Hi helpers,
I have been using Express VPN for the 2nd year. I mostly use it for WhatsApp in the UAE. In the previous year, it worked okayish but in this year it is performing horrible.
After pathetic performance, I tried to use it for accessing websites by changing VPN location and it didn’t work at all. For example, I tried to open Pakistani government websites in the UAE for important work related tasks.
Similar is the case with accessing websites from other countries.
Tried to talk to the help chat but it was absolute waste of time.
Has anyone else faced the similar situation with the so called best VPN?
I would really appreciate your kind feedback and solution’s. Thanks
Etisalat presumably? They’re generally worse than Du for VPNs - or always used to be.
Etisalat (but also Du, but less so, historically) use fairly aggressive DPI - Deep Packet Inspection - which works a bit like antivirus on your computer, they scan all traffic looking for VPN ‘fingerprints’ and/or VPN-like-chatter of network packets. Then rate limit to the point where it’s more or less unusable.
Mobile data always used to be worse than landline connections.
… thankfully, I no longer have to deal with UAE-stuff.
I’ve been with Express_VPN for 2 years and in the last 3 or 4 months VPN service has been pretty crappy, I mainly use it to stream TV. I found myself constantly disconnecting and reconnecting to servers to try and find one that’s fast enough, not enough selection of servers in your local area is a huge deal. Anyone else notice a drop in performance like myself?
Well, I live in Cuba, a country with a restrictions and geolocation blockade and thanks to a friend of mine from the USA who kindly gave me access to a premium ExpressVPN account, I have been able to access many websites, games and more that otherwise would not be possible for me.
same problem here.
since mid december, it stopped connecting properly. servers like london, mexico, and others work, but not the one i actually need…
i have etisalat (mobile and home internet), and it was working perfectly. but then they did some kind of maintenance or whatever, and now i can’t connect at all.
i asked in this same sub, and they told me to submit a ticket through the app (like i hadn’t already done that). didn’t help at all.
i’m gonna cancel it, and it sucks because i have to fight for it since i paid for the whole year upfront in november (been doing that for three years)
oh, but of course, i get an ad from them on every youtube video i watch and every scroll on reddit. “the best vpn”… they should stop running ads in uae
Same issue here, I’ve been paying it until December, at first it did kind of work but performance was not really good at all, now I’ve been using Veee VPN since Jan this year along with “VPN-super unlimited proxy” and they are great so far (I’m paying both of them)
Edit: I’m in mainland China
I just changed from Express VPN to Nord VPN because websites would pick up I was using a VPN and block me, requiring I turn my VPN off to access the website. Since using Nord VPN, I haven’t had difficulties accessing any of same websites. Nord is also cheaper, so it’s a win win for me
Hi everyone, thank you for flagging this to us. We’ve since rolled out a fix that should solve the VPN issues in UAE. Please let us know if you’re still having problems with this!
life must be hard without your pornhub. 
I have stop trying with them…and just hope it gets better- I think they are all kind of the same and without a PERSON to speak to, nothing changes. If anyone has had a good experience with their VPN I would love to hear it. I would change in the middle of my subscription and pay for two VPNS at this point
I was having a terrible experience, especialyl over the last few months, but since updating the software on my computer a few days ago it’s been much more reliable.
Had the same issue, switched to NordVPN as expressvpn is absolutely abysmal.
Thanks for your detailed and informative response. Network might be the reason but as I paid for the VPN then they might also find solutions to provide service to their customers.
Good to hear this. Keep using it.
Thanks for the detailed response. Almost the same is happening with my subscription. Useless VPN while they claiming it to be the best.
It worked well previously with Etisalat but only for WhatsApp calls. Accessing any other servers especially from 
or 
didn’t work at all as I had to access some important websites.
I am not going to renew it.
People have suggested X VPN so will give it a try.
Thanks for your valuable information.
Thanks a lot for taking this matter into consideration. I shall share my feedback soon.
I changed to Nord VPN after both connection issues generally, and websites were picking up I was using a VPN and blocked me. Really happy when Nord, no connection issues, and they’re also cheaper. I had 2 VPNs for about 1.5 months because I was over having all the issues with express.
If you were the UAE - with, let’s face it, a pretty decent budget - wouldn’t you ‘go after’ the big VPN providers, to cause most impact?
… I would.
Perhaps choosing a VPN provider that is everywhere you look on the internet, might not be the best choice? 
or 
didn’t work at all as I had to access some important websites.