Can you use a VPN without WiFi?

VPN without WiFi

Written by: Per-Erik Eriksson

Let us go back to the basics to understand the answer to this question better.

What is a VPN?

VPN, short for Virtual Private Network, is a cybersecurity tool that protects you (i.e., your device) from data theft. Also, it hides your location and allows you to bypass geographical restrictions when travelling abroad, so you can still watch your favorite shows.

What Do VPNs Do?

First of all, they protect your device against data theft. This protection is achieved through encryption – the process in which your VPN turns your online traffic into code that only your VPN server can read (or decrypt). So, even though hackers and your ISP (Internet Service Provider) can still access the content, they cannot tell what it is because of the encryption.

Secondly, VPNs hide your location by changing your IP address – the address assigned to your device by your ISP to help locate it (and you).

To change your IP address, VPNs send your traffic through the VPN server so that now your IP address is that of your VPN server. VPN providers usually have thousands of servers throughout the world. Therefore, even if you are comfortably sitting at your desk somewhere in the US, your device’s location can be Australia, Romania, the British Virgin Islands, or anywhere else in the world. 

How Do VPNs Achieve All That?

VPNs communicate with their VPN server via the internet to achieve those mentioned above. In short: no Internet, and no VPN.

Where Does Internet Come From?

There are three possible ways to establish an Internet connection: through your WiFi, through your cellular data (the internet from your cell phone), or Ethernet – a wired computer network commonly used in LANs (local area networks – for example, computers linked into a local network inside a building).

So, Can VPNs Work Without WiFi?

You can probably guess the answer to this question: VPNs can absolutely work without WiFi. What they cannot operate without is the internet. Not having WiFi will not pose a problem as long as you have an alternative source of it – either through your cell phone or via Ethernet.

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