WiFiRanger Safe Surf (VPN) and Canada Streaming

Smitty77_7 · July 1, 2016

Has anyone successfully streamed via WiFiRange GO2 Safe Surf while traveling in Canada?

If so, any tips or tricks to be shared?

TIA, and best to all,

Smitty

docj · July 2, 2016

Hi Smitty:

We used it successfully all last summer while on PEI. We were able to stream Amazon and listen to Pandora, both of which are "US only" sources. Not a problem; using SafeSurf you have an IP which makes it look as if you are in Boise ID. You do need a wifi that is stable enough to maintain the VPN-like "tunnel" but most of the time we could use it.

Joel

Smitty77_7 · July 3, 2016

Thanks Joel - When I read your post, I recalled you were over the North border last year - should have just sent you a PM.

We do not cross for another 3 1/2 weeks, so I have time to make sure my GO2 software is up to date. It's been 6-7 months since I fired it up - and that was just to do an update then... And this will give met time to activate the Safe Surf and learn how it works. (I also want to do some A/B testing, on download speed differences. Pandora/Spotify don't need much bandwidth download speeds - but Netflix/Amazon are different animals:)!

Appreciated your confirmation, as I was also looking into other VPN services... Will not do so now!

Best,

Smitty

docj · July 3, 2016

Smitty:

Before you enable SafeSurf you have to make sure that the "tunnel" to the WFR server is up. To do that you need to make sure that the blue "check for updates" link is visible in the upper right corner of the control panel. If it isn't, click on it a couple of times until it shows. During the time we were using SafeSurf there were occasional days when internet issues made it difficult to maintain the tunnel. Not much you can do about net congestion.

Also, when you click on Enable SafeSurf it will immediately change to read Disable SafeSurf, but it will not have fully engaged until the little "lock symbol" appears next to the word ONLINE in the upper right block of the CP. That's a bit of a misleading aspect of the UI that needs a bit of tweaking. What I usually do to see if it is working is to go to a site such as Speedtest.net to see where it thinks I am located. If it shows me as being in Idaho then I know everything is Ok.

Joel

solarworks · July 30, 2016

I followed Smitty's advice. Just like he said...

I clicked on Safe Surf and thought that was that.

After reading Smitty's advice, I went back to look. Sure enough, the lock wasn't there.

So, I clicked 3 times on the Diconnected from Cloud.

After the third time, the lock came on and the upper Right now shows the cloud and Check for Updates.

Thanks

Smitty77_7 · July 30, 2016

I followed Smitty's advice. Just like he said...

I clicked on Safe Surf and thought that was that.

After reading Smitty's advice, I went back to look. Sure enough, the lock wasn't there.

So, I clicked 3 times on the Diconnected from Cloud.

After the third time, the lock came on and the upper Right now shows the cloud and Check for Updates.

Thanks

Glad it worked, but that was Joel's WFR experience helping us both:)!

And just FYI, I've been PM'ing with Joel, as the last two or three times I've tried the Safe Surf feature, I've seen a speed overhead cost (Download which is what I'm mostly interested in. Upload speeds did not seem to be impacted much at all, at least for me.) between 85-90%. So this level of reduced speeds, mitigates the features of being bad in Boise for streaming, as the reduced downloads won't sustain streaming. (Probably where I'm at now, I'd be able to stream music well.).

Joel is check WFR, as he saw close to the same results when he again tried it. One WFR source, said they expected 35-40% overhead costs, which I understand.

So stay tuned. If I hear anything more, I'll share it. But suspect Joel will too:)!

Best,

Smitty

rcharrette · July 31, 2016

Great info!! We crossed into Canada 2 weeks ago, first to Squamish/Whistler and are now moving East. We use Apple TV (WIFI Ranger Elite) and Netflix worked but Hulu did not. I followed the instructions above a now it all works. Thanks again!

Randy

pedaladventures.com

Smitty77_7 · July 31, 2016

Great info!! We crossed into Canada 2 weeks ago, first to Squamish/Whistler and are now moving East. We use Apple TV (WIFI Ranger Elite) and Netflix worked but Hulu did not. I followed the instructions above a now it all works. Thanks again!

Randy

pedaladventures.com

Would be interested in your before and after download speeds differences with Safe Surf off and then on. I checked mine again yesterday, and still seeing a pretty dramatic drop in downloads speeds....

Have a blast, travel safe,

Smitty

rcharrette · July 31, 2016

Yea, I got Hulu to connect and pull up available shows but could not get it to actually play. I'll try again tonight.

docj · July 31, 2016

Would be interested in your before and after download speeds differences with Safe Surf off and then on. I checked mine again yesterday, and still seeing a pretty dramatic drop in downloads speeds....

Have a blast, travel safe,

Smitty

I did talk to the WFR technical staff about this; we had noticed a similar issue a few months ago. They said they would check it out. Glad to hear that it's working somewhat.

docj · July 31, 2016

Yea, I got Hulu to connect and pull up available shows but could not get it to actually play. I'll try again tonight.

One quick way to tell if SafeSurf is actually working is to run speedtest.net from your computer. When it goes through the "checking for fastest ping time" at the beginning of the test look carefully at the map in the background. If it is a map of Idaho and you know you're not there, then you can be sure that SafeSurf is working. The way SsafeSurf works there is a pseudo-VPN created between your Ranger and WiFiRanger's connection to the internet in ID. Therefore, to the outside world you have an Idaho IP and look like you are located there.