Unbreakable VPN Connection for Public WiFi by Combining WiFi and 4G / 5G Cellular with Speedify
A VPN for public Wi-Fi encrypts your internet traffic on your Android phone, iPhone or laptop, so an eavesdropper on the same hotspot gets nothing readable: not your bank logins, not your messages. Without one, logging in to your bank over a hotspot you know nothing about is a gamble, and plenty of people take it several times a day.
Speedify is an app that combines Wi-Fi, 4G/5G cellular, Ethernet, Starlink and satellite internet connections into one faster, more reliable connection, and encrypts your traffic like a VPN. On a phone, Speedify can use the hotspot and your 4G/5G cellular at once, so the encrypted connection holds when the Wi-Fi drops. Those speed and failover gains need two or more internet connections; on public Wi-Fi alone, Speedify works as an encrypted VPN and can be a little slower.
Speedify makes any hotspot private and keeps it working
Below: five steps to set up Speedify before you join a hotspot, then why public Wi-Fi is risky, how a VPN protects you on it, and how Speedify keeps you online when the hotspot gives out.
How to Use a VPN on Public Wi-Fi with Speedify in Five Steps
- Download Speedify on your Android phone, iPhone or laptop before you join the hotspot (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Linux).
- Open Speedify and create a free account (the free tier includes 5 GB per month; Linux needs a paid plan), or sign in.
- On a phone, tap Allow (iPhone) or OK (Android) when your phone asks to add a VPN connection.
- Join the public Wi-Fi. If the network has a sign-in page, Speedify shows a notification; open it and sign in without disconnecting Speedify.
- Keep 4G/5G cellular turned on too. Speedify connects to a Speedify server automatically, encrypts your traffic, and moves it to cellular if the Wi-Fi drops (this counts against your cellular data plan).
Why Public Wi-Fi Networks Are Risky for Logins and Payments
Businesses and public places offer Wi-Fi to attract customers and to provide a public service. In many parts of the world, it is becoming a standard practice for almost all businesses to run a public Wi-Fi network. However, the businesses that offer public Wi-Fi are not IT or cybersecurity professionals.
Hotspot owners often skip standard security practices such as:
- Up-to-date firmware on their routers and other networking equipment
- Hard to guess admin usernames and passwords
- Periodic routine checks to see if the networks have been compromised
The truth is, your security is not their priority. Public Wi-Fi networks are attractive targets for hackers because they are usually easy to compromise and so many different people use them that they never run out of new targets.
Unfortunately, public Wi-Fi networks are not just convenient for you; they are also convenient for criminals. Someone on the same network can snoop on traffic that is not encrypted and capture social media logins, credit card numbers and email passwords.
A VPN for Public Wi-Fi Encrypts Traffic So Others on the Network Cannot Read It
There are two ways to deal with public Wi-Fi security: avoid public networks altogether, or use a VPN to protect your data. When you are traveling for work or pleasure, public Wi-Fi is hard to avoid, since airports, hotels and cafés all rely on it.
If you use public Wi-Fi networks, a VPN is the simplest way to protect what you send over them.
Why Most VPNs Slow Down on Public Wi-Fi and Drop When the Hotspot Does
One problem with standard VPNs on public Wi-Fi is speed: every packet is encrypted and sent through the VPN server over one internet connection, so a standard VPN can slow down your web browsing, most of all on a crowded hotspot.
Another issue you may have run into: a standard VPN stops protecting you when your internet connection drops, for example while you roam between hotspots, and has to reconnect. Some VPNs have kill switches that block all internet traffic while the VPN is down, so nothing leaks, but that leaves you offline until the VPN comes back. You need to stay connected and secure at the same time.
How Speedify Keeps You Private and Online on Public Wi-Fi
Speedify handles both problems differently. As a VPN service that combines internet connections, Speedify encrypts your traffic and can use all available Internet connections simultaneously, such as the hotspot and your phone’s 4G/5G cellular. When the Wi-Fi slows or drops, your traffic moves to the other connection and the encrypted session stays up. The encryption is DTLS 1.2 with AES-256-GCM or ChaCha20-Poly1305.
Speedify also works on Wi-Fi networks that run captive portals, the sign-in pages of hotels, cafés and airports. Speedify detects the sign-in page and shows a notification; open it and sign in without disconnecting Speedify. The sign-in page itself loads outside the encrypted tunnel, and Speedify takes your traffic back into the tunnel once you are signed in. If the sign-in page does not appear, open an http:// (not https) website to bring it up. Once you are online, Speedify keeps your traffic away from the prying eyes of hackers, internet providers and the hosts of the network.
If a VPN will not connect on public Wi-Fi, an unfinished sign-in page is a common cause: until you sign in, the hotspot blocks other traffic. Some hotspots also block VPN connections outright; on those, switch to your phone’s 4G/5G cellular to stay online with your traffic encrypted.
As for Speedify itself: Speedify keeps no record of the sites you visit and does not sell personal data. Speedify does record connection metadata (your IP address, device ID, connection time and data used).
Speedify runs on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Linux. The free tier includes 5 GB per month with a free Speedify account (Linux needs a paid plan).
Setting up Speedify needs no technical skills and takes a few minutes; the steps are near the top of this article.
The next time you are away from home, use Speedify on public Wi-Fi. You can use hotel, café and airport networks for work or fun without handing your logins and payments to whoever else is on the network.
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Speedify combines Wi-Fi, 4G/5G cellular, Ethernet, Starlink and satellite into one faster, more reliable internet connection. Free to try: 5 GB a month with a free account. No credit card required.
🚀 Speed
Faster uploads and downloads, because Speedify uses all your internet connections at once.
📶 Stability
If one internet connection drops, Speedify moves your traffic to the others in milliseconds.
🔒 Security
AES-256 encryption on every internet connection, on any network you join.
15M+ downloads worldwide. 75K+ five-star reviews on iOS and Android.