Technologies

NordVPN’s Free Meshnet Is Cool, but It Won’t Replace Your VPN

Hands-on: Meshnet has a lot of potential, but it has its limitations. We’ll walk you through what it is and what it isn’t.

NordVPN feature Meshnet lets you securely share files and route traffic through other devices, regardless of where you are in the world. The free feature, released in June 2022, essentially gives you the ability to create your own personal VPN server through your computer without the need for any special equipment, configuration or advanced networking knowledge. It’s had more attention recently because Nord made it free to all in March 2023. It was previously only available to the company’s paid VPN subscribers.

NordVPN pitches Meshnet as a feature you can use for all sorts of applications, including gaming, P2P file sharing, remote collaboration and remote device access. With Meshnet active, you can set up a secure local area network of up to 60 devices (10 of your own and 50 external) remotely from anywhere. You can host a LAN party with your friends, for example, whether you’re all in the same room or in another part of the world.

Meshnet devices are connected via NordVPN’s proprietary WireGuard-based NordLynx protocol, so you can access and share files securely, not unlike you would on a corporate network. The NordLynx protocol also encrypts the VPN tunnel you create if you or your friends want to remotely route your traffic through your home computer and connect to the internet using its IP address.

All you need to make this work is the NordVPN app on your compatible devices (MacOS, Windows, Linux, Android and iOS). And — as mentioned above — you don’t even need a paid NordVPN subscription anymore, because Meshnet is now free to everyone.

Meshnet has a ton of potential, and there really is a lot you can do with the tool if you’re able to fully leverage its capabilities. However, the feature is still a little rough around the edges and has a few inherent drawbacks. It’s worthwhile to understand what Meshnet can and can’t do, and what you can practically use it for.

NordVPN

Fastest VPN we’ve tested in 2023 / Number 3 overall choice

In order to use Meshnet, you’ll need to sign up for NordVPN and use that service’s app. However, the Meshnet features are available for free — you won’t need to provide any credit card info. Read more:

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What Meshnet does

For most people, Meshnet is perhaps best used for transferring files from one device to another. It’s also great for routing traffic through another device’s IP address and for secure online collaboration between colleagues and friends.

Meshnet offers immense practical value as a way to easily share files between devices. Even in 2023, it can sometimes be cumbersome to send a file from one device to another. Sending files via email isn’t secure, and you have to make the effort to compress larger files due to the severe limitations email providers set for file capacity.

Even cloud storage tools like Google Drive or Dropbox and file transfer tools like WeTransfer impose limitations on sending files unless you pay up. You could go the wired route, but that will require the devices to be next to each other. It’ll also probably involve various adapters in addition to the requisite wires. Meshnet lets you send up to 1,000 files of any type and any size wirelessly and securely from anywhere in the world in a single transfer — for free.

If you’re someone who routinely transfers lots of photos, videos or other large files between devices, or if you share files with friends, family and colleagues, Meshnet is an excellent solution. NordVPN offers tutorials on how to share files with Meshnet on various platforms, but some of the instructions are incomplete and the file sharing process may take a little bit of figuring out. For example, the iOS file transfer tutorial indicates that you will be able to «find the files shared with you by checking your device’s default download folder location.» It doesn’t mention that you will have to manually select the file’s destination on your iOS device. The file won’t just automatically appear in a default download folder.

If you have friends that you game with online around the country or around the world, Meshnet is a great tool for setting up your own private gaming server to host remote LAN parties with them. This functionality is particularly beneficial for sandbox games like Minecraft or Roblox. Or if you work on a remote team and need to securely collaborate in real time with your colleagues, Meshnet can be of real value. Applications like this may require some additional technical know-how, but NordVPN’s tutorials are usually good enough to get you started. (Note, of course, you’ll want to vet the tool with your company’s IT department before installing it or using it for any corporate projects.)

Meshnet is useful, but limited, if you want to route your internet traffic through your home or office computer remotely. To route your traffic through another computer on Meshnet, all you need to do is open the NordVPN application on another device and connect to the host machine directly from the app. However, the functionality is limited because your host machine, wherever it is, must be online, active and connected to Meshnet. It’s a practical solution if you know you’ll need to use the routing functionality in the short term and have your host machine prepped and ready to host the connection.

But if you’re traveling, especially overseas or for more than a few days, you’ll need to be willing to have the host machine remain on and active the entire time you’re away if you’re hoping to stream content online as if you’re at home. Even then, there’s no guarantee that the machine will stay connected. In cases like this, it’s far more practical to simply use a paid NordVPN account to connect to a server in the region you want to access content from. Also, be aware that the traffic routing functionality on MacOS is only available on the sideloaded version of the app, which is available for download directly from NordVPN — it doesn’t work if you download it from the App Store.

Don’t confuse Meshnet for a full VPN

Meshnet is a cool feature, and once you’re experienced you can get creative with how you use it. But even though you can create your own VPN server and connect through it, Meshnet ultimately can’t replace a full-fledged VPN service. Most notably, it’s not a practical solution for geofencing your IP address for international streaming, and secure internet browsing is only possible if your host machine is connected to a VPN server when using the traffic routing feature (otherwise your traffic is exiting from the host machine’s ISP-assigned IP address).

The feature still has a lot of room to improve. I understand that it’s an innovative new feature for a VPN provider, but I wish it delivered a more seamless experience overall. For instance, devices that are online and connected to Meshnet don’t always show up on other devices as online and available for file sharing or traffic routing. I had to switch Meshnet on and off again a few times to get our devices to communicate with each other properly.

However, once you get past its little quirks and figure out how to make it work for you, it can be a useful feature. Just keep in mind that you need to have the NordLynx protocol active on any device you connect to Meshnet.

For security reasons, be careful to only allow people you trust to connect to your Meshnet when sharing files, setting up a LAN or allowing traffic routing through your machine. You’re responsible for the online activity associated with your IP address, so if someone you don’t know is using routing their traffic through your IP address and doing something illegal, you’re on the hook for it. If someone you don’t know sends you a file through Meshnet, that file may contain malware. If someone you don’t know is connected to your local network through Meshnet, they’ll have access to the other devices on the LAN.

It’s a good idea to also set permissions for Meshnet’s various functions to ensure you’re limiting access to the level you’re comfortable with.

Also, be aware that you’ll need to provide NordVPN with an email address to create an account and use Meshnet, even though it’s available free of charge. If you’re not comfortable providing your email address, you could theoretically use a burner email to sign up. And don’t be surprised if you’re periodically prompted to sign up for a paid NordVPN subscription, or at least whenever you sign into your account. Though Meshnet is free, NordVPN would naturally want to convert as many free Meshnet users into paying users as possible.

If you prefer the paid option, note that Nord currently offers a variety of two-year (27-month) plans starting as low as $4 a month ($108 due at signing), and the service’s 30-day money back guarantee makes it risk-free to return to the free Meshnet version, if you’d prefer.

For more information, check out our NordVPN review and VPN FAQs.

Technologies

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Review: The Best Content Deal in Gaming

Technologies

T-Mobile Is the New Mobile Network Champ. I Got a Behind-the-Scenes View Into How It Got There

In an exclusive chat with T-Mobile executives before the announcement, I learned which moves took the carrier from No. 4 to the top.

Last week T-Mobile announced that it’s been named the Best Mobile Network in the US by Ookla, marking the first time the carrier has taken the overall top spot. That’s based on half a billion real-world usage tests conducted over a six-month period.

(Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

During a live event at its Tech Experience Hub in Bellevue, Washington, T-Mobile also announced a July 23 commercial launch date for T-Satellite, its Starlink-based satellite connectivity service, as well as additional features, such as support for sending images and audio files. And to boost the array of perks that accompany many T-Mobile plans, it’s adding free DoorDash DashPass memberships for subscribers with Magenta status.

«We made big bets on 5G, pushing the limits to deliver speed and coverage no one thought possible,» said T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert. «Now, as the Best Mobile Network in America, with unmatched satellite-to-mobile capability, it’s clear we’re shaping the future of wireless with a network built not just for speed, but for possibility.»

In less than a decade, T-Mobile has gone from a limited-spectrum upstart with a penchant for bright pink branding to the top of the competitive US mobile industry, largely due to the way it’s navigated the transition to 5G networking (and maybe some help from the magenta colors). Merging T-Mobile’s low-band spectrum with Sprint’s midband became one of the main reasons T-Mobile is now crowing about its spot in Ookla’s rankings.

As part of these announcements, T-Mobile invited CNET to an exclusive behind-the-scenes conversation about how it arrived at this point, and a tour of some of the technologies at work at its headquarters and labs.

An unconventional road to 5G

Every company says it’s the best at something, and for a long time, T-Mobile claimed it was the best value among the major wireless carriers. «US consumers have always had to make a choice between going to a much higher priced but higher quality network, or make a trade-off in network and get a better value,» said Mike Katz, T-Mobile president of marketing, strategy and products. «Now it’s validated by a third party [that] customers don’t have to make this choice. They can get both the best value, which T Mobile has always been known and famous for, and get the best network.»

But how did T-Mobile get to this point? It’s easy to say you have the best value and that customers love you, but those are results. At this scale — being one of the top three providers in the US competing for an essential market — it takes a series of technical decisions, a vision of how technology will evolve and the willingness to take big risks.

From a consumer point of view, a few years ago, the focus of every carrier seemed to be to expand coverage, especially 5G coverage. Specifics got lost in the 5G marketing shuffle — every phone-maker touted its 5G compatibility, and the carriers wanted everyone to know that they were expanding their 5G footprint as fast as possible.

But wireless coverage isn’t like a blanket that covers everything equally, and 5G in particular is made up of several speeds and flavors. That’s why your 5G-enabled phone will sometimes indicate the network as «5G,» «5G+,» «5G UC» or other variations, depending on your carrier.

When 5G technologies began to appear in 2020, one focus was on the high speeds possible using the millimeter wave spectrum. But, although millimeter wave can deliver swift connections, it can be thwarted by obstacles such as windows or even plants.

«Primarily, [5G] was going to be a millimeter wave play, which is very high bandwidth with very poor reach,» said Ulf Ewaldsson, T-Mobile’s president of technology. «We went all-in on a very different strategy. We said, ‘it’s going to be a midband play, and it’s going to be TDD [Time Division Duplex, a way to send and receive data in the same frequency] spectrum in the midband that you pair with a very strong low band.’ We were able to get our hands on the best possible spectrum, thanks to merging with Sprint.»

Ewaldsson emphasized that it’s not just a prevalence of low-band that’s advantageous. It’s that, at 600 megahertz, T-Mobile has the lowest band in the low-band area. Why is that important? It has better reach, about 25% to 30% wider than the competition.

That Sprint merger in 2020 sounded like a quick way to buy into the top of the market, a shortcut to expand one’s footprint. (Indeed, T-Mobile is taking a similar tack right now in the broadband market by acquiring fiber provider Lumos in April). But buying Sprint wasn’t an immediate ticket to the top.

«It took about a year extra to get through all the regulatory approvals to get this thing done,» Ewaldsson said, noting that AT&T’s and Verizon’s lead in the market made it a challenge for T-Mobile or Sprint alone to actually enter the 5G race. But with a plan in place to use Sprint’s spectrum and infrastructure, «once we came out [of the approval process], we were right out of the blocks,» he said.

Katz explained that many of T-Mobile’s early disadvantages have turned into benefits. «We have more towers than anybody else, and our towers are closer together,» he said. «We had to build more towers than AT&T and Verizon. We didn’t have any low-band spectrum, which propagates better. So we had to build more towers that were closer together.»

Ewaldsson was more specific. «We have about [and here he paused briefly] 82,715 towers,» he said. «Now, as a turn of events, that happened to be the best possible asset when we merged with Sprint, because we could power up all those towers with that TDD spectrum … and create a formidable downlink speed experience.»

The benefits of the standalone core

Merging T-Mobile’s low-band spectrum with Sprint’s midband became one of the main reasons T-Mobile is now crowing about its spot in Ookla’s rankings.

«We have [a] secret that nobody else has, which is a standalone core. A standalone core is a smarter control over all those towers that stand alone,» Ewaldsson said. «Core allows us to combine low-band and midband and all our bands to get higher and faster experiences for our customers.»

He explained that building out the network more consistently is something other carriers haven’t done. Every T-Mobile tower has nearly the same tri-band configuration.

«You have the same speeds, latency and performance on your apps, wherever you are, and that’s also a secret sauce, too,» he said.

The standalone core enables T-Mobile’s next wave of wireless advancements. In April, the company announced that it had rolled out and successfully tested — with consumer handsets — 5G-Advanced networking, achieving uplink speeds of 550 Mbps. It did so by combining multiple spectrums in a technique called carrier aggregation, which is enabled by the standalone core hardware.

This technology also enables network slicing, a technique T-Mobile has been using commercially for the last two years to guarantee network performance for a specific range of devices, even in crowded or noisy wireless environments. First responders, for example, can be assured they can communicate, even in an emergency environment where other people are all accessing the network.

«You can have a number of different frequencies supporting one single device, one mobile phone,» said Ewaldsson. «If you combine all those resources [into] one device, you can get an incredible bandwidth for a short time, and you can get done with what needs to be done faster. So it creates a better customer experience, because you have an enormous bandwidth that is allocated toward one device, instead of sharing it in one frequency with a bunch of devices.»

How Ookla named T-Mobile the Best Mobile Network in the US

«We’ve known for a long time that the 5G portion of our network is the best,» said Katz, «but this [test] concluded that T-Mobile had the best network. And obviously, we’re very excited about that.»

Both Katz and Ewaldsson emphasized that Ookla’s testing was larger and more comprehensive than earlier metrics. It was performed on over 6 million devices and 500 million test points over a six-month period.

Ewaldsson said it’s an active test, collecting data when customers run the SpeedTest app on their phones, «but it’s also a passive test where, in the background, they’re pulling data from millions of different handsets that are in the hands of real consumers, wherever they are.»

He contrasted that with drive testing, an accepted methodology in which a tester drives routes with a collection of representative phones to prove that a network is good. «We don’t believe in that,» said Ewaldsson. «We believe that if you really want to test this, you’re going to crowdsource it, and that’s exactly what this test has done… and it’s a third-party test.»

The benefit to this approach is that it more closely captures real mobile usage, according to Ewaldsson, such as people texting and sending email, viewing social apps, watching video clips, playing games and more. Millions of people are also operating under real-world conditions, which can include factors such as pockets of interference or scarcity. Verizon disputes Ookla’s methodology, saying that drive testing is a more accurate way to measure network performance.

Getting to this point hasn’t been a glide path for T-Mobile, and it still faces turbulence. Just in the past few months, T-Mobile has raised prices on many of its legacy plans (and then turned around and gave out free lines to some). It has also switched all of its current plans to a model that does not include taxes and fees, some of which incrementally increased this spring. Until this year, the main unlimited data plans incorporated taxes and fees into the monthly cost.

T-Satellite goes online in July with more features

T-Mobile’s wireless performance is not the only thing looking skyward. The T-Satellite service, which enables texting from most smartphones via the network of over 620 Starlink satellites when out of range of cellular or Wi-Fi networks, will leave beta status on July 23 and be open to anyone. Pricing for the service will be $10 a month, except for customers on the Experience Beyond and Go5G Next plan, which includes T-Satellite as part of the package.

That price will apply even if you’re a customer of a competing service like AT&T or Verizon; T-Satellite can be activated as a second eSIM on supported devices. Katz said there are currently over 1.8 million customers in the beta program, including tens of thousands of competitors’ customers.

He also pointed out that during the beta, three times more messages were received than sent. «If you can’t receive an incoming message because you haven’t manually connected your phone, you’re not really reachable and, in my opinion, you’re not really connected,» he said, referring to the way competitors’ phones initiate a satellite link.

The T-Satellite service will include 911 emergency texting later this year, which will be available to any mobile subscriber, even if they haven’t signed up for T-Satellite service (provided their devices can make the connection).

«We just think that with a technology like this, no customer should ever be in a situation where they are unconnected in an emergency,» said Katz.

That’s not the last of the satellite news, though. T-Satellite will enable MMS messaging to send pictures and short audio clips via satellite on Android phones, with iOS support coming later. In a demonstration I witnessed at T-Mobile’s 5G Hub, sending an image, text and requisite burst of emojis wasn’t exactly speedy, but they arrived within 30 to 90 seconds.

Building on that, T-Mobile will bring data service to T-Satellite starting Oct. 1. Considering how satellite bandwidth is constrained, T-Mobile is working with operating system providers to implement an API that developers can use to allow reasonable data access in their apps over the satellite connection. Don’t expect to stream Netflix while you’re camping in the wilderness, but apps such as All Trails will be able to fetch updated information.

«This will be the first time you’ve seen a direct-to-cell satellite network support data services,» said Katz. «We’ve worked with many different app developers to help them build their apps to recognize that they’re connected to satellite and optimize for satellite data.»

DoorDash deliveries without all the fees

When it comes to mobile plan perks, T-Mobile has found success with its Magenta Status goodies, which range from everyday discounts on stays at Hilton hotels to T-Mobile Tuesdays, which offer deals such as a recent Wingstop promotion (during which many of the restaurant’s locations ran out of chicken nationwide). Katz said the company has seen 1.2 billion redemptions of T-Mobile Tuesdays offers.

On July 8, Magenta Status is gaining a new perk: T-Mobile is partnering with DoorDash to give customers on the most popular plans DashPass service free for a year. Eligible customers can claim the offer through Aug. 4 via T-Mobile Tuesdays in the T-Life app.

«I think DoorDash did something like 2 billion deliveries last year, and the average price of a delivery is $3 to $4,» said Katz. «If you have DashPass, you don’t pay delivery fees at all. This can save our customers hundreds and hundreds of dollars.»

Incentives to switch and T-Mobile’s future

Eager to entice customers of the major competing services, T-Mobile is launching the Easy Upgrade program that makes it «screamingly simple,» in Katz’s words, to switch to T-Mobile. He specifically mentioned Verizon customers «who signed up with Verizon because they believed, and for years it was true, that Verizon had the best network,» he said. «And now that we’re in a place where it’s definitively clear that T-Mobile has the best network, we want to make it really easy for Verizon customers to come and join the Un-carrier.»

Katz said T-Mobile will pay off every cost to switch, including the remaining cost of devices up to $800, and give customers a new Apple or Android device without requiring a trade-in (be sure to read the details of these deals).

T-Mobile’s ascent to the top of Ookla’s list shows that, even though the mobile market in the US is dominated by just a few large players, the field is in flux. AT&T and Verizon continue to build out their own networks and strategies — Verizon has teased a «Project 624» that is rumored to be revealed on June 24, for instance. Now that T-Mobile has established this lead, I’m eager to see how it plans to hold onto it.

Technologies

Protect Yourself From Sketchy Calls: Unknown Caller vs. No Caller ID

Here’s the key difference between these two anonymous calls on iPhone.

Like most of us, you’re probably getting a lot of unsolicited calls that show up as either No Caller ID or Unknown Caller on your iPhone. Reflexively answering either one could lead to a scam — or perhaps a call you’ve been waiting for. What are the differences between these two anonymous labels?

Here’s what to know about each type of call and how to keep yourself safe from potential scams.

No Caller ID vs. Unknown Caller

A call labeled «No Caller ID» means the caller has blocked their number from appearing on your screen. In other words, they want to keep their identity under wraps. This can be a privacy measure, but it’s also a tool used by scammers — if you can’t quickly verify who the caller is based on their number, it can be easier to fall for their trap.

«Unknown Caller,» on the other hand, is the message that appears when your phone service provider doesn’t recognize who’s calling. This can come down to several factors, including network or technical issues, or receiving calls from foreign numbers. Oftentimes, these callers aren’t intentionally trying to hide their identity, but it’s still a good idea to be cautious. Scammers can also use this method to hide their identity by using a phone that isn’t registered with the phone company, for instance.

What to do if you get anonymous calls

You should always proceed with caution if you can’t identify a caller. This is especially important if someone rings you and «No Caller ID» appears on the screen, as they have intentionally kept their number hidden. But an Unknown Caller is also something to be wary of, since it becomes harder to truly identify who’s at the other end of the line.

Letting the call go to voicemail is often a good idea. Answering a call signals to scammers that your number is active, which could lead to more similar calls in the future. The Live Voicemail feature is particularly helpful for these situations because it allows you to pick up the call if the voicemail transcript indicates it’s someone you want to speak with.

Silence unknown callers on your iPhone

You can even go a step further and silence unknown callers on your iPhone. That way, those mystery callers won’t disturb you, and they can just leave a voicemail for you to check later.

In your iPhone, go to Settings, then tap Apps followed by Phone and go to Silence Unknown Callers. Hit the toggle to turn it on.

Use apps to block unidentified calls

Though there isn’t a way to block these anonymous calls within your iPhone’s settings, your wireless carrier may offer apps to help with this.

AT&T ActiveArmor, for instance, has a free version that blocks spam and fraud calls, and also lets you block all unknown callers. The advanced version, which costs $4 a month, includes tools like reverse number lookup and caller ID for unknown numbers. ActiveArmor is available for iOS and Android.

Verizon’s Call Filter app also offers spam detection, a spam filter and the option to report numbers, all for free. For an additional $4 a month, you’ll also get caller ID, spam lookup, a personal block list and a spam risk meter. Call Filter is automatically enabled for Android users on a postpaid plan, and is available in the App Store for iPhone.

T-Mobile’s Scam Shield has a free option that includes full caller ID, scam reporting and scam blocking. There’s also a premium option for $4 a month per line, which offers reverse phone number lookup and voicemail transcriptions that are automatically texted to you. You can download the Scam Shield app in the App Store or Google Play.

Be sure to check with other wireless carriers to see if they offer something similar. Some wireless carrier plans may include access to the premium features as well.

For more third-party apps to help limit robocalls and general tips, check out our guide on stopping spam calls.