My decision to return stems from several issues that have significantly hindered my experience and outweighed the potential advantages offered by the device.
The most pressing issue is the reduced internet speed. Despite following the company’s instructions to switch nodes, the solution has proven to be temporary and requires constant monitoring, which is not feasible in the long term.
Additionally, the ad-blocking feature does not perform consistently. While it occasionally blocks YouTube ads during videos, it fails to do so reliably. Moreover, the sponsored advertisements that precede videos are not blocked at all, despite the installation of the required certificate on both my iPhone and Mac.
The geolocation features function adequately; however, the device’s success seems contingent on the number of users. Given this dependency, a more accessible price point may be necessary to encourage broader adoption.
For future models, I would suggest a more user-friendly, plug-and-play approach. The current need to consult multiple instructional videos for setup is not conducive to the average user’s experience. Ideally, I would prefer a device that requires minimal adjustments and can then operate seamlessly, similar to a modem/router.
I am optimistic about the potential of the core concept and look forward to future iterations that address these concerns.
My experience with the Mini has been good where it comes to speed and tunnels. I use a Pico when traveling and while the speed is dependent on available nodes, I have found that I can stream video without issues. If you are using WiFi connections, then you are likely using a slower speed than you think. I would be interested in finding out how many people have true 1Gig networks throughout.
I do agree that a bit more transparency would be nice- back the claim that the devices have NGFW capabilities by listing what all the rules are. As to ad blocking, it has been a mixed bag for me. Some browsers work better than others, until the other side figures how to circumvent your ad blockers.
I had better results with the mini. My pico would overheat and lock up. I don’t know if there is a device or software to at blocks 100% of ads. I use my device for getting cheaper Netflix and sport’s packages
Adguard will get rid of all ads
I’d be surprised if there are future versions.
To be fair, I think the product is getting as close as is can be to plug-and-play for how technical of a device it is. Power users would be disappointed if there were fewer settings and things to configure. I hate that your experience wasn’t up to par for you.
I don’t use YT on Mac or iphone, but I still think browser based solutions are better for blocking YT ads. Opera browser has always blocked YT ads automatically on desktop. It was so seamless that I didn’t even realize the difference for a while between the Newpipe app and YT on Opera until I used a different browser or the YT app. DuckDuckGo browser can block them too. I don’t know about safari. On Android, you can just use the Newpipe app. A DNS based ad blocker like (Deeper connect hardware, Pihole, Adgaurd Home, etc.) can’t do a great job at blocking YT ads. That is why they added the HTTPS filtering option. If you want to YT ads gone, you are better served using a different tool. The Deeper device can help, but that shouldn’t be a reason to return the product because of how it works. The original device didn’t have that capability though, so it was nice when the added it. I tried it out too, but it basically broke the Newpipe app, even with the certs installed.
As far as speed reduction, that seems to be the cost of a full route VPN. I’m personally fine with the drop, even though I know I can get 15-20 times faster speeds with smart route mode or DPN off. I prefer full route mode, and not paying a monthly subscription for this is awesome to me. If you couple the Deeper product with some adblocking software like the paid Adguard or something (Not adguard home), then you may have had what you wanted. There have been other products that aimed to do what the Deeper Connect devices do and the companies behind them folded like Thanksgiving turkeys (I’m looking at you Syfer and Winston Privacy!!). We have a promising one here. But you should take a look at Adblocking software on your devices. It may be a better fit.
Same Problems. I Hope deeper will fix it.
I also spent the money to avoid paying a VPN service, but, as you mention, the speed and servers available did not cut it for me. I also liked the idea of helping the network grow, but did not find I was getting enough back to do so. The company should first make it attractive so the community grows and then worry about monetizing. I have my mini collecting dust.
I use adgard and can’t say it does a great job either. The best I have used is piehole.
The problem is that YouTube now doesn’t let you play videos if you have any adblocker
You should try adding more lists. They are basically the same type of tool. It is only as good as the blocklist you add.
Pay for family plan, share among 6 people, that is like 4 USD a month per person.
“Adding more lists” is something that I have to research how it has to be done. There are no instructions and this is my issue.
From the perspective of the user experience of a novice, everything should be more straightforward.
Thank you for the tip though.