VPN not working: why, and what to do

A familiar situation: the app says “Connected”, and the site you need still won't open or the video keeps spinning. It usually gets fixed in a couple of minutes — let's go step by step, starting with the simplest.

Updated 27 August 2026

First — stay calm

Almost always “the VPN doesn't work” means one of three things: the connection has hung, the device has just changed network, or the problem isn't the VPN at all but one particular site. None of those needs a reinstall or a call to a technician.

The main rule: before changing or deleting anything, turn the VPN off and check whether the internet works at all. If nothing opens without the VPN either, it is the connection or the Wi-Fi, and no app setting will cure that.

Check step by step — the first two usually do it

Reconnect. In the app press “Disconnect”, wait a couple of seconds and press “Connect” again. That resolves most hangs.
Check the internet without the VPN. Switch the connection off and open any site. If nothing opens, it is a connectivity question: switch from Wi-Fi to mobile data or the other way round.
Restart the device. A boring step that honestly works: it clears stuck network connections you can't see from the outside.
Check that the period is paid for. Open your account: if the days have run out, the app will connect but no traffic will go through the protected connection.
Update the app. An old version sometimes stops understanding new connection settings — the update installs over it, no need to sign in again.

Common situations and what is behind them

“Connected”, but nothing loads. Most often the device switched between Wi-Fi and mobile data and the connection stayed hanging in the old network. Reconnecting in the app helps.

Everything works except one site. Check it without the VPN and in a private window. If the site doesn't open either way, the problem is on its side and has nothing to do with the VPN.

It stopped working after a phone update. The system reset the VPN connection permission. Press “Connect” and allow the connection to be created when the phone asks.

It disconnects by itself after a few minutes. Usually that is battery saving: the phone unloads the app from memory. In the battery settings allow the app to run in the background without restrictions.

Video still stalls. Then it may not be the connection but the service itself — check whether the video is stuck at low quality only in one app or everywhere.

When "it stopped working for everyone at once"

Sometimes it is neither your phone nor your settings: waves of restrictions roll through from time to time, and then every VPN starts behaving the same way — the connection is established but drops after a minute or two, the client spins forever, the speed falls to almost nothing. That is what happened in early August 2026, with complaints arriving from different regions and different carriers at once; iPhone owners tend to notice first.

How to tell it is that case:

the internet is fine without the VPN and everything stalls with it;
the connection drops after roughly the same amount of time each try;
it behaves the same on Wi-Fi and on mobile data;
friends on a different service see the same picture that day.

What to do: reconnect, update the app — and, most importantly, write to us. Waves like that are cured on the server side rather than on your phone: we adjust the settings and the connection comes back without you doing anything. The speed test tells the two cases apart — "blocked outright" versus "barely crawling".

Why some services fall and others do not. Filtering recognises stock, template-like connection settings — hence headlines like "VLESS stopped working". That is the name of a data-transport method, the plumbing rather than anything a user configures. Services that keep an eye on their own settings ride such waves far more easily, which is why free VPNs usually go down first.

Slow, dropping, or switching itself on

Three complaints that are not "the site won't open" but bring people here anyway:

“It got slow.” A small drop is normal — the data takes a longer path. A big one usually means a distant server, weak Wi-Fi or a busy home network. The speed test settles it in seconds: measure with the VPN on and off;
“It keeps disconnecting.” Usually the network changes underneath — Wi-Fi to mobile data, a lift, a basement — or a battery saver kills background connections. Regular drops a minute after connecting are a different case, described above;
“It turns on by itself and I can't switch it off.” That is iOS: the VPN profile stays on the device and the system can re-establish the connection, so the icon comes back. Disconnect inside the app; to remove it completely, delete the profile in Settings → General → VPN & Device Management.

What not to do

don't change network or DNS settings by hand — everything is already configured in the app, and manual edits break more often than they fix;
don't install several VPN apps at once — they interfere with each other and none of them works;
don't delete the app at the first error: reinstalling is almost never the reason things start working, but it does force you to sign in again.

If nothing helped

Write to us — we answer every day, as humans, not with templates. To get it solved from the first message, say straight away: which device (phone or computer and which system), what exactly won't open, and whether the internet works with the VPN off. That is usually enough to settle it in a couple of messages.

Start with the simplest thing: open “What is my IP” and see whether the address and country changed. If they did not, the VPN is not connected and the site is not to blame.

Frequently asked questions

The app says “Connected” but there is no internet. What now?

First switch the connection off and on again in the app — that fixes most cases. If it doesn't help, turn the VPN off, check whether the internet works at all (open any site), and turn it back on. Often the reason is that the phone has just switched between Wi-Fi and mobile data.

Why did the VPN disconnect after I restarted my phone?

That is normal: after a restart the system asks again whether the app may manage the connection. Open the app and press “Connect” once more. If your phone aggressively unloads apps from memory, allow the app to run in the background in the battery settings.

The VPN stopped working after a phone update

A system update sometimes resets the VPN connection permission. Open the app, press “Connect” and allow the system to create the connection when it asks. If the dialog doesn't appear, reinstall the app — your account data isn't lost, signing in by e-mail restores access.

One site won't open while everything else works

Then it is almost certainly not the VPN but the site itself or saved browser data. Try opening it in a private window or another browser, and clear the cache. If the site doesn't work without the VPN either, the problem is on its side.

Should I reinstall the app?

That is the last step, not the first. Start with reconnecting, checking the internet without the VPN, and restarting the device. Reinstalling rarely helps and requires signing in again, so it only makes sense when nothing else worked.

Why is the VPN not working today — for everyone at once?

It happens: waves of restrictions roll through from time to time, and then the complaints come in bulk — the connection drops a minute or two after it is established, the client spins forever, the speed collapses. Free services and stock settings fall first. Reconnecting and updating the app help on such a day; if they do not, write to us — we adjust the servers on our side, and that usually fixes it faster than you would expect.

People say “VLESS stopped working” — is that about me?

VLESS is the name of the way an app moves data to the server — plumbing, from a user's point of view. Filtering has learned to recognise stock settings of that plumbing, which is why some services fall over while others keep running: it depends on how the server is configured. There is nothing to change on your phone — the tuning happens on our side.

Why is my VPN so slow?

Some slowdown is normal — data takes a slightly longer path through a protected server. A large drop is usually something else: a distant server, a weak Wi-Fi signal, a busy home network, or a restriction wave squeezing the connection. Measure it with the speed test with the VPN on and off: if both numbers are low, the VPN is not the culprit.

Why does my VPN keep disconnecting?

Most often it is the network switching underneath it — from Wi-Fi to mobile data, or a weak signal in a lift or basement. Battery savers on phones also cut background connections. If the drop happens like clockwork a minute or two after connecting, that is a different story: see the section about restriction waves above.

Why does the VPN turn on by itself on my iPhone — and why can't I turn it off?

iOS keeps a VPN profile and can bring the connection back up on demand, so the icon reappears in the status bar. Disconnect inside the app rather than in the system settings; if the icon stays, remove the VPN profile in Settings → General → VPN & Device Management. Nothing is broken — that is how iOS handles VPN profiles.

Where do I write if nothing helped?

Write to our support — a real person answers, every day. It helps to say straight away which device you have, what exactly won't open, and whether the internet works with the VPN off: that way we get to the answer faster.