ProtonVPN Review

I must say I am pretty disappointed in Proton VPN for WIndows. I am a user of ProtonMail and I love it. So I tried this VPN service. However, I faced many issues. Some of them are:
1. It slows down/ crashes my PC.
2. When I connect to Japan server, I actually get Hongkong server.
3. Not useful for Netflix.
4. Average UI.
5. Very few Free servers available.

I have been using this VPN now for about 6 months and i’m pretty happy with the results. It does what it says. It provides me with a VPN in multiple countries and I haven’t received any errors as of yet. My only critique of this service is it seems a lot slower than other VPN’s that I have used but I will soon try and sort this out with them!

protonvpn have a more than 1000 server online fast servers and low ping …

I’m unimpressed with ProtonVPN – mainly due to account management and customer service issues but performance is also spotty at best. I’m reviewing Proton’s ‘Plus’ offering as part of my ProtonMail plan. Briefly:
– ‘SecureCore’ servers are often stuffed to capacity and speeds crawl at a snail’s pace
– ‘Plus’ servers are a mixed bag – some suffer with low reputation and many appear to use the same hosts/resellers as cheaper VPN providers
– The Android app randomly drops connections without notification – really, really bad for a VPN!
– Accounts are funded by ‘credit’ which doesn’t appear to be refundable – be careful when managing your account, especially if you plan to leave
– Payment methods cannot be removed from active plans so paid services will always renew at the end of their billing cycle – downgrade to free before cancelling!
– Customer service reps are slow to respond which is unforgivable for a premium product
In closing, I am leaving Proton and unless support can be contacted and convinced I will likely be leaving over $100 of credit behind. Avoid.

The service works fine as long as you use the free version. Once you upgrade all of a sudden you start getting “Name Resolution Errors”, you’ll have to do a complete reset of your network adapters when uninstalling and surprise surprise, other VPNs work. This could have been a good service if only they took it seriously!!

love this free platfrom and range of different vpn at affordable prices. this helps me when i need to stream things from other platforms that my network does not allow. great service fast and responsive.

Expensive but fully reliable.

None of the connections work. Submitted refund email and heard no response. No live customer services support. Once you downgrade, your historical purchases is gone. THIS IS A SCAM WEBSITE!!! AVOID PROTON. IT’S PRACTICALLY STEALING FROM YOUR POCKET!!

Not working as intended. Poor connection and service.

You cannot easily cancel auto-renew and they will not refund credit. Poor.

I highly respect Protonteam. Been a paid member since their mail debut. I was super excited for their vpn offering and grabbed the black Friday deal (still highly expensive) . The initial impressions were good but that’s not enough to sustain.
Their customer service is non existent. Don’t expect any mail replies.
Their speeds went from 80% of actual to barely 20% of actual day-night .
I have complained in their email and reddit but no one pays heed to what the customer needs.

They can not hide inside their CERN scientists cocoon. Vpn is a cutthroat competitive arena and unfortunately Protonvpn fails in every aspect of a respectable vpn.

Its good for free loaders who strain the free servers and abuse the trial of plus servers. You guys brought down a supposedly to-be good provider to its knees.

Recruit customer service Add servers … a ton of servers in already serving countries..
Try to diversify to different locations in same country if the country is MASSIVE in size (regardless of userbase) and user base will flow.
Treat your vpn as a separate business for “real” and get competitive in terms of offering.

Good luck Proton.

I am currently using the free trial and it is overall a good VPN. I have proof it works because when I connect to China, my search results are in Chinese. The only problem I have is when I visit certain websites, there is an error saying (url here)’s ip address could not be found. It didn’t seem like much at first but it has proven to be quite annoying as I usually spend most of my time on those websites, and a 5-star VPN shouldn’t have this problem

Scammers steal from your bank account

I opened a case and even made a YouTube video about their scamming ways. I cancelled my subscription and they charged me for 7 months I did not use immediately I connected my card. Thieves. Don’t buy

I have proof of purchase and the YouTube video as proof.

Their product did not work. It slowed my computer speeds by 90% Up and Down. When I contacted them for assistance as I thought I was doing something wrong, no help whatsoever was forthcoming. Then when I asked they cancel my account they jerked me around for two days requesting information regarding my account that they already had and was already provided to them. These people are MORONS and anyone who wastes their time and money using their services is a moron as well, that includes me as I should have vetted them prior to plunking down $100.00 for nothing. I used PayPal and they provided me with the PayPal 100% guaranteed refund.

Firstly, the app itself is pretty straight forward and easy to use, i have had no issues with finding the stuff i am looking for. The connection is also great, as a free user you get access to a limited amount of servers and countries, but this does not bother me at all.

I once reached out to their support because of a small issue i was having, and got a reply within a day, even in these COVID-19 times. The support agent guided me through every step carefully and in the end the solution i got solved my issue i was having with the app!

Proton is also a security company, so security is high valued for them.

5/5 stars.

6/18/20 UPDATE:
ProtonVPN‘s response here is “not true!” Period. I cancelled the account one year ago and I made it clear then that I was cancelling “all responsibility” at that time. Even so I ended up paying for one year’s service that I never used even “once”. They did not tell me at that time that there was a hidden automatic renewal switch that I had to turn off, so one year later they billed me again! This was sneaky, underhanded, and dishonest! When I challenged the bill they said I had to go online and uncheck auto-renewal. When I tried to do that, they blocked me from signing in and therefore could not make any changes and would be billed every year. To avoid this, my credit card company cancelled my credit card so ProtonVPN can never charge me again. The company is dishonest, unethical, and are liars!

Actually, I want to give ProtronVPN a “minus” 5 rating. I had an account with them a year ago, but the service was bad and never worked and I cancelled immediately. Now one year later, they are charging me for another year and said I did not cancel the auto renew which, of course, is hidden somewhere that I did not see. Now I cannot get on the dashboard to turn off the service since they will not let me on the site. The company is a crooked company and I would advise staying far away from them. They are slippery, and crooked, and deceitful in spades!

Slow. Instead of caring about what’s happening around the world, ProtonVPN should really focus on their products!

What a waste of time even trialling this VPN. It would have been quicker to fly to the UK, watch the programme then fly back. Constant buffering, dropouts – I was expecting more from Proton since I have used their mail services for 2 years

Open source applications, independent review of software, fast and reliable, privacy in a core! I wish there is a 10 stars option!

Connection speed is not always great but at least i hope that this service is really about privacy

I would like to update my review.

ProtonVPN was kind enough to contact me again and send a second response. They indicated they had replied to both my initial emails

Although I did not find their original emails in my spam filters or archived anywhere I appreciate their trying. I guess three times is a charm.
_____
Original Review Below…………

I would like to preface this review saying I had no problem with their VPN. My trial of their system has gone very well. Virtually no bandwidth loss, but their customer service is another issue.

I had begun a trial with ProtonVPN over the weekend. Before I work with a company I send a support email to see if, when and how they respond and also to make certain that I am purchasing what I need. I sent two emails to ProtonVPN. They did not respond to either email.

Reading the other reviews I noticed a habit of squeaky wheel with this company. If you post a bad review they apologize and then ask you to email them for additional help. The question is why do you have to ask them to answer a support email? In my case they felt both my support emails could be ignored. If you cannot depend on their support when things are going well, what will happen if something goes wrong?

Since I work with five other persons I needed to know the service we choose would have appropriate response. I am not looking for two to four hours, especially due to the time difference. I do expect an answer within 24 hours. I am not confident that ProtonVPN can provide a modicum of the customer support expected and will respond if and when I need them.

Best VPN ever. I’m using them every day without any limitations in speed.

Great work and thanks.

Excellent VPN, very stable, have been connected for 7 days straight at most without disconnecting. The speed is also very good in Norway where i live, i got a speed of 300/300 Mbps, here is a comparison from speedtest.net

Without the VPN i get:

Ping: 1
Download: 304 Mbps
Upload: 313 Mbps

When i connect to a VPN based in Norway and run the test again, i get these results:

Ping: 11
Download: 292 Mbps
Upload: 206 Mbps
(This may vary from server to server, but i generally get it pretty close to the speed i pay for and usually between 10-20MS)

All in all, am very happy with the service, speed and features. Also, protonvpn are based in Switzerland, witch is a huge plus if you care about your privacy! 5 Stars.

I don’t understand why if you are already Proton’s client, you have to pay more!!! for their VPN subscription… one more (adding to other reviews) Customer Service issue…

Brilliant VPN, I’ve had trouble with a few VPN services in the past due to either privacy concerns or poor connection quality but Proton has no such trouble, the UI on both the mobile and desktop software is easy to use and nice to look at, the speeds are really fast and stable, and with them being based in Switzerland and and not being part of the 14 eyes alliance I have full confidence in my privacy using ProtonVPN, can’t recommend them enough.

nope. tried this. OK for 2 days then upgrade,upgrade, upgrade and no connection. so I uninstalled it, only to find they had left me little presents along the way. irritating. you don’t want these people anywhere near your computer.

I started using ProtonVPN and ProtonMail because of a security requirement from my Freelance job wherein they suggested these services.

Eventually I went for a paid combination plan (ProtonMail Plus bundled with VPN), it is not the cheapest you can get the same services from other providers for 50% the price, but I guess that’s a price to pay for Proton’s great reputation in the security and privacy sector. Also, their internet speeds are very great.

The VPN works but I feel thoroughly cheated, as the Basic subscription at 5 dollars/month doesn’t allow you to use US Netflix.
I feel like this should be advertised upon subscribing. Now I can only use it to torrent the shows I wanted to watch on US Netflix.

I definitely want a refund, so I can purchase a VPN that doesn’t deceive me in this manner.

Excellent , both in performance and technical specification , but also in the companies privacy ethos .
Internet is great and we should all be able to use it in private without , any oppressive government , including oppressive WESTERN governments accessing our private data ,or criminals stealing out data and Protonvpn achieves this protection .
Our so called governments , especially UK, if you have done nothing , you have nothing to hide , crap , Protonvpn protects us from that crap gov retorick.
Customer support great quick cleat concise .

It is a decent VPN, especially at its price ran by a company that cares more about your privacy than Google, Yahoo, AOL, etc. ProtonVPN is also the only VPN that does not sell your information in terms of having a free VPN connection.

BEST VPN i ever used!!!!

I accidentally closed my subscription. now i have credits remaining, but can’t reestablish yearly subscription. I can only subscribe for monthly plan,but that will cost me much more. I asked support to reestablish my subscription (yearly). It’s a peace o cake for them to do,but surprise – they refused. So my verdict – support is very bad,they just grab your money and that’s all. No help. AVOID

Edit; after a lot of email wrangling backwards and forwards I have received a full refund as a result of Paypal dispute.
Rating amended to 2 stars (from 1 star)

Appalling customer service. Struggling to get a refund.

Should you avoid this service provider? Yes.

Customer service – this is where Proton falls way behind its competitors. I paid in full (making sure of a 30-day refund guarantee) and evaluated the VPN for 1 hour. Since it wasn’t suitable, I requested termination and refund – according to their terms.

I was denied a refund referring to their sale terms and conditions and all that. It’s not a cheap service either. I am currently going through Paypal dispute service to obtain a refund which Proton are totally ignoring.
In short, I would definitely avoid proton’s services. As a result of my refund request, my account was labelled fraudulent, in a misspelt email they sent me, and access to my account was disabled. This behaviour and their replies were very poor and just confirm that this company are not to be trusted.

There are better providers out there.
AVOID AVOID AVOID

In answer to your reply to this review:
No I will not remove my Paypal claim, 1) I don’t trust you to refund and 2) once a claim is closed it cannot be re-opened on Paypal. You can close the claim on Paypal from your side in the Paypal Resolution Centre by refunding my payment in full, its simple, one button click – as I am sure you are aware of this I can only assume you have no intention of refunding me until forced to by Paypal as you will lose the case due to the fact you have blocked access to my account with you therefore are not providing the service you have taken money for. Once I receive my refund in full I will remove or amend my review. Ticket Number 338722

They claim no logs, not sure.

But I have been using ProtonVPN for a while now, and no one has logged me so far

I’m using ProtonVPN since 6 months and after some connection issues on Windows client, it works perfectly now. I also installed the client on Android with no trouble. But when it comes to run it on Linux, it is way too complicated to install for the beginners. Also the support is not very clear and there is many compatibility bugs on several linux distros, I’m disappointed to not be able to use it on all my devices. Also when I wanted to end my monthly pass, there is no function to erase your account unless you contact them.

I like the app. Servers are of good speeds. The secure core network feature is great. However they are upfront with that they do not unblock most of the streaming services like BBC, which is a huge minus. Also a bit pricey.

The ProtonVPN app does not work on my stock Android device. ProtonVPN leaks DNS on my device. Support is fast but useless as appear to have no knowledge of the software and post links to outdated or wrong help pages, which then requires more time and effort emailing support to actually get the correct information. Other VPN provider apps I tested do not leak DNS requests.

For example I connect to ProtonVPN with SecureCore with an the exit in the UK. I am in the UK also and the DNS leaks show as Google in Belgium as well as the UK ProtonVpn exit DNS. Very odd behaviour. However I connect or which exits I choose. I get leaks from the ProtonVPN service.

ProtonVPN have refused to refund my subscription for a service that does not work. I have now purchased a VPN service from a provider that can produce a VPN app that does not leak DNS. I may not be able to get my money back but may be I can save you the cost of dealing with a company like ProtonVPN.

If you dig deep and search for a transparent VPN, ProtonVPN comes out as the clear winner of transparency. On top of that, their service is fast and the “Secure Core” service is one of a kind. What I am most happy with though is the fact that the VPN is paired with the world renowned ProtonMail. No other VPN service offers a privacy solution like that.

saved me in testing

I love how it’s super simple and easy to use. Great design, great security features, I’m using it everyday

I will start with that I would rather have a customer support though a ticket system if its good, rather than having a 24/7 live chat useless support.

I use the VPN on Linux. In the past I’ve used their email service too.

Here is what I think about protonvpn.

1. Their servers and locations are limited for a reason. They own most of them, if not owning all of them.
All other VPN providers that offer thousands of servers are a complete hoax. They don’t own them. They rent most of these servers in most of the locations – meaning they don’t own the servers – meaning their “no log” statement is a lie.

2. I am using it on Linux and windows, and speeds are great in all EU locations (I’m in UK) not sure about USA or the rest. If you are in doubt, best is to ask them – as they will tell you the truth, and won’t lie to you.

3. Customer support is much better than all the rest (I have been with more than 10 vpn providers and I can feel the difference)

4. Their apps are the most stable ones, with no bugs and no crashes. Also when community reports bugs and crashes, I’ve seen plenty of times things are improving. Their teams listen and work, and do it efficiently.

5.Their support is always honest with you.

6. I was thinking to give 4 stars, only because of the fact their higher plans are very expensive. Then realised, the quality is worth it.

by the way their free vpn plan, is much better than any other free vpns. Normally free vpns lack of stability, support and privacy (meaning they are monitoring and selling data for profits) With Proton, no need to worry, as they don’t need to sell data to make profits.

The 2nd best alternative to Windscribe if you need a free VPN.
I also love how they offer unlimited bandwidth for all their users, Even freebies.
I get that some people are concerned about Proton because of the Tesonet drama thingy. But nothing is clear, So that shouldn’t affect the score.

Should you avoid this service provider? Yes.

This is an arm of the company that offers protonmail.com. ProtonVPN.com offers a very nice user interface and the software is simple to install and get up and running. It is difficult to get it to connect somewhere though, from a restricted jurisdiction.

What’s the most important part of any company? Its customer service and this is where Proton falls way behind its competitors. I paid in full (making sure of a 30-day refund guarantee) and evaluated the VPN for one afternoon. Since it wasn’t suitable, I requested termination and refund – according to their terms.

I was denied a refund in an email of corporate-speak, their referring to sale terms and conditions and all that. It’s not a cheap service either. With the help of Paypal’s dispute process (which they also ignored), I eventually got my money back.

In short, I would definitely (and obviously) avoid proton’s services. As a result of my refund request, my account was labelled fraudulent, in a misspelt email they sent me, and access to my account was disabled – as well as the original free email account. This behaviour and their replies were quite childish to be honest.

If internet security (and a happy life!) is a priority for you then there are better providers out there. I recommend heading Nord. The customer service is cooler there.