Why Wont My VPN Connect

Switch To A Different Protocol Or Port

Theres always a chance that the VPN protocol youre using isnt working for you maybe because of the VPN provider or your network settings.

If you suspect that is the problem, just use a different VPN protocol.

At the same time, try using a different network port to connect to the VPN server since the network youre using or your ISP might block traffic on the port youre currently using.

What Is My Port Number

While an IP address is attached to a device, port numbers are attributed to different processes and connections within that device. They are used to make these processes identifiable on the internet and help the receiving end on the web to identify the operation and take the right action. Check out our video on port numbers for a breakdown of their definition and function.

Port numbers are like extensions to your IP address. For example, your computers IP address is 53.125.105.18, while the file transfer protocol port number is 20. Thus, the IP for an open FTP port would be 12.345.678.90:20. By seeing this address, the server will understand your request.

Port numbers have different numbers and types. Every different action has its own port so that they can all coexist under the same IP address:

• Well-known ports are used by major companies like Apple or MSN for their services;
• Registered ports can be assigned to specific services by request;
• Dynamic or private ports can be used by everyone for private servers and temporary purposes.

Change Your Computers User Account Control Settings

User Account Control is a Windows feature that regularly interrupts VPN connectivity and is easy to turn off. Heres how to do that on Windows 10:

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Try Utilising A Different VPN Protocol:

If youre struggling to connect with VPN, then trying another protocol can be of great help. Protocols are set of rules especially defined to transfer the data securely from one point to another. We all know HTTP is the most common protocol for the transferring of data. It precedes every website you access. If you are facing an issue with your VPN connection, then try switching the protocol. Sometimes these protocols dont let you access some website or service due to the policies and terms. So, playing with protocols can prove to be an effective way of getting your issue resolved.

VPN Troubleshooting Tips For Slow Speeds

We wont be mentioning tips like upgrading your bandwidth or CPU since thats not really actionable VPN troubleshooting advice. Of course, if none of these tips work for you, and theres no solution, youre going to have to do that.

And in case youd like to learn more about VPN speed before moving on, feel free to check out our guide.

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Configure The Server That’s Running Routing And Remote Access To Use A Static Ip Address Pool

• Windows 2000 Server

• Windows NT Server 4.0

• Select Start, point to Settings, select Control Panel, and then double-click Network.

• Select the Services tab, select Remote Access Service in the Network Services list, and then select Properties.

• Select Network, select the TCP/IP check box if it isn’t already selected. And then select Configure next to TCP/IP.

• Select Use static address pool.

• Type the start of the IP address range in the Begin box, type the end of the IP address range in the End box.

  Note

  Configure a pool of static IP addresses on a different network segment than the network segment on which the internal LAN exists.

• To exclude a range of IP addresses from the static address pool, type the starting IP address of the range that you want to exclude in the From box, type the ending IP address of the range that you want to exclude in the To box, and then select Add.

• Select OK, select OK, and then select Continue.

• Select the Protocols tab, select TCP/IP Protocol>Properties. Select the Routing tab, and then select the Enable IP Forwarding check box if it isn’t already selected.

• Select OK, and then select Close.

• Select Yes to restart the computer.

How Does A VPN Work On Android

A VPN extends a private network over a public network. In most cases, that public network is the internet. As a tunnel between your local network and a remote network, a VPN enables you to use remote servers just as if they were connected to your local network.

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Make Sure The VPN Server Isnt Down

If you do have web access, the VPN server youre trying to connect to might be down or it might be too overcrowded. That tends to happen a lot if you use free VPNs.

How do you check?

Well, it depends on how the VPN provider makes that info available to you. You could ask them over social media, or you might be able to check through the VPN client.

If youre a CactusVPN user, just log into your account, go to Services, hit Manage on your active subscription, and youll see the whole list of VPN servers detailing if there are any problems.

If the server youre trying to use is experiencing problems, just connect to a different one, wait until the VPN provider fixes the issue, or the best option contact the providers support team.

Switch To A Different VPN Server

Not many VPN users realize this, but the physical distance between you and the VPN server can impact your connection speed.

Why? Because the further you are from a VPN server, the longer it takes data packets to travel between your device and the server, resulting in lower speeds.

Ideally, you should connect to a VPN server thats close to you, like in a neighbouring country.

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Why Is A VPN Not Connecting

Your VPN could have connectivity issues for many reasons. Before getting annoyed or disappointed by your service provider, try these methods:

Weve also got tips on how to increase your Wi-Fi bandwidth.

Error: A VPN Reconnect Resulted In Different Configuration Setting The VPN Network Setting Is Being Re

This error is received when you try to launch AnyConnect:

"A VPN reconnect resulted in different configuration setting. The VPN networksetting is being re-initialized. Applications utilizing the private network mayneed to be restarted."

In order to resolve this error, use this:

group-policy <Name> attributeswebvpnsvc mtu 1200

The svc mtu command is replaced by the anyconnect mtu command in ASA Version 8.4 and later as shown here:

hostname#group-policy <Name> attributes

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Problems With Passing Traffic

When problems are detected with passing traffic to the private network with an AnyConnect session through the ASA, complete these data-gathering steps:

access-list in_nat0_out extended permit ip any 10.136.246.0 255.255.255.0ip local pool IPPool1 10.136.246.1-10.136.246.254 mask 255.252.0.0nat  0 access-list in_nat0_out

Try Using Different Ports

Your device connects to the VPN via a networking port. Your device routes traffic from the VPN server to a specific port. However, certain ISPs and networks block traffic on specific ports. When this happens, your VPN connection will be denied, or it can be disrupted, followed by an unbalanced flow. Additionally, some ports are faster than others for seemingly no apparent reason. So, if youre experiencing slower speeds you might want to reconsider the VPN port youre using right now and switch to a faster one.

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Force Restart Your Iphone

Depending on your generation of iPhone, you will need to force restart by either holding down the power button and the home button at the same time, or the power button and the volume down button at the same time. For iPhone 8 and later, hold down the power button and then quickly press the volume up button and then the volume down button.

Try Connecting Via An Ethernet

Although it is highly unlikely, your wireless network router could be the main cause of your connection issues. In this case, consider connecting directly to the router using an Ethernet cable.

Additionally, this issue is mostly seen when there is a router getting an uplink from another on the same network causing a double NAT situation. In this case you will need to activate the bridge-mode, allowing the two routers to integrate with each other. To successfully perform this action, you will need to go through the routers official documentation.

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Set Your VPNs Dns Address Manually

This should not be necessary in most cases, and you will need to contact your VPN to find out exactly what DNS address to use. In addition, always ask your VPN whether they believe this is necessary before continuing.

When you have the DNS address, head to Settings>WiFi and click on the; next to your WiFi network. Next, Tap Configure DNS, select Manual and then tap Add Server to enter the DNS address provided by your VPN.;

Not Being Able To Log In

This one is a bit tricky since not a lot of people have experienced it yet. But we have seen people on Reddit complaining about it, and we also started experiencing this problem while using a VPN a few months ago.

Heres what happens: you use a VPN with Netflix, log in, and the site keeps saying you entered the wrong password or username. It doesnt matter how many times you make sure youre entering the right information, Netflix will keep saying its wrong.

Were not 100% sure whats going on, but it might be one way that Netflix has started blocking VPN users. We contacted a few VPN providers to see what their support reps had to say, and it seems some of their users have complained about this too.

Solutions

Were going to mention a few tips we tried out that worked, and some pointers offered by VPN support reps:

If none of those tips help, contact your VPNs support team. They might provide you with other tips that are specific to their service .

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Restart The VPN Software

Another reason why you may not be able to connect to your VPN service may be because the software is glitching. Before you make any definite conclusions that you absolutely cant connect to the VPN client, try restarting the VPN software, and give it one more try. Software glitches happen more often than youd think.

If your VPN has its own program, make sure its closed all the way down and its not just minimized. If your VPN is a browser plug-in, close the plug-in, and restart it.

Change The Network Port

When your device connects to a VPN server, and communicates with it, it uses a network port. VPN clients will normally allow you to pick which port the connection will use at least for certain VPN protocols.

Theres a chance that the VPN server isnt communicating well with your device through the port youre using. Alternatively, your ISP might slow down any traffic that goes through said port usually because they want to throttle your bandwidth.

So, try switching between different ports to see if you get better speeds.

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Certain Websites Dont Work With A VPN On

Most frequently, this happens due to the website blocking a specific servers IP. As you know, public VPN servers are shared between the vast amounts of people, and some of them are somewhat unsporting. Thats why, when such a persons IP gets blocked by a site, all users sharing the same server will also get blocked. The best solution for this is either choosing a different public server to use, or buying a Personal IP.

Another typical problem is users being unaware that some VPN servers prohibit the use of torrents. So if you need to use torrent services, once again, youll have to choose a VPN server that allows them. Finally, a less widespread issue is some users emails getting blocked because of suspicious activity. The cure is simple just enter your email account with VPN disabled and confirm that the activity was legit.

Do You Have Chrome VPN Issues

Chrome failing to connect when paired with a VPN is common. Nevertheless,before you start fixing the problem, it is important to rule out any connectionproblems.

• Check the network icon and ensure your computer has the internet connection. On Windows 10, you can look at the system tray on bottom right edge of the screen. And on MacBook, check it on the top Apple menu bar that shows WiFi icon.

• The warning symbol on the network icon indicates you have limited or no internet access message. Check out our article on how to fix this limited internet connection issue.
• If you have no internet connection, properly connect the PC either using Ethernet cable or Wi-Fi. If the problem persists, you can restart your modem or computer and check whether the problem is solved.

If you can access webpages without VPN then it could be a problem on Chrome browser. You can try the following options to fix VPN connection issues in Google Chrome.

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Check If The Correct Tcp And Udp Ports Are Open

NordVPN opens the 443 TCP and 1194 UDP ports for connectivity. It does this automatically with little intervention. However, some services and even your firewall may deny NordVPN access to these ports.

During installation, allow NordVPN to pass through the firewall. Youll learn more about this under the troubleshooting platform-specific connectivity issues section.

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Change VPN Tunneling Protocols

While OpenVPN is generally considered to be the best protocol for VPN traffic, there are sometimes when you may want to use L2TP/IPSec. While it doesnt provide as much security and doesnt have as many features, its also possible that it will slip by filters that slow down OpenVPN traffic.

If youre using the VPN for security or privacy, we dont recommend using L2TP/IPSec if you can help it. If youre just trying to get past region restrictions, it will work. But it wont be as secure.

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Try A Different Network

When to try it: VPN is slow, VPN has connectivity issues, you have tried some fixes

Works on: Desktop & Mobile

Difficulty: Easy

Risk: Low

People often get so invested in troubleshooting that they forget the most obvious causes like their own network performing badly.

If youve already tried a few different methods without success, maybe its time to take a phone or laptop and test your VPN at a new location. Simply launch it at a friends place or on a public network preferably one thats similar to yours, for a more accurate comparison.

A stable connection and smooth loading times will indicate that theres nothing wrong with your VPN, and that you should talk with your ISP instead. If the same issues are present, its back to troubleshooting.

Trying a different network should be your number-one step if your own gives you problems regularly. Even if youve checked the connection without a VPN and youre sure everything is fine on your end, it doesnt hurt to complete this process and cross it off as a possible reason for your trouble.