VPN that won’t connect or work: what to do?

After comparing VPNs for a long time, you’ve finally found a provider you’re happy with. But, when you try to connect to it, now problem, it doesn’t work. The VPN does not work and cannot connect. What could be the reasons for the problem? What could be done to fix it? We walk you through what to do if your VPN isn’t working and can’t connect to networks. 

In what cases can this happen?

The number 1 principle of a Virtual Private Network is to be able to secure yourself on the public Wi-Fi to which you connect. You may also want to use it at home, when you download torrents (to be anonymous) or for streaming to unblock foreign TV channels.

In recent years, we have faced VPN providers who, on public Wi-Fi networks, in some places, were not working. If you are here, it is sure that you too are having problems with your VPN and it is failing to connect. Does that mean it doesn’t work? Certainly!

In heavily censored countries

Where we may have had the most problems connecting with some VPN providers is overseas. We have been fortunate to travel to China and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai), which are two of the toughest countries when it comes to VPN usage.

You may be aware that in these countries there are a lot of VPNs that are absolutely not working. For example, we have seen that only certain VPN providers work in China.

The same goes for the UAE where many VPN providers get stuck, making connection impossible.

Here is a scenario where you may have a VPN that is not working and is failing to connect.

On highly controlled Wi-Fi

The other case concerns not very censored countries, but networks with very powerful firewalls.

Often, in your workplace, you risk having powerful firewalls. In such a case, if you try to connect with your Virtual Private Network, you might run into problems.

This can be directly related to the lack of protocols offered by your VPN provider … or just the wrong choice of protocol used.

What if the VPN is not working?

If you find yourself in one of these two cases, don’t worry, there are solutions that will allow you to make your VPN work so that it can connect to the network.

Change the encryption protocol

The first thing we recommend that you do is change the encryption protocol. This isn’t possible with all VPNs, but if you’ve chosen a premium, quality VPN provider, you won’t have a problem switching protocols.

Why can changing the protocol unblock the situation? Quite simply because each protocol has its specificities and some will be better than others at getting around blockages.

During our trip to Dubai, only one protocol worked with ExpressVPN. It was also by contacting the supplier’s customer support that we managed to unblock the situation and make the VPN work. With other protocols it unfortunately could not connect to the network.

If your VPN isn’t working and you can’t connect, the first thing to do is to change the protocol.

Change supplier

As we told you earlier in this article, some VPN providers just don’t work in some countries. For example, although we greatly appreciate Cyber Ghost, it does NOT work in China or UAE.

If you’ve gone for a free VPN, chances are it won’t work on tightly controlled networks or in heavily censored countries. In such a case, it is also very likely that you cannot even change the protocol.

For example, a lot of low-end providers only offer OpenVPN as a protocol. The latter is fine BUT really doesn’t work everywhere. In this case, it is simply banned in China. If your VPN provider only offers this protocol, don’t be surprised that it doesn’t work in a lot of situations.

If you cannot change the protocol, or if, after changing it, you still cannot connect to the network, your VPN is not working.

It is then necessary to change to another supplier.

The suppliers we advise

There are hundreds of VPN providers. Some are free while others are chargeable. If you’re having trouble with your Virtual Private Network and it doesn’t seem to be working, it may be that you haven’t picked the right one. 

In such a case, the best thing to do is to switch to a proven premium provider.

In particular, we can recommend the following: 

•        ExpressVPN

•        Circuit VPN

•        Surf shark

•        Cyber Ghost

With them, you can be sure that you will always be able to connect to networks.

TIP: If you have any issues, be sure to contact customer support. The latter will almost always be able to advise you on how to make some changes to make your Virtual Private Network work.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

 Why is my VPN app not working?

Most of the problems with using a VPN come from something blocking your connection to VPN servers. First, check that you have access to the Internet without a VPN and that you can access any site. If all is well, try to connect to another server to see if the problem is on that side.

 Does a VPN work without the Internet?

No, a VPN will not work without an internet connection. Unfortunately, one does not go without the other. Under no circumstances will a VPN be able to replace your Internet subscription.

 What if my VPN takes too long to connect?

Try to connect to another server to see if the problem persists. After that, you can always try to change the protocol (in the settings of your VPN application). If the problem persists, you will need to contact customer support from your VPN provider.

 Which VPN protocol should I generally use?

We recommend that you use the OpenVPN protocol whenever possible. But know that this is not a general truth. Sometimes it can be interesting to use the IKEv2 protocol or even WireGuard (if the latter is available). Indeed, it is possible that sometimes, the use of a protocol is blocked and therefore that it is necessary to turn to another choice. Moreover, this can very often be the reason for your VPN not working.