TROUBLESHOOTING
VPN troubleshooting: errors and fixes
Every article here starts from a symptom or an exact error string and works back to the cause. They cover tunnels that connect but pass no traffic, handshakes that never complete, captive portals, blocked networks, kill switches that leak and connections that only fail on mobile data.
16 articles
IPv6 leaks: how they happen and how to close themA tunnel that carries only IPv4 leaves every IPv6 site outside it. Why that leaks silently, how to test for it, and the two ways to close it.
VPN causing packet loss in games: causes and fixesA tunnel adds latency by design and should not add loss. When games stutter with a VPN on, the cause is usually MTU, NAT type or a congested exit.
macOS VPN problems: extensions, profiles and permissionsA VPN that installs on macOS and silently fails is usually an unapproved system extension. The four permission and profile faults, and how to clear each.
Android's "blocked connections" notification explainedAndroid showing blocked connections is the VPN lockdown setting doing its job. What triggers it, why the phone has no network, and how to clear it.
Kill switch on, traffic still leaked: why it happensA kill switch has three failure modes: it starts too late, it only covers some traffic, or the tunnel never actually went down. What each looks like.
Streaming proxy errors: what the codes actually meanA streaming service saying it detected a proxy is reporting an address reputation match, not a decrypted tunnel. What the error means and what it does not.
VPN works on Wi-Fi but not on mobile dataA tunnel that only fails on cellular usually meets carrier-grade NAT, IPv6-only networks or UDP filtering. How to tell which, and what fixes each.
VPN blocked on a school or office network: what is happeningManaged networks block VPNs by port, protocol fingerprint and DNS. What each method looks like from your side, and what is and is not reasonable to do.
Fixing DNS leaks on AndroidAndroid's Private DNS setting overrides the VPN's resolver system-wide. That is the usual cause of an Android DNS leak, and it is one switch away.
Fixing DNS leaks on WindowsWindows asks every network interface to resolve names at once. That is documented behaviour, it leaks your browsing to your ISP, and there are two fixes.
Why your VPN is slow, in five checksA slow VPN is usually distance, server load, MTU, protocol or your own line. Five measurements that identify which, in about ten minutes.
VPN will not connect on public Wi-Fi: captive portals explainedHotel and airport Wi-Fi blocks the VPN until you sign in, and auto-connect makes it worse. How the portal works and the order that gets you online.
"TLS handshake failed": the OpenVPN error explainedOpenVPN's TLS key negotiation timeout has five common causes. What the log lines mean and which fix belongs to which.
"Handshake did not complete": what the WireGuard error meansWireGuard's handshake error has four causes: blocked UDP, a wrong key, a stale endpoint or a clock that is badly off. How to tell which.
Why your VPN keeps disconnecting, and how to stop itA VPN that drops every few minutes has one of seven causes. How to tell which, from what the connection was doing when it dropped.
VPN connected but no internet: nine causes and how to fix eachYour VPN says connected but nothing loads. The nine real causes, in the order worth checking, with the fix and the test for each one.
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