How To Use ExpressVPN 2023

In this ExpressVPN Setup Tutorial, I will show you the step by step process of how to purchase your VPN at the best price, how to use ExpressVPN with the correct settings, how to gain secure access to streaming & torrenting sites, and how to reach out to their support team if you encounter any problems while using ExpressVPN. Lastly, I will show you some cool and unique features that ExpressVPN has to offer.

Now, let’s get started!

1. Pricing

First, you can click on the link in the description or type this into your browser. It will take you to my special ExpressVPN discount page where you will get the best deal currently available.

Now let me give you an overview of ExpressVPN’s pricing and how their discounts work. 

ExpressVPN offers a one-month subscription for $12.95. The monthly price will be discounted if you choose to subscribe for a longer period. If you pick up a six-month plan, you will only pay $59.95. Technically, the monthly fee has now been reduced to only $9.99, saving you roughly 23 percent. If you choose the one-year plan instead, you will have to pay $99.95. Now, this really decreased the monthly price down even further to just $8.32, saving you 35 percent! So if you have the budget and are happy with the performance within 30 days of testing out ExpressVPN, I always recommend you to buy the longest plan as this will save you so much money.

If the performance doesn’t meet your expectations and needs, then you can request a refund and get your money back. When it comes to the refund, you have 30 days to get your money back if you are subscribed to the monthly plan regardless of your subscription. All you have to do is contact them through chat or email and request a refund.

You can pay using your credit card, Paypal, or bitcoin if you prefer to be more anonymous and use cryptocurrency.

If you want to test ExpressVPN’s features and performance first, you can do so with their seven-day free trial. Most people get confused about ExpressVPN’s free trial as it is not clearly indicated in their website but you can actually download the ExpressVPN app to your mobile device and get a seven-day free trial just by using a valid email address. After that, you can log in to any device you want and enjoy the rest of your free trial.

But if you’re ready to take the swing, you can register and subscribe to any of ExpressVPN’s plans and verify your email address. Once logged in, you’re ready to install the app on your device of choice and start using this VPN!

2. Open & Connect

You can also download the desktop app hassle-free. It almost has a similar app design compared to the mobile app where you can connect to the fastest server based on your location but of course, you have all the freedom to choose from a bunch of servers or use the search bar to find your desired location.

3. Unblocking Netflix

Streaming on Netflix has never been more user-friendly with ExpressVPN. It has a built-in Speed Test feature for Windows and Mac apps where you can determine which server has the fastest, blazing speed for streaming, ensuring the Ultra HD quality of your favorite Netflix show. So, you won’t have to switch servers from time to time just to check which one suits your movie time.

I will test if ExpressVPN can really unblock Netflix libraries from other countries but first, let’s try opening Netflix without using VPN first. My original location now is in the Philippines and as you can see, Netflix immediately showed the “Top 10 Shows in the Philippines”. What I’m going to do is search for a series that is only available on the U.S. server, Criminal Minds, for example. Obviously, we won’t be able to find it since this series is blocked in other countries except in the U.S.

Now, let’s do a test using the U.S. server so we can trick Google that our location is in the U.S. Our goal here is to find and watch Criminal Minds to see if ExpressVPN can really unblock U.S. Netflix shows using its U.S. server. Let’s check Netflix now while we are connected to the VPN and as you can see, it is still working fine. After refreshing the page, it now showed the “Top 10 Shows in the U.S.” and that is already a sign that it has detected the change in our location. Let’s search for Criminal Minds again and there you go, it already reveals the series we want to find which is only available in the U.S. It can also be played well and without any lag!

If you want to find other shows that are only available in certain countries, try connecting to other streaming-optimized servers for that country and let us know in the comments section below if it works!

Aside from Netflix, you can also unblock other streaming platforms such as Disney Plus, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime, ESPN, HBO, DAZN, Sling, Hulu, and many more.

4. Torrenting

Another great news and this time, for torrenters out there. ExpressVPN definitely supports peer-to-peer sharing and torrenting. Not all VPN providers allow this feature so if you’re looking for a VPN where you can torrent all you want, ExpressVPN is an absolute one to consider. It’s evident here where I connected to their server and the file I’m downloading in uTorrent didn’t get interrupted.

5. Key Features

Now, let’s check some of its specific key features. If you want to prioritize certain apps to use or bypass the VPN every time you launch them, you can do so with the feature called “split tunneling”. This feature comes handy for trusted apps like your mobile banking app where VPN is not necessary. 

ExpressVPN has a wide range of protocols that helps VPN safely send your data through the Internet. It offers WireGuard, IPsec or L2TP, IKEv2, PPTP, and SSTP. Each protocol varies in speed but WireGuard is known to be the future of VPN protocols because of its technological structure that offers the highest levels of speed, security and privacy. In most cases though, you can just let ExpressVPN automatically choose the best protocol based on your location. But hold up! The good news isn’t done yet. ExpressVPN is actually developing Lightway, the next generation protocol with great chances of beating Wireguard. Lightway is still in its early days but if you’re up to test its beta version, you can go visit my discount page to get the cheapest ExpressVPN plan for you.

Another feature that ExpressVPN is proud of is their network security setup called TrustedServer. Unlike most VPN providers, ExpressVPN runs their servers in ram disks and not hard drives which provides another layer of confidence for you knowing that all data gets wiped in reboot, minimizing the risk of vulnerabilities or misconfiguration.

Now, in cases where your VPN connection drops unexpectedly due to unstable internet connection or unexpected server and networking failure, just breathe easy because ExpressVPN got your back with its kill switch feature called Network Lock. Most of the time, the VPN will try to reconnect you after a disconnection, but leaks could already happen within these few seconds so the kill switch is designed to overcome this vulnerability. The Network Lock works to block all Internet traffic until VPN protection is restored.

6. Customer Service

When it comes to customer support, a quick note to mention is that ExpressVPN doesn’t provide phone support, so for anyone who is more comfortable speaking to a human being, you won’t be able to with ExpressVPN. What they have are 24 7 email and live chat channels that I have both tried multiple times. Let me share my experience with you. I think ExpressVPN has trained their live chat agents thoroughly, because I’ve always had excellent experience chatting with them. They are fast, in fact, the average response time is only a minute or two. Their responses are also personalized and I never got the feeling that I’m only being fed with scripts. Good job here, ExpressVPN!

During my attempt to send their support team an email, I can’t actually send them one since the button on their support page isn’t working so I ended up chatting them. When I told the agent about the problem, she proactively offered assistance and also mentioned that if I prefer sending an email, she can just send me our chat transcript so I can reply with my inquiries there. In less than five minutes after our chat, I received the transcript and I couldn’t be more satisfied about their proactive resolution offering.

So far, their customer support hasn’t disappointed me and it isn’t actually surprising given the fact that they have an excellent Trustpilot rating of 4.7 out of 5 from more than 6,000 reviews.

Summary

Now, If you’re ready to try ExpressVPN, the special discount link is in the description below. But if you’re not happy with ExpressVPN and want to know about my number one alternative which I recommend and use myself then check out this article. 

Lastly, if you have already decided on a VPN provider and want more tips and tricks on VPN’s then this next article will help you do just that, so check it out and I’ll see you over in that next tutorial.