APK VPN Integration Speed Degradation

[terenceslattery]

Hi Guys,

Not sure if this is the best forum for this question, but seems to fit somewhat as APK related...

I'm wondering if anyone has had any success with integrating a VPN service into an APK file?

I've been able to connect both the LTQ and XCIPTV apps to VPN servers, however when I attempt to play back content through the APK I encounter buffering.

I've used .ovpn files from Surfshark for both LTQ and XCIPTV and found if I connect to the same servers through their VPN app and run a speed test that the speeds are okay, however if I'm not connected via their desktop app and instead just connect directly from the APK file the speeds are much slower. For LTQ I had to test this by just watching content that didn't buffer when not connected from LTQ directly, but from desktop, however for XCIPTV I was able to use the speed test in settings and see that the speed is much slower when connected through the app.

Interestingly it's not just an issue with Surfshark neither as I also setup my own openVPN server on a high end dedicated server and uploaded the config file to the XCIPTV panel and tested the speed while connected to that server and that also suffered from the same fate.

I assume that there must be something that can be changed within the config files when connecting to a VPN server manually / from within an APK file to get round this problem as I've read that people use the LTQ and XCIPTV VPN integrations, but I'm only getting ~3 Mbps on either app when I connect to a service from within the APK files which just leads to constant buffering on playback?

 

[urgodfather]

Just stop and do your research. 1) it was already explained before that you can’t use 3rd party VPN’s. Stop thinking like an end user and think like the server admin that you want to be. 2) You cannot run Speedtest over VPN. Anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong. It literally is not possible! 3) You spent all that time fooling with other VPN’s and didn’t absorb anything that was explained to you before. Why?

Solution:

1) Give up. (We know you won’t)
2) Hire someone (Probably won’t do that either)
3) Get third party solutions out of your head.
4) Say it with me —> iPerf
5) Say it again —> iPerf
6) Build your own point-to-point VPN
7) Learn networking!!!! You’re gonna need it if you want it to work the way you envision it.
8) Learn how to be the SysAdmin you want to be and don’t want to hire.
9) The application layer of the OSI model has it’s own limitations. Understand that it will not perform the same way as the lower levels.
10) Mileage varies on hardware, type of connection, home network configuration and equipment, environmental factors, radio interference, network congestion (locally, intermediate, upper tiers, and remotely)

Since you like making such long winded, while appreciated and applauded for thoroughness, I hope that you’ve made it here to the bottom of this post. If you have, read it again. Absorb everything I just told you. It may seem brash but really it’s 20+ years condensed into a few paragraphs and re-iteration of previously explained things that were not taken into consideration while you continued your efforts. A+ for determination! Go back and read your previous thread. Then do lots and lots of googling. Stop thinking iptv while you’re doing it. I gave you very important keywords and subtle hints.

P.S. if you do end up figuring it out without hiring some help, I look forward to seeing you write up one hell of a tutorial. Make sure you save all your links, references, etc. A write up like that is pretty eff-ing noteworthy. It’s a big deal.

 

[terenceslattery]

Just stop and do your research. 1) it was already explained before that you can’t use 3rd party VPN’s. Stop thinking like an end user and think like the server admin that you want to be. 2) You cannot run Speedtest over VPN. Anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong. It literally is not possible! 3) You spent all that time fooling with other VPN’s and didn’t absorb anything that was explained to you before. Why?

Solution:

1) Give up. (We know you won’t)
2) Hire someone (Probably won’t do that either)
3) Get third party solutions out of your head.
4) Say it with me —> iPerf
5) Say it again —> iPerf
6) Build your own point-to-point VPN
7) Learn networking!!!! You’re gonna need it if you want it to work the way you envision it.
8) Learn how to be the SysAdmin you want to be and don’t want to hire.
9) The application layer of the OSI model has it’s own limitations. Understand that it will not perform the same way as the lower levels.
10) Mileage varies on hardware, type of connection, home network configuration and equipment, environmental factors, radio interference, network congestion (locally, intermediate, upper tiers, and remotely)

Since you like making such long winded, while appreciated and applauded for thoroughness, I hope that you’ve made it here to the bottom of this post. If you have, read it again. Absorb everything I just told you. It may seem brash but really it’s 20+ years condensed into a few paragraphs and re-iteration of previously explained things that were not taken into consideration while you continued your efforts. A+ for determination! Go back and read your previous thread. Then do lots and lots of googling. Stop thinking iptv while you’re doing it. I gave you very important keywords and subtle hints.

P.S. if you do end up figuring it out without hiring some help, I look forward to seeing you write up one hell of a tutorial. Make sure you save all your links, references, etc. A write up like that is pretty eff-ing noteworthy. It’s a big deal.

To be fair I've absorbed an awful lot of what I've read to date, I may not have acted on all advice (such as to give up), but I've certainly considered everything and I appreciate the responses. There is also a lot of conflicting information online, e.g. there are several posts I read where members state they use a third party VPN for this which I was surprised about.

My plan wasn't to ever use a third party VPN and instead build my own VPN Server on a dedicated server with openVPN or Wireguard, however when I read various comments recommending Surfshark I thought I should therefore also attempt that.

I pick up on your frustrations with me asking these questions, but I really do appreciate that you have taken the time to respond as I hadn't considered the topology of the VPN server needing to be P2P or to use iPerf for performance checking so your keywords and subtle hints are certainly not unnoticed or unappreciated, I'll be concentrating on both while I continue my networking studies.

I don't want to give up my endeavors however as I have already learnt so much about an area I vastly needed to improve on. I work in IT, but predominantly with SQLServer so this IPTV project is helping me get a better understanding of networking and that has always been an area of weakness of mine. Also I'm having fun and enjoying the challenge of learning something so complex.

I would also happily hire someone for this part of the project, but finding that right resource for something like this brings up it's own challenges. If you would be interested in helping if you drop me a PM we could discuss your rates / terms and I would be happy to hire you or someone else suitably qualified for this part of my project to expedite things while I continue to study?

Regarding the write up of the tutorial I have been writing up everything I have done to date and already have a hefty reference guide so far that I can refer to and I would be happy to share that knowledge with the community to help others who are also at the bottom of this learning curve once I have everything finished and working well.