It takes an extraordinary effort to continuously be Britain’s most complained-about ISP but that’s what separates TalkTalk from the rest of the pack. Ever since launching in 2004, TalkTalk became popular for being cheaper than the competition but has been met with complaints about slow speeds, internet throttling, website blocking, and the occasional giant data breach. TalkTalk is now trying to turn around its bad reputation with an offer of a “fairer broadband”. However, there are still issues with the service blocking websites and many customers are experiencing problems when using a VPN on its network. So, just how much has it improved?
Throttling and Blocking
TalkTalk does have a history of throttling internet speeds and it used to be common to experience slower downloads thanks to its traffic management policy. That changed in 2013 when, mostly to catch up with competitor Sky Broadband, TalkTalk announced that it would offer unlimited broadband and its previous policies were to be scrapped. TalkTalk does still have a version of traffic management but this is simply to prioritize video streaming. Regardless, some customers have alleged that TalkTalk deliberately slows down customer speeds so that they are forced to upgrade, but it’s more likely that is just the result of the company’s slow internet speeds which still lag behind other ISPs in the UK.
Although TalkTalk no longer throttles, blocking is still an issue, however most of this is forced upon the company by court orders. This means many P2P and torrenting websites are blocked although more recently these court orders have been targeting live streaming websites instead. This obviously has a big effect on customers using Kodi or IPTV who may frequently find channels disappearing.
Besides blocking the websites that are out of TalkTalk’s control, there have been incidents in the past of websites being blocked accidentally. TeamViewer, WordPress, and Imgur are some of the notable names to be temporarily disabled due to them being flagged by the Internet Watch Foundation.
Best VPN Services for TalkTalk of 2024
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Using a VPN With TalkTalk
It’s a good idea to use a VPN with TalkTalk because despite having corrected its throttling issues, it still can’t do anything about the UK’s internet censorship. So, if you want to access a website or a stream that has been blocked by TalkTalk or the courts then you’ll need to use a VPN.
Although officially TalkTalk does support VPN access, many TalkTalk customers have had issues connecting to their VPN while using the service. Specifically, there have been problems recorded with the D-LINK DSL3782 router and TalkTalk’s “super router” HG633 made by Huawei. TalkTalk says the issues have been fixed with firmware updates but problems still remain for some users. TalkTalk’s solution to this problem seems to be to simply send out more routers which tells you all you need to know about the router quality. Some VPNs, like SaferVPN, do offer user guides on how to set up a VPN on a Huawei router.
Recommended VPN Services
SaferVPN
Based in Israel is SaferVPN, a good choice for any novice VPN user due to its sleek and simple interfaces for all of its apps. The service also works well with BBC iPlayer and Netflix and you can trust that you’ll find a working connection. SaferVPN has some fast speeds and offers users five simultaneous connections. If you want to use a VPN on your TalkTalk router then SaferVPN has some clear manual setup guides to get you going. Obviously from a service called SaferVPN, it has some expert safety features including automatic Wi-Fi protection and military-grade encryption.
HideMyAss
Being based in the UK means the cheekily-named HideMyAss will always be a reliable source for finding British servers, although it has a huge network of 190 countries in total. If you want to stream the BBC iPlayer or Netflix, then HideMyAss has excellent compatibility and some consistent internet speeds all while offering five simultaneous connections. One outstanding feature of HideMyAss is that it offers a free web proxy with every account for an even simpler way of accessing TalkTalk’s blocked websites.
Surfshark
Surfshark is a solid all-rounder in the VPN world making it a good choice for beginners and pros alike. Based in the British Virgin Islands, Surfshark offers some convincing features like its CleanWeb extension that aims to block ads and protect against malware. Surfshark also supports iPlayer, Netflix, and P2P sharing as well as offering an unlimited number of simultaneous connections. One fantastic feature is Surfshark’s MultiHop Double VPN service which means you can begin your connection in one country before connecting to another one for even greater safety and online anonymity.
Best VPN Services of 2024
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