Real vs fake split routing on a VPN router

• Split routing is on, yet local sites got slower and take ages to load.
• The page opens, but the video keeps buffering, images don't load, or login hangs.
• You are abroad with the router on a China route, and Tencent Video or iQIYI still says "mainland China only".
• The phone works, but the TV or streaming box doesn't; or one computer never uses the route.
• Banking and payment apps keep warning about a "login from a new location".
• The split disappears after a while: after a reboot or reconnect, everything goes through the route again — or nothing does.

On many routers "split routing" is just a list of websites: listed ones go through the route, everything else goes direct. But a website is never a single source — the page, images, videos, login and ads often come from several places. If the list only names the main site, the rest goes its own way: the page takes the route while the video goes direct, so the page opens and the video won't play; part of your traffic looks local and part looks foreign, so video apps show region errors and banking apps flag a new location.

Slow local sites usually mean the router asked the wrong side when deciding whether a site is local or foreign: local sites get treated as foreign and take a detour abroad. The screen still says "split routing on", but it isn't really splitting.

A TV, box or computer that ignores the router usually has its own network settings and finds its own way around the router. If the router doesn't catch that, the device uses neither the route nor the split.

None of this raises an error. The router always shows "connected"; things just feel wrong, which makes it the hardest kind of problem to track down — many people end up blaming the route itself.

• Send a website together with its page, images, videos and login the same way — never split apart.
• Judge "local or foreign" from the right side, so local sites stay local instead of taking a detour.
• Apply the same rules to every device — phones, computers, TVs, boxes, consoles — and not let a device's own network settings slip past.
• Follow the region you picked: going back to China and going out of China are opposite rule sets, switched automatically.
• Keep itself up to date: when sites move or new apps appear, the list updates without reflashing.
• Remember your choice: after a reboot or reconnect the split is still the split, and if you turned it off it stays off.

One case the router cannot cover, stated plainly: if a phone or browser has an encrypted setting such as "Private DNS" or "Secure DNS" turned on, the device looks things up on its own in encrypted form and the router cannot see it. If one device misbehaves, turn that setting off first — it usually fixes it.

• On by default, direction chosen for you: pick a China region and Chinese sites and apps go through the route while the rest goes direct; pick an overseas region and Chinese sites go direct while blocked foreign sites use the route.
• Lists are built per whole website: the page plus the video, image and login sources it uses are listed together and travel together, so pages and videos don't end up on different paths.
• No detours for local sites: in the outbound direction, Chinese sites are found the local way and open directly, as fast as without the router.
• Every device in the house is covered: network settings a device changed on its own are caught by the router and still follow the rules, and there is no back door around the router. That is why it is so hands-off for TVs, boxes and elderly relatives' phones.
• Lists and rules update automatically when the router boots — no reflashing, nothing for you to do.
• Your settings stick: they survive reconnects and reboots, and if you switch the split off it stays off.
• Printers, NAS boxes and cameras at home are unaffected and stay directly reachable on your home network.

1. In China (outbound): Baidu and Taobao should load about as fast as without the router; open a foreign site and play a video — it should play normally.
2. Abroad (back to China): open Tencent Video or iQIYI and play any episode — it should play without a "mainland China only" notice; your local bank and shopping sites should open as usual.
3. Try every device, especially the TV and boxes. If one misbehaves, check for "Private DNS" / "Secure DNS", then make sure it is on this router's Wi‑Fi and not the modem's own Wi‑Fi.
4. A site won't open with split on: switch to "Global" in the admin page and try again. If it works in Global but not in split mode, it isn't on the list yet — send the address to support and it will be added in the next automatic update.