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Nighthawk App vs Ookla App speed differences
I appreciate any insight from those more knowledgeable than myself. Ill try try to clarify a few items: the attached screenshots are from iPad mini5 however I’ve test on iPhone and Apple TV...
There are two parts of a VPN connection:
- The VPN "client" which attempts to open a VPN "tunnel" into a host so that all traffic between the client and host are encrypted and thus protected from being observed along the path.
- The VPN "host" which waits for devices to connect.
The OpenVPN that is included in Netgear routers is an OpenVPN host, not a client. The purpose is to allow the router administrator to connect to the router when not connected to the local network. I have OpenVPN configured on two Orbi routers so that I can connect to them and manage them remotely.
NordVPN's host is at various locations in the world. Customers install a NordVPN client on their local computer(s) so that they can connect to the NordVPN in a secure manner and then connect to other internet locations and appear to be coming from Nord. Nord hides their true location.
There is no problem doing both at the same time. A computer in the local network can install the NordVPN client and open a VPN tunnel to Nord at the same time as the Orbi router's OpenVPN host is waiting for a connection from the internet. You devices that are running NordVPN cannot detect that OpenVPN is running on the Orbi. Likewise, the Orbi cannot detect that your device is running NordVPN.
People often want to have their WiFi Router act as a VPN client and have every device on the local network pass through a single VPN tunnel for secure and anonymous access to the internet. Netgear routers do not support becomming a VPN client to do this. There are routers which can do this. Nord mentions several in their web pages. There is even a third party firmware for the Orbi RBR50 (only that model, not on the RBR20) which can act as either an OpenVPN client or as a Wireguard client. But Netgear routers running Netgear firmware cannot become VPN Clients.
Will VPN make a Netgear router more secure? No. As it is, the Netgear router will not accept any connection from the interent. It cannot be "taken over" from the internet.
Hope this helps.
RunnersLunge wrote:I understand the iPad has its own device limitations but the question originates why one app is reasonable speeds vs the other in speed measurement. It appears the ookla app is consistently slow across all tested platforms but the nighthawk app reflects speeds more inline with expected processing.
Very simple and obvious ...
- The Ookla Speedtest App on the iDevice or the Android device does test the complete connection, including the typically weaker wireless connection from the device to the router or wireless AP.
- The Nighthawk App does remote control a Ookla Speedtest powered client operating on the Nighthawk router - the aim is to get a reasonable representation of the routers effective Internet up- and downlink performance for tuning the dynamic QoS system (and for the performance geeks).
Look here - my Pixel 2 is connected to LTE only, using the Nighthawk App remote administration to a R9000 - neither the mobile device nor the router model matter, it's for demonstration purposes only - it works similar on your iDevice:
In the Internet Speed test page, use the (?) and you get this - it's about router <-> Internet:
No, it's not a magic LTE speed, the router tested does sit on a well loaded Gb Fiber link:
Enjoy!
PS. Amazing, the Netgear people don't know the difference ....
PPS. I can be contracted and would be happy for providing training for Netgear people.
Thanks Schumaku for clarifying. Considering it’s acting as a remote control connection and the actual device is irrelevant since is just assessing the router:internet.
I would presume this speed should register higher itself on the 1G fiber network and will assess the device speeds separately. Thanks for addressing the original inquiry.