid throttling. Some VPNs offer obfuscated servers, which can mask the fact that you're using a VPN.
• Enable VPN Split Tunneling: For certain activities, such as streaming or downloading, you may not need to encrypt all of your traffic. Split tunneling allows you to only route specific traffic through the VPN, which can improve performance.
• Use a Static IP Address: If you're experiencing frequent VPN blocks or slowdowns, some VPN providers offer static or dedicated IP addresses, which can help you avoid ISP throttling or service blocking.

How to Set Up VPN and Custom DNS Together

To achieve the best results, you need to configure both your VPN and your DNS settings correctly. Here's how to do it:

1. Choose a reliable VPN provider that offers servers in the regions you need, good speed, and features like split tunneling or obfuscation.
2. Connect to a VPN server in your desired country.
3. Change your DNS settings on your router or individual devices as outlined in the previous sections to use third-party DNS providers like Quad9 or Cloudflare (9.9.9.10 for IPv4 and 2620:fe::10 for IPv6).
4. Test your setup: Use websites like DNS Leak Test to ensure your DNS queries are being routed through the external DNS server and not your ISP's server.

By combining these two technologies—VPN for privacy and traffic encryption, and a custom DNS for avoiding DNS throttling—you can maximize your chances of bypassing ISP throttling and enjoying a fast, reliable connection for streaming, downloading, and browsing.

Conclusion:

While a VPN is a powerful tool to enhance privacy, avoid geoblocking, and bypass ISP throttling, it’s not always enough on its own, especially when it comes to DNS-based throttling. By also changing your DNS settings to a third-party service, you can achieve better performance, security, and access to content. The combination of a good VPN with a custom DNS setup is the most effective solution to bypass ISP restrictions and enjoy a faster, more secure internet experience.