| VPN | PureVPN |
| Based in | Hong Kong |
| Logs | No logs |
| Price | $6.49/mo. |
| Support | Email and Chat |
| Refund | 31 days |
| Website | PureVPN.com |
I went into this PureVPN review with high hopes. Sure, PureVPN has had a rough few years with faulty apps, mediocre performance, and a scandal involving the FBI and handing over user data — but maybe they’ve turned things around. Maybe?
So I thought.
In this PureVPN review, I ran the service through extensive testing and then analyzed all aspects of the VPN to help you decide if this VPN is worth your money. Unfortunately, the test results weren’t pretty. Speeds were inconsistent and slow, the VPN apps were plagued with bugs and connection errors, and the overall quality seems to have gotten worse since I conducted the PureVPN review last year.
So let’s start out with an overview before we get into the weeds.
PureVPN overview in 2022
Here is a brief overview of my findings for this PureVPN review.
+ Pros
- Cheap one week trial
- Live chat support
– Cons
- PureVPN connection problems (not connecting)
- Inconsistent and slow speeds
- Expensive prices for long-term subscriptions
- DNS leaks
- Clunky VPN apps
- PureVPN logged user data for the FBI
- Does not work well with Netflix
Additional research findings
- Run by Gaditek in Pakistan (with Ivacy VPN)
- Does PureVPN work well for torrenting?
- PureVPN comparisons
PureVPN Pros
Here are the Pros of PureVPN.
PureVPN one week trial
With PureVPN, you can get a cheap one-week trial for only 99 cents. That’s not too bad. The one-week trial is boldly advertised on their homepage, so it seems to be the preferred option to acquire new customers.
I checked the refund policy and if you are not happy with the trial, you can still request a refund.
But there’s a problem. After the trial expires, you are locked in to an expensive subscription at $6.49 per month (we’ll discuss this more below in the Cons section).
So while this is not a normal free trial VPN where you don’t pay anything, it is still a discounted trial offer.
PureVPN has live chat support
Another good thing about PureVPN is the live chat support. However, this is common with the top VPN services. Live chat is available 24/7 and accessible through the PureVPN website in the bottom-right corner.
I tested out PureVPN’s chat support and I was quickly connected to a representative.
Overall, the chat representatives were pretty responsive and helpful with random questions I had.
Now let’s move on to the cons…
PureVPN Cons
Here are some of the cons I found in testing and researching PureVPN.
Connection problems (PureVPN unable to connect)
With the latest round of testing for this PureVPN review, I ran into a regular problem. The problem was PureVPN not connecting to the servers. In other words, I clicked the connect button and after a long time the VPN would time out and eventually return an error message.
Above you can see I was getting the message, “Unable to connect to remote server” at the top of the app. This occurred with many servers I tested.
Another connection problem I had with PureVPN is that it would apparently connect, but there would not be any bandwidth (100% packet loss). I’m not certain what was causing these connection problems with PureVPN.
PureVPN slow speeds
On the PureVPN website, they boldly claim to be “the fastest VPN service ever!“
I tested these claims with a 500 Mbps internet connection – and the results were not very good.
Here was a PureVPN server in the United States, giving me only 59 Mbps.
Not a good start. This is under 12% of my baseline connection speed.
Next, I tested a PureVPN server in Canada. Once again, the speeds were not very good at only 39 Mbps.
This is about under 8% of my baseline speed. It’s clear that PureVPN is not the best VPN for Canada with performance like this.
In addition to the slow download speeds, you can also see that latency, or ping, was unusually high. Ping should have been lower given my location in the United States. With slow pings, PureVPN would not be a good VPN for gaming.
Next I tested PureVPN servers in the UK, and the results were similar. Here was a PureVPN server in London at only 18 Mbps.
So these speed tests are only getting worse with PureVPN. While servers that are further from my physical location can be slower, they should not be this slow.
Comparison with NordVPN
To show you a quick comparison, let’s take a look at NordVPN. Here is a NordVPN server in the UK with speeds of 295 Mbps:
You can see that NordVPN blows PureVPN out of the water in terms of performance.
Now let’s see how fast NordVPN was with a server in the United States. Here I’m testing a NordVPN server in Seattle and getting 445 Mbps.
It’s clear that PureVPN has a lot of catching up to do. It is nowhere near the speeds you will get with top-performing VPNs, as you can see in our NordVPN vs ExpressVPN report.
Why is PureVPN slow?
Many VPNs invest money in high-end server infrastructure that can deliver the fastest speeds to their users. This may explain why PureVPN is slow: they are not running the best servers with sufficient bandwidth for their user base.
After the trial: expensive prices and limited payment options
Further up in this PureVPN review we commended the cheap free trial option. We noted, however, that the price jumps up after the trial is over. Notice the fine print in the image below:
As soon as the free trial is over, prices jump up to $6.49 per month. This is certainly not a good cheap VPN by any stretch of the imagination. And the prices for the 6-month and 1-month plans are even worse. Of course, there are VPNs that are more expensive, such as ExpressVPN and Perfect Privacy, but they don’t trick you with a cheap free trial.
For a VPN under $4 per month, you can check out Surfshark or NordVPN.
And speaking of prices, here is another issue I noticed…
Limited payment options
At the time of this PureVPN review, there are only two options for payment: PayPal or credit card.
If you want to pay for your VPN using Bitcoin, gift cards, or other cryptocurrency, there are better options available. For example, both CyberGhost and NordVPN support Bitcoin payments.
PureVPN refund policy
If you want a refund on your PureVPN subscription, you have 31 days to claim it. This 31-day refund window is pretty good. Here are the PureVPN refund terms:
If you aren’t satisfied with PureVPN’s service for any reason whatsoever, then you can claim a refund within 31 days of your order date.
Remember, we will first try to resolve your issue successfully before processing the refund request.
The refund policy also references certain payment methods that are not refundable, such as Google Pay. Proceed with caution.
PureVPN and DNS leaks
In previous PureVPN reviews, I found the apps to suffer from data leaks, particularly IPv6 leaks.
So let’s see how PureVPN did in the latest review.
Before running any tests, I ensured that all leak protection settings were activated, as you can see below:
Ok, so we should theoretically not find any leaks with PureVPN at this point with all leak protection settings activated. Next, I ran the PureVPN Windows app through some basic VPN tests.
Here you can see I’m connected to a UK PureVPN server, but I was getting DNS leaks, whereby my DNS requests were getting out of the VPN tunnel and being handled by my ISP. This exposes my browsing history and general location to third parties.
Note: These were active leaks when the connection was stable.
To identify leaks, I ran tests changing up the following variables:
- Connecting to different PureVPN servers, including virtual locations
- Changing the “mode” I was using “Security / Privacy, Stream, Internet Freedom, etc.
- Changing up the protocol
I did not find DNS leaks with every server, protocol, and “mode” that I tested, but there were some clear cases where DNS requests were leaking out. This undermines the effectiveness of the VPN, while also exposing your data to third parties.
PureVPN’s clunky VPN apps
VPN apps should not crash, stall out, or require you to start the Task Manager to force quit the program. Unfortunately, with PureVPN, the VPN apps simply do not function well.
For example, server selection can very very tedious:
- First you need to select which “mode” you want to be in. You can choose from Stream, Internet Freedom, Security / Privacy, File-Sharing, and Dedicated IP.
- Servers will then appear in a jumbled order based on Ping times. This can make it frustrating to choose the server you need.
Here I am again having server connection problems, but you can also see the servers are listed by country and not in alphabetical order.
Depending on which “mode” you are using, choosing a server based on the city may not even be possible.
On a positive note, the PureVPN app does have an option to search for a specific server.
PureVPN logged user data for the FBI
As we have covered before here on Restore Privacy, PureVPN is an example of a VPN that was caught logging user data and handing this data over to the FBI.
For years, PureVPN has claimed to have a “zero log policy” and not keep any data. However, in 2017, news broke that PureVPN had not only logged user data, they had also provided this data to the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) for a criminal case. The records of this were made public.
There was quite a bit of attention on PureVPN after this case came out. PureVPN claimed it was a limited event, however, but there’s no telling if that is true.
It’s also interesting to note that this all transpired despite PureVPN being based in Hong Kong with no legal obligation to comply with US authorities.
PureVPN completes no-logs audit
In an attempt to revive trust, PureVPN has completed a third-party no logs audit. The audit was conducted by Altius IT in June 2019. The auditors’ report confirms that PureVPN now conforms with their no-logs policy and privacy protection procedures.
Will this help to salvage PureVPN’s reputation and the damage caused by the logging case and cooperation with the FBI? Only time will tell.
PureVPN does not work well with Netflix
Unfortunately for those wanting to stream their favorite movies, PureVPN does not work well with Netflix.
The key problem I encountered when testing PureVPN with Netflix was buffering. Although I found that PureVPN could access American Netflix (not blocked), I did have buffering problems due to slow speeds.
Below I am in “Stream” mode while connected to one of PureVPN’s US servers. As you can see, Netflix is not blocked, but the speeds were so slow that the stream was buffering (spinning red circle).
The Netflix buffering issue seemed to occur randomly.
For these reasons, I would recommend going with a reliable VPN for Netflix (not PureVPN).
Firestick – Many people use the Amazon Firestick or Fire TV to stream content from various sources. Loading a VPN on Firestick will allow you to access streams that may be geo-restriced. PureVPN offers a Firestick app, but the slow speeds will still be a problem.
And speaking of Amazon, you may be wondering if PureVPN is the best VPN for Amazon Prime. The answer is no, it didn’t work well in our tests here, either.
Additional research findings:
Below are additional findings from my research of PureVPN for this review.
PureVPN, Gaditek and Pakistan (with Ivacy VPN)
According to PureVPN’s website, it is officially operated under the business GZ Systems Limited, which is based in Hong Kong. But is PureVPN being operated out of Hong Kong?
If you dig a bit deeper, you will find a company called Gaditek, based in Karachi, Pakistan. PureVPN appears to be owned and operated by Gaditek, which lists PureVPN as one of its brands:
Whether PureVPN is operated in Pakistan or Hong Kong does not really matter from a legal perspective, since the company is legally based in Hong Kong, which is the jurisdiction it falls under.
There are also people who allege that Gaditek (PureVPN) is operating a network of VPN review sites, where PureVPN is consistently ranked as the top recommendation. See this report for further information.
Is Ivacy a rebranded version of PureVPN?
For many years there have been rumors (and lots of evidence) that Ivacy is a rebranded (white label) version of PureVPN. This would not be too surprising since PureVPN offers a white label version of their product, which they advertise on their website.
Finally, in March 2019, Ivacy staff officially admitted that PureVPN has “minor stakes” in Ivacy.
This isn’t too uncommon, however, as there are other VPNs that appear to be independent but are owned by the same entity:
- This article in PCMag describes how j2 Global owns IPVanish, StrongVPN, and Encrypt.me.
- I learned that the parent company of CyberGhost VPN (Kape) also owns ZenMate VPN and Private Internet Access.
Does PureVPN work well for torrenting?
Many people are looking for a safe, reliable, and fast VPN for torrenting. This is because torrenting is often a grey area (depending on what you are torrenting) and this can put you at risk for copyright infringement.
So is PureVPN a good option for torrenting?
I would argue no. PureVPN is not a good VPN for torrenting when you examine the three criteria from above:
- Safe – PureVPN suffers from data leaks, which can expose your activities to your internet provider, and other third parties, such as copyright trolls. It only takes one leaked packet to expose your identity and online activities.
- Reliable – PureVPN is not very reliable and suffers from connection problems.
- Fast – PureVPN is certainly not fast, based on my own test results.
Considering these factors, PureVPN is not a good VPN for torrenting. You may want to consider other options.
PureVPN comparisons
For those who are interested in seeing how PureVPN compared to some of our other top-rated VPNs, we have a few comparison reports.
First up is our NordVPN vs PureVPN comparison. In this report we see that NordVPN beat out PureVPN in all speed tests, while also offering more secure applications, better support for Netflix, and a cheaper price. NordVPN was the big winner here.
Second, we also have a PureVPN vs ExpressVPN comparison. While PureVPN came out slightly cheaper, ExpressVPN had much faster speeds, butter streaming support, more reliable apps, and a much better track record. It’s clear that ExpressVPN came out on top.
That’s it for PureVPN comparisons, but we have many other VPN comparisons if you are interested.
PureVPN review conclusion
When I began working on this PureVPN review I wondered it the service was improving over previous years. I must conclude that the answer is no. PureVPN lags behind the other market leaders in performance, security, and reliability.
While there are a few positive aspects of PureVPN, it is not a VPN I can recommend after testing it for this review.
Alternatives to PureVPN
Click the VPN name below to read our full review – or grab the discount for the best savings. All three of these VPNs have a 30 day money-back guarantee.
You can also check out our guide on the Best VPN for other recommendations.
If you have used PureVPN, feel free to share your honest review (good or bad) below.
This PureVPN review was last updated on January 6, 2022.
PureVPN is a scam! Vpn doesn’t work and they’ll never give you money back
PureVPN is a total fraud and scam. I purchased a monthly plan in Oct and within 24 hours was asking for my money back. It’s painfully slow, doesn’t work at all (tried to stream shows overseas and I just got blocked at every turn), and the customer service is a joke. When emailing for a refund they just keep giving me the run around and the most ridiculous emails, so now I had to call my bank to cancel the charge. DO NOT USE PUREVPN. They are a scam.
I hate this company and their product. Not only did it not work (like iPvanish or others do), it was super difficult to get a refund after 1 single day of use. I wasn’t able to download anything because the interface is broken. I’ve been given the run around for days to get a simple refund, while their site clearly states a 30 day money back guarantee. Still waiting for my refund. I’ll contact my bank next.
Same is with me. I fell in there 30 day money back guarantee. But there company is unethical and super slow it’s been over a month now . Every time I contact them they create a trouble ticket and ask me to troubleshoot by changing protocol . I’ll reply and no answer again and again and again.
PureVPN is a ripoff. I foolishly purchased the 5-year plan. But after a while it interfered with my email such that emails I typed were deleted and I could only send if I turned PureVPN off. Their support staff was no competent and could not help me. Nor did they make any serious effort to help. Unfortunately the problems began after their refund period had expired. I have tried and tried to contact them. They keep saying they got my message and thank you but they never do anything. They are obviously not interested in maintaining favorable public relations. And my money has gone down a rathole. DO NOT BUY PUREVPN. IT IS A PIG IN A POKE.
Hi, see my comments and reply to Mike’s post below. I agree 100% with you. We should let everyone know that PureVPN is a scam.
Regards,
Zahir
I was on PureVPN 5 total days. I went with it as the interface was built into my RAX10 router. I logged into Country: USA, City: NewYork and found that I could to watch New York TV stations on Locast. I often in the 5 days found myself “out of the market we serve.” Funny for being in New York. What made me wonder about location was that I was able to see stations from Milwaukee, Madison, Pittsburgh and yes…. even Los Angeles. So I went to the IP finder page and found my IP was in LA, NOT NEW YORK. It was hassle after hassle chatting and emailing with customer service. I also prior to requesting a refund on August 10, 2021 was online chatting about super slow speeds, when I gave my ROKU “highest” bandwidth. I could not view TV on Friday night at all. Locast TV went in and out and was not stable. I was only getting 4Mb out of my 400 Mb on PureVPN.
The customer care is not worth 2 cents. The email support is poor. Every person who emailed me, never read the above person’s email. So, I was requested to do things 2-3 times, if not explain things 2-3 times. They also claimed my RAX10 was not supported, but the interface was built into the router.
Take my advice…. RUN AND RUN FAST from this VPN. It’s not worth the hassle, nor is it worth upgrading to their 5 year plan. after all, who wants 5 years of hassles and poor internet bandwidth.
I saved screengrabs of the chat. Supposedly, they will process my refund soon. We will see.
Hi Mike,
I had the same experience with them. I have shared my email correspondence with them below. It is a complete farce and does not help improve the security In fact it slows down all your traffic and transactions. You will note from the email thread below that they back tracked on their promise to refund!
Regards Zahir
—————–
Purevpn (PureVPN)
Apr 20, 2021, 0:09 UTC
Dear Customer,
Thank you for contacting us.
We are so sad to hear that, While we personally wish to fulfil your request, unfortunately our hands are tied here as well and we have to follow our refund policy. With a heavy heart we have to inform you that you are not qualifying for Refund as per our Refund Policy.
We can also offer you to:
1. Hold / Freeze your account i.e. disabling it, and reactivating it once you need it again.
2. Transfer your remaining subscription time to another user, referred by you.
3. Technical assistance for your convenience, with our skilled support team and 2nd level support too.
feel free to contact us if you need any more assistance.
Regards,
Shawn
Customer Success Team
PureVPN
Best for Self Support: support.purevpn.com
Visitor
Apr 19, 2021, 23:15 UTC
You have taken peoples’ money and provided rubbish service. And are now back tracking on your own promises. I will let everyone in my network of friends and colleagues know to stay away from your company! This is a promise not a threat.
Zahir
Purevpn (PureVPN)
Apr 19, 2021, 21:40 UTC
Dear Customer,
Thank you for contacting us.
We are really sorry for the inconvenience. However it is to inform you that there was some kind of misunderstanding and after that we checked your account again and unfortunately you are not qualifying for the refund. We apologize for the inconvenience and not living up to your expectations.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further assistance.
Regards,
Shawn
Customer Success Team
PureVPN
Best for Self Support: support.purevpn.com
Visitor
Apr 19, 2021, 20:11 UTC
I am getting tired of your inconsistent messages!! You keep on changing your Policy and written undertakings!!
Please adhere to what you stated below on Apr 19, 2021, 1:58 UTC and proceed with refunding the remaining amount of USD 40.57!
“3) 1-year subscription for as low as $11.88 USD and refund of the remaining amount.”
Zahir
Purevpn (PureVPN)
Apr 19, 2021, 17:45 UTC
Hi,
We apologize for the misunderstanding in offering you the refund in the previous email and the inconvenience you have received.
Unfortunately, As per the refund Policy, we can’t proceed with your refund howerver as our valued customer can extend your account for 12 more months, Will that be fine?
Feel free to contact us for further assistance.
Regards,
Travis
Customer Success Team
PureVPN
Best for Self Support: support.purevpn.com
Visitor
Apr 19, 2021, 16:36 UTC
You clearly stated below “If you are not interested in any of the above offers, please reply and we will happily proceed with the refund.” So now are you retracting your written offer by apologizing? That means you didn’t really know what you were offering in the first place!
In that case, I take your offer #3 below and you should process USD 52.45 – USD 11.88 = USD 40.57 and my current subscription will expire on November 24, 2021.
Please send me confirmation of the refund.
Zahir
Purevpn (PureVPN)
Apr 19, 2021, 6:24 UTC
Hi,
We apologize for the misunderstanding in offering you the refund in the previous email and the inconvenience you have received.
It is to inform you that we do provide you 31 days of money-back in which we can refund your full payment. As we have written it on our refund policy and as we have checked our record it seems that there is no such cancellation being made within 31 days. Under these circumstances, I am hopeful that you will understand our situation.
Refund Policy: https://www.purevpn.com/refund-policy.php
Feel free to contact us for further assistance.
Regards,
Harvey
Customer Success Team
PureVPN
Best for Self Support: support.purevpn.com
Visitor
Apr 19, 2021, 3:12 UTC
Thank you very much for your 3 offers below and I am glad to note with gratitude that you want to retain your customers. However, since the service you are offering doesn’t work for me (I have not used it for some time now), I unfortunately have to decline your generous offers. Kindly cancel the service and process my refund.
Regards,
Zahir
Purevpn (PureVPN)
Apr 19, 2021, 1:58 UTC
Hi,
Hope you are doing good.
Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience you may have experienced regarding the same and it is to inform you that cancelling is not an issue for us as well. But it will be highly appreciated if you could allow us once to assist and resolve these issues also, we as a token of apology we can offer:
1) 50% partial refund of the original payment & the full subscription duration remaining intact and active.
2) Add 24 months to your current subscription
3) 1-year subscription for as low as $11.88 USD and refund of the remaining amount.
If you are not interested in any of the above offers, please reply and we will happily proceed with the refund.
If you have any other questions, I’ll be happy to help. Have a fantastic day!
Regards,
Shawn
Customer Success Team
PureVPN
Best for Self Support: support.purevpn.com
Visitor
Apr 18, 2021, 22:45 UTC
LiveChat conversation transcript:
———-
IP: 10.136.34.157
Location: US
Device: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/89.0.4389.128 Safari/537.36
URL: https://my.purevpn.com/helpdesk
Existing: 0
E-mail: zmoosajee@gmail.com
———-
Adam Reeds (Mon, 4/19/2021, 03:40:17 am Asia/Karachi)
Hello. How may I help you?
Adam Reeds (Mon, 4/19/2021, 03:40:38 am)
Hello and welcome to PureVPN support. How can I help you today? 🙂
Visitor (Mon, 4/19/2021, 03:40:48 am)
I want to cancel my 5 year subscription.
Adam Reeds (Mon, 4/19/2021, 03:41:13 am)
I see ..I am sorry to hear that .. We would love to know the reason of cancellation though, I will be glad to help you configure any issues you might have faced?
Visitor (Mon, 4/19/2021, 03:41:49 am)
It’s too restrictive and slows down the transaction time
Visitor (Mon, 4/19/2021, 03:42:08 am)
And it does not work with all sites
Adam Reeds (Mon, 4/19/2021, 03:42:17 am)
I see, I can certainly understand your concerns and I apologize for any inconvenience…
Adam Reeds (Mon, 4/19/2021, 03:42:27 am)
Let me try to resolve it for you instead of cancellation
Adam Reeds (Mon, 4/19/2021, 03:42:29 am)
Could you please confirm which device / Operating System you’re using?
Visitor (Mon, 4/19/2021, 03:43:06 am)
WIN 10 Lenovo 2019
Adam Reeds (Mon, 4/19/2021, 03:43:39 am)
You are requested to change protocols in the purevpn application settings and then try to connect again and share us with your experience so that we could assist you accordingly.
Please try all protocols one by one which is ikev2, udp and tcp.
Here is how to change them:
https://support.purevpn.com/how-to-change-protocol-in-purevpn-windows-software
Visitor (Mon, 4/19/2021, 03:45:01 am)
This is too much work. I am 61 years old! Just cancel the subscription and give me my refund for the unused protion
Visitor (Mon, 4/19/2021, 03:45:10 am)
portion
Adam Reeds (Mon, 4/19/2021, 03:45:31 am)
We respect your decision and have canceled your account as per your request. We value your business greatly and hope to see you again soon as a part of the PureVPN family
This email is a service from PureVPN.
[PMO5K9-DVLD]
I’m not sure what you all are doing with your connnections here but I’m getting just over 100Mbps up and 40 down. Netflix works just fine – I can watch whatever regions programming I’d like to on desktop. 21ms ping. I remember when all the complaints here were something I would have agreed with. Probably a year or so ago I’d be saying the same things I’ve read in the comments here. Although, as of today, PureVPN has been a great service for me. I’d like to delve more into the data leaks I just read about though. That is concerning as this is a VPN after all and the main reason I purchased my lifetime sub was to prevent my browsings from being seen by my ISP – torrents n such. I’m pretty surprised that people are still having issues with this VPN provider though. Great article regardless. Lots of useful info here. Thanks Sven.
From the first day purevpn as interfered with my internet. I have to uninstall and reinstall after getting back on line. I have had many tickets with tech support but nothing ever got fixed and still nothing works. I have permanently removed purevpn and have asked repeatedly for a refund. its been months and it is still in Que for review for a refund. I would never recommend this service. Piss poor program and customer service is not interested in fixing real problems. All I want is my money back. Purevpn can not deliver. Buyer be ware
Avoid PoorVPN, it is not worth the money spent.
I wanted to use it on openelec on a RaspberryPi with their official addon to stream German live TV with a German IP and subscribed for a 3-years plan.
The stream freezes regularly, buffers very often, and connections are interrupted several times per day.
When you contact support, you get chatbots or analphabets keeping asking you the same questions over and over again.
Just to explain (without going into IT-details for non-tech users like me): When you tell them your bike has a flat tire, they are going to ask you to change the oil and to install a steering wheel, to open the motor and to change the cooling fluid.
Then they ask you to send them photographs (which they don’t look at), suggest you to buy a lorry and new socks. And every mail (if you happen to get one) starts with the same stupid “Thank you for considering PureVPN for your online security needs. We understand how you feel about the situation and we’re sorry for the trouble this has caused.” or “We understand how you feel about the situation and we’re sorry for the trouble this has caused. ”
I now have about 50 support ticket numbers in 2 years (support closes them after a certain time), several (too many) hours spent with their chatbot and a multiple of this spent writing mails (which aren’t read) and my issue is still unsolved. My refund requests are systematically ignored.
Quotes of our e-mail correspondence:
me: I use openelec 8.3.4 (kodi) on a RaspberryPi with your add-on 2.0.0
answer: Kindly let us know if you’re using an android TV, smart TV or the firstick?
PoorVPN: Then go to speedtest.net website
me: with openelec? How?
answer: Please share two screenshots with us. So that we may analyze the situation better.
–> This was two months ago and the screenshots haven’t been downloaded from the file sharing server, yet.
me (a couple of e-mails later): still waiting for explanations on how to install an internet browser in kodi
answer: Pure VPN is all about helping users for online streaming downloading and browsing; and avoiding hackers, hide your IP addresses and locations, encrypt your communication and allow our clients watch their favorite contents. Pure VPNs prevent their customers from ISPs monitoring and Geo tagging by third parties.
We have dedicated applications for Windows, Mac, Android, IOS Linux, Firestick, Android TV and DDWRT Applet. . We also provide configuration for several other devices like Smart TVs, routers, consoles, etc..
A couple of mails later: Could you please let us know where you had issues with us so that we can get into the bottom of it and help you to resolve the issues you have been experiencing.
Me: almost unruly answer asking them to re-read my previous mails where I sent them a detailed description, log-files and a lot of other information.
PoorVPN: You’re requested to confirm the device you’re using and the exact issue you’re facing so that we can help you any better.
A couple of days later: It is to inform you that Kodi add-on of PureVPN isn’t tested recently for streaming purposes.. However, You are requested to please connect with a below-attached file with your raspberry pi.
–> Unfortunately, there was no file attached and when they finally managed to send it, there was no explanation on how to install *.exe in openelec (based on Linux, so *.exe won’t work)…
On what PoorVPN answers: Please share your setting screenshot with us so that we will assist you accordingly.
–> please mind, I already sent screenshots which haven’t been downloaded…
–> The online guide on the website (they sent me a link) is for a very old openelec version, the GUI has changed a lot between version 2.* and 8.*
About a week later, I get the following mail from PoorVPN: request you […] send me the following:
[…] 3- Device / Operating System you are facing issues on.
4- Are you using our application or connecting via manual configuration?
As you can see, their “support” keeps asking the same questions over and over again and does not provide any solution or help. It’s all about keeping you occupied…
I even managed to have several teamviewer sessions with “Ryan”, who confirmed me that it was technically impossible to execute any of the actions which were requested by his support “colleagues” chatbot.
So I only can say one thing: RUN and look for ANOTHER VPN.
Sorry for my bad English, this is not my mother tongue (but it is probably better than the Chinglish of their chat and e-mail bots).
Why is it that the date onthis article is DECEMBER 15, 2020 and yet the comments go back to NOVEMBER 10, 2018.
It’s simple: the review gets updated, reflected in the most recent date, and the comments remain.
I ask for refund from PureVPN and never get it. They stop replying to support tickets or emails. Also very bad VPN Service. Stay away.
A similar thing happened to me. I paid for a lifetime plan about 4 years ago and they changed it to a five year plan recently, but calculated the expiration date to end after a little more than 4 years (which was mathematically impossible, even according to their doctored records). Tech support would say “sorry for the inconvenience, we’ll look into it”, but never responded to follow-up requests for updates. That went on for months, then my account expired last month.
The VPN service itself was OK, but support was worthless, and they seem to have some shady things going on with customer payments. With Beijing taking more and more control over Hong Kong, anyone concerned about privacy should just steer clear of this provider. There are better options out there for the price anyway.
I have been using their service on and off for a few years now and they’ve really gotten worse in the last two months.
First off, they claim that on reconnect you’d get a new IP address in 90 % but whenever I connect to some server, I get the same IP as the previous day/morning/week. Reconnecting would maybe change IP+1 , 2 numbers, max. 10 but then comes back to that number.
With some servers there’s no way anymore to get to another IP range (Slovenia, Bahamas) like it used still in Sept/Oct.
The worst is their support in the chat, they keep copy/pasting every possible method without reading what you write/your problem is.
I wanna ask if someone of you know how to manually choose IP address(es)/range that you’d like to connect in their app (maybe by manipulating their app)?? That’d be awesome. Please e-email me.
The PureVpn is not a decent company, period. On Nov. 27th, 2020, it charged me us dollar $59. Canadian funds $78.75 without my concent and any dealing I agreed. The email from the company is [Ivan@purevpn.com]. I had a contact with the company three years ago, and bought its service with my credit card. When start using the service in China, I never got through anywhere within China. This Hong Kong based company is very suspicious and should never be trusted. Three years later, without any acknowlegement and agreement from me, the purevpn charged me us $59! So it is a very dangerous company, and, everybody, please stay away from the scam company.
PureVPN service is indeed shaky. But the desktop app currently is adequate for a single video stream IF properly configured. At least until they break the app again. PureVPN programmers wiped out the ability to save configuration in about every other application update during most of 2019-2020. But that has not happened much in the last 4 months.
Oddly enough “File Sharing” tends to be better than “Streaming” for video assuming your application has built-in buffering — because Streaming is limited in max speed (trouble refilling buffer once it stutters) whereas file sharing can surge to fill buffers after a lag.
Also many video/gaming services with logons will want non-NAT with static IP selected as the default results into IP switching and other signs of “oversharing” a service account.
The real problem is with OpenVPN router connections. Basically PureVPN assumes that no one uses that aspect of their service or that you contact them daily. Server names and working configuration change without warning and OpenVPN connections are dropped without warning. Unfortunately there is no app killer equivalent or alarm function built into most router or server provided links. You will have to write a macro to monitor OpenVPN failure (IP change) yourself.
Avoid PureVPN, I requested a refund, they cancelled the subscription however 2 months and 5 emails I am still waiting for a refund.
This company is a fraudster. Be Very careful not to use this one.
I bought the 5 year subscription on january 2020 but on september they charge my credit card for another 5 years ahead extension without my consent and the most important, the payment method stated on the bill is through PayPal which actually happened when crosscheck with card issuing bank was, they directly access debiting your card. For first 1 or 2 live chat complain,they said they will process the refund and email me the wire proff, which never happened until today. They cut off the service (can’t connect to vpn service nor the customer service) after I complained and ask for refund.
So be careful guys
This is a FRAUDULENT company to be avoided at all costs. They will refuse refunds and put you through an endless back and forth hassle with support. These guys are nothing but crooks and con artists. The refund means nothing to them, watch out. DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY.
correction based in china*
Hello Sven!
I think you made a little mistake with the beginning part.
You said PureVPN does keeps “No logs (audited)”
Thanks. I changed the table to be “undetermined” in the logs section. PureVPN has undergone a no-logs audit, but has also logged user data.
PureVPN is easily the worst performing VPN I have ever used. Also, it’s founder is Uzair Gadit who owns Gaditek, a Pakistan based shell corporation, owned by Disrupt Corporation, that runs PureVPN.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/uzairgadit
https://www.gaditek.com/our-impact/
Did not work at all when playing online gaming. Also I paid the 99 cents free trial period, and they charged me 129.00 subscription. They gave me the round around about the 129.00 charge. Once I told them that I was contacting the bank and FED’s they immediately refunded my money less the 99 cents. As far as I am concerned they are crooks. And they still have my credit card info. Don’t trust these guys.
Many VPN services require special configuration to work with game services. Most VPN services by default will cause frequent IP changes and even share a single IP with many users.
PureVPN desktop app like most VPN would need configuration as non-NAT with static IP. That will stop the IP switching while you are logged into the VPN. I think it will stop sharing that IP with someone else while you are logged into the VPN session. But it will reserve that IP from someone else re-using that IP while you are not logged onto the VPN nor will ensure you always get the same IP when you log on again.
Steam is an example of a game service that puts great store on only one user on the same IP and each user logging in from the same IP. When your IP changes they make you do the extra security routine. Steam will outright block two users attempting to log from behind the same IP (common home NAT router issue). Many other services will block you if your IP changes within a short period of time (less than a day) on the theory you are sharing a paid account with other people or your account was hacked.
But I think lag on PureVPN would suck regardless. Even the best VPN providers will harm your Internet game performance to some degree. It takes time to encrypt then later decrypt data == lag. PureVPN is just significantly worse.
If the game is legitimate account –> skip the VPN if you can. The most common reason to do otherwise is trying to play on corporate/school network where they block games but not VPNs. But you may be SOL for high performance games.
I purchased 5 years plan. But I cant access to website after connected to purevpn. Even I cant connect to purevpn website. Also there is login issues. I asked for refund but they said tha they are not refunding to customers. They can freeze or they can transfer it to other user which I will suggest. I will never suggest it to anyone.
I cancelled Purevpn services before I installed it on my computer. Tried to get it on but Fedora just lit up with errors when I tried to use their installer so I decided to cancel rather spend hours on their abominably slow chat line with their technicians. I am not fluent in Techtalk which they all speak.
Took me two days and meany e-mails with their customer service rep. to finally get them to agree to cancel but they finally sent me a refund notice. A few days latter I got my credit card bill and the refund was on it, but there was also a $49.95 charge for a second order which I had not made. I took that second order up with their customer service and they claimed I had made a second order which was not covered under the 31 day money back guarantee order. We did an e-mail dance around with that for a few days while I tried to learn from them what was the content of the second order was. They then said they could noyt find the second order in their data base, probably because I had made it using a different e-mail address. I stopped trying to reason with them at that point and contacted my Credit Card company and complained that I thought Purevpn was trying to defraud me and sent the Card company copies of my e-mail exchanges with Purevpn. The card company agreed to start a suspected fraud investigation. When I got my next Credit card bill I determined the credit card company had credited my card account with the amount in question. I strongly suggest that Purevpn is a company is not to be trusted but to avoid.
After using purevpn for 2 years the service suddenly stopped working on win10 and android. Helpful technical help is practically non existent. After weeks of trying to make it work I gave up and requested they refunded my unused subscription of almost 3 years. Initially told I would get a refund then they reneged and said they are unable to. Now I have subscribed to a better working vpn because they said I would get a refund yet they still refuse to refund my money and want me to try a beta version knowing full well I have subscribed to another vpn. Do not waste your time and money.
One time after PureVPN screwed up the app update – I did have to manually uninstall then reinstall. Just downloaded the latest version of app manually from their website. So far that has kept things working across 3 years.
The most annoying thing was a long period where the app maintainer seemed to have an issue with the idea that configurations needed to be saved between app logons. Every other update, the configuration would need to be re-entered every time the desktop VPN app was used. But that seems to be resolved for the last few months. Maybe they fired the guy and replaced him – or maybe they finally convinced him to test saving configurations before releasing a new version (probably with a 2×4 board).
Very very poor speeds and un reliable. They are crap servers around the world. DONT BUY THEM. I AM STUCK WITH THEM. YOU WONT BE ABLE TO STREAM AND TECH SUPPORT IS USELESS.
Dont believe of their advertisement. They are not trustworthy.
Long time user. Pure used to be decent. Slowed my internet speed down, but still worked. Now it wont allow me to connect at all to the internet. My experience with customer service was horrible. It used to be decent but last week I spent 45 minutes in a chat with a person who knew nothing about how to resolve my issue. Told me they would have someone contact me with a fix, only to get an email telling me to go to a chat.
WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS SERVICE.
I have occasionally used PureVPN on Mac and Windows. Her e is my problem: IF YOU DO NOT RUN PUREVPN YOU CANNOT ACCESS INTERNET!!! Why! How can I get COMPLETELY get rid of PureVPN and use Internet without it?
Typical case of RTFM. That’s an option in the settings…