WiFi Hub 3 & VPN issues

[Joeycat909]

Dear TalkTalk Support,

I’m experiencing ongoing issues with my TalkTalk WiFi Hub 3 when using a VPN. The internet connection becomes extremely slow or unusable whenever the VPN is active, even though the VPN works normally on other networks and devices.

I have already disabled all HomeSafe features, tested multiple VPN protocols, changed DNS settings, and restarted the router, but the problem continues.

Could you please check whether there is anything you can do on your side—such as a setting, configuration change, or firmware adjustment—that may help improve VPN compatibility?

Thank you for your assistance.

[Mandisa-TT]

@Joeycat909 You are on Full Fibre and you can contact the full fibre team for further assistance. 

Contact Number: 03451720074  

Opening Hours: 

VOICE - Mon-Fri: 9am-7pm; Sat: 9am-6pm; Sun: closed

WEB MESSAGING - Mon-Fri: 8am-9pm; Sat: 8am-7pm; Sun: 9am-7pm

[Mandisa-TT]

Thank you so much for your support @KeithFrench 

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Joeycat909 

Even without you sending me the PM, I appreciate that you may be busy, I know what the problem is.

When you connect to a VPN server you are allocated an IP address from them (Proton in your case). You are then on their IIP network and the TalkTalk network now has no control over your internet access  There is nothing wrong with your router or FF150, as they are fine with the VPN disconnected.

The problem is that the Proton DNS server is resolving Google to an out of date IP address. The only people who can fix this is Proton, hence why I said you need to contact their support team.

[KeithFrench]

That is the current firmware. With the VPN disconnected, please can you PM me the output from this command prompt command:-

ping google.com

Thanks.

[Joeycat909]

The firmware version says SGEK10004A00

[KeithFrench]

I have the exact same scenario as you & do not have the issues. OK, let's back this up then, which firmware is on your Hub 3?

[Joeycat909]

Just to clarify — this issue only started after I upgraded to Full Fibre 150 and was given the WiFi Hub 3. I used the exact same device and the exact same Proton VPN setup on my previous Huawei router with zero problems.

Nothing about my VPN configuration changed. The only thing that changed was the router.

Because of that, it doesn’t really make sense to treat this as a Proton routing issue. The VPN works perfectly on other networks and worked perfectly on my old TalkTalk router. The problem only appears when traffic goes through the Hub 3, which matches what other users have reported before receiving a firmware update from TalkTalk.

[mandisa1-TT]

Thank you for the support @KeithFrench 

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Joeycat909 

I am using the same Proton VPN server as you (Netherlands).

Your PC is connecting fine to the initial router at the VPN server, but it has problems after that. As I originally expected, this is a network issue from the Proton VPN server to google.com. I would note that the IP address of google .com that your VPN connection is different to mine, which works fine.

Therefore, I think you need to raise this with Proton's tech support.

[KeithFrench]

Hi @Joeycat909 

I have run some tests with the latest version of Proton & its fastest free VPN server (the one it chose automatically):-

Fastest free VPN server

My speed test was identical with the VPN connected compared to the normal disconnected speed. I then carried out some video tests by watching some HD content streamed from YouTube, they were excellent.

The problem, therefore, is not Hub 3 related, but possibly a network issue. To prove this, please can you PM me (to protect your privacy) details of the VPN server your Proton client is using, speedtest results with the VPN disconnected & then connected. Finally, can you get me the results from a trace route and the details of your IP connection with the VPN connected? If a Windows PC, from the command prompt, these would be:-

• tracert google.com
• ipconfig /all

Then I will analyse these & make the required recommendations to TalkTalk. Thanks.

The information below is provided by TalkTalk. For confirmation, please contact @Lorrainef, the manager of the TalkTalk support staff on this forum.

KeithFrench is one of our valued Community Stars and can help with a range of issues related to wireless and networking. At times, he may ask you to send him test results via a Private Message to help analyse/diagnose an issue. Although Keith does not work for TalkTalk, he very kindly shares his time and knowledge to help others.

If you need further help or if we need to take any details such as personal information about your account, like phone numbers, account numbers, etc, one of the TalkTalk team will jump in and help out.

[KeithFrench]

Let me do some testing, as I have Proton as well. I'll come back to you in a while.

[Joeycat909]

Thanks for the reply. The speed is completely fine without the VPN — the problem isn’t just slower speeds when the VPN is on. The whole connection becomes unusable: pages stop loading and everything freezes until I disconnect the VPN, then it all works normally again.

Because of that, it doesn’t seem like a VPN server throughput issue. I’m using Proton VPN, which works perfectly on other networks, so it looks more like something specific to the Hub 3 or its firmware.

I’ve seen other users mention that TalkTalk were able to fix similar issues with a firmware change, so I’m hoping support can check whether that applies here too.

[KeithFrench]

The speed of the internet when a VPN is active is normally down to the link from the VPN server, wherever that is, to the internet. Is the speed OK without the VPN connected? I have not had any VPN issues over the Hub 3 at all, but I may not have been using the same VPN client that you are using on your device. Which one is it?

The current firmware version of the Hub 3 is V4A00.