VPN solutions are becoming more and more popular because people take their privacy and security seriously. With cyberattack numbers increasing, we can see that the need for such protection measures is more than necessary.
Of course, VPNs are used for streaming to mask your IP and access much more content than you usually would. But VPNs are a piece of software, and we all know that those can cause some issues sometimes.
We hate them, but it is inevitable — even Word crashes from time to time. This is why we are here to help with some of the most common troubleshooting steps you should try out in case of issues.
Check your internet connection
Yes, this might seem funny to you, but this should be the first thing to check. If you lose connection while streaming, this might have nothing to do with the VPN solution itself, but maybe your internet connection dropped for a while. The way to check this is probably also very clear but let’s make sure we have this covered.
You should just try to open any other site and see if it will work out or nothing is loading. After that, you should try to switch off the VPN and again try to open a random site that you know you usually can access without issues. If the problem is your internet connection, you should do regular troubleshooting that we all know very well.
Restart your VPN
Another common reason for issues is that something with your VPN solution went wrong for a couple of moments. You should try to turn off your VPN, wait a couple of seconds and turn it on again. Indeed this is the oldest trick in the book, but there is a reason behind it, and it is because it works.
If you are using a VPN application, you should also try to force stop the app from your Task Manager since sometimes the app might continue to work on the back, and the restart won’t be complete. And if you are using a web extension, you would log out, delete all the cache, close the browser (you can again do a force stop just to be sure), and then try to turn the VPN on again.
Update/reinstall your VPN
If your VPN is not working and the previous two troubleshooting steps didn’t work, the next step would be to check if there are any updates available for your VPN and try to update it or re-install your solution. For example, one of the best VPN options for Fire Stick that people love is very simple, reliable, and easy to reinstall if necessary.
So, if your VPN is just not connecting to the location you have chosen, and you see that the internet, in general, is fine and restarting the VPN didn’t help, you should check for updates or just reinstall your solution.
Change the server
If you have issues opening some particular sites, but others normally work with your VPN, the problem is the server you are using. If you are using a free VPN product, the server you are using may be overwhelmed, and the connection is not possible. This happens when too many people try to use the same server at the same time.
It is a bit different when it comes to a paid VPN solution, but it is also possible that the server is currently down, which is why things are not working as they should. So, you can try to connect to another server and see if this will fix the issue.
Try another VPN protocol
A VPN protocol is a bit different than a VPN server and is another setting you can try to change and see if it will fix your issues. The point-to-point tunneling protocols used by different VPN solutions vary, and you might not be using the best one by default, which might be why you are experiencing troubles.
Some examples are OpenVPN or L2TP/IPSec, and those are the most common ones, therefore, you can try to switch between them or choose them if something else is selected currently. All protocols have their specifications, but if you are just a regular user that wants to have some additional security layer and some more streaming freedom, then the difference between them is not that significant for you, and you can switch between the protocols that you have available.
Check your firewall settings
If you recently updated your operating system or your VPN, maybe something in the settings changed, and now there is a conflict between your VPN and firewall. To the first check, if this is the case, you can try to disable your firewall and see if your VPN will work typically.
Then, you should explore what changed and how you should update your firewall settings. In most cases, those are common issues and the developer of your VPN solution probably already noticed it so they might have some FAQ released on the topic. If there is no information available, you can run some tests and see which protocols are blocked and unblock them.
Conclusion
Technical issues are a pain but having some common troubleshooting steps always helps. Next time you have some troubles with your VPN, you can try out the steps we listed above, which should help. If the problem still persists, you can always contact the support of the solution we use, and they will surely be happy to help.