Why is my VPN refusing to connect?

Why is my NordVPN not connecting?

What can I do to diagnose this issue?

Are there any other troubleshooting steps to try first? Why is no connection being made at all?

I apologize in advance for such an overwhelming list of troubleshooting troubles. Many have been tried, and we just can't seem to get NordVPN to connect at all.

NordVPN's Customer Support was kind enough to contact us about the connectivity issues. They are having trouble connecting for about a third of their server locations in the US. They did, however, confirm that this issue wasn't a direct result of our setup, but rather due to a change in the routing table on the routers belonging to many different service providers across the country.

The customer support staff then gave us a variety of troubleshooting steps to try in an effort to reach out to their servers that are causing this issue. We took the steps that they offered and still encountered the same issues. It appears to be a problem on the end that NordVPN's VPN servers need to reach.

We tried troubleshooting the router configuration itself, including checking the "updating the routing table", using static IPs, rebooting it entirely, even unplugging the WiFi adapter and trying from ethernet, restarting it completely. Still, no connection.

We've tested the internet providers in our town; Rogers (Canadian) Comcast (US) and Time Warner Cable (US). We cannot reach any other devices attached to these providers and the connection fails.

If you haven't already, I'd suggest you check out other VPN server locations in your area and make sure the ones you've chosen are actually open to the public. They must, by law, be able to serve anyone in the world.

I'm sorry for your troubles and for your confusion. If you're not able to use a VPN right now, but are still interested in signing up, I'd recommend looking at one of the smaller providers in my previous links at the bottom of this page. While I believe you can still get a good deal on this one with their discount pricing structure, it wouldn't hurt to check out their site as a reference.

NordVPN's Customer Support staff will also reach out to those that are experiencing this issue with their server locations as soon as they're able to.

Is there a problem with NordVPN today?

The site is currently experiencing issues and there is currently no email support for questions.

We're working hard to get things back to normal. If you're having a problem and need to talk to us, please click below and we'll be in touch as soon as possible. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Can you help with my VPN concerns? We're working hard to get things back to normal but in the meantime we have a dedicated support team that's here to help. There's no need to stress though, just click the link below and we'll get you sorted out.

What should I do if I've forgotten my login details? If you've forgotten your login details you can click the button below and a new email address will be sent to you. You can then enter this into your NordVPN account and you'll be back in business! Can I buy the NordVPN service with Bitcoins? Yes! As of January 15th 2026, NordVPN has opened a store for those wanting to use Bitcoin payments to purchase their VPN service. Click the button below to visit our store.

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Why is NordVPN taking so long to connect?

This happens every time I reboot my router.

It takes a few minutes of "wait and see" before the connection is re-established. It has never occurred before this year. In my router's logs, it shows that a connection was lost for about 4 minutes. Why?

Re: ? NordVPN says that the router needs to be reset, and they claim that they are working on the problem. However, after a week and a half of doing nothing, we now have a second router with the same problem. The NordVPN tech support is completely unhelpful. They just send us automated emails that say "this is not our issue".

I have had this issue several times, but it's gone away after a few reboots of my router. I think I might need to start over with a new cable/router combo. I just ordered a new Netgear Nighthawk R7000 router and I think I'll set it up with a different cable and see if that fixes it.

@TheWatcher I've had a similar problem with the Nighthawk 6500 (not 7000), and it was fixed by unplugging the cable from the router and waiting a few seconds. It was a very old cable, but it still worked. I've also had this issue with the Netgear router I had, which I replaced.

I have just had the exact same issue happen to me. The only thing that works for me is unplugging the ethernet cable and waiting 5-10 secs, then plugging it back in. The connection seems to remain stable.

Had the same issue. I rebooted my Netgear Nighthawk R7000 and it worked. Just rebooted my Linksys WRT160N and it doesn't work. I'm looking to see if there's any way to disable wireless on the Nighthawk and then maybe try connecting through ethernet, but I haven't found anything.

I'm not sure what the problem is.

Why is my VPN refusing to connect?

I have been running a VPN on my laptop for a long time.

I can access all my blocked sites and use them from inside the VPN.

But now, when I open Safari, it just says "VPN connection refused." Even though I'm in the same location as before. It doesn't matter what connection I choose - LAN, mobile data, or whatever else.

I have tried turning on/off my VPN and restarting the computer, but it's still saying that connection refused. I have even rebooted my router twice. I am not sure what to do.

What could be wrong? If you're having trouble connecting to a VPN, there's a pretty good chance your ISP is blocking the IP addresses of VPN servers. This is especially likely if you're in a country where the government requires internet service providers to censor content.

You should be able to access VPNs that don't need to connect through an Internet connection. The best option is to get an account at a company that owns and operates their own VPN network. It's likely that your ISP isn't blocking the IP addresses of those networks.

If you are behind a restrictive firewall, you may need to use an intermediary VPN provider. If the firewall is configured correctly, it should still allow traffic to and from the VPN. The intermediary will translate the traffic between the VPN and the rest of the internet.

Is it possible that I'm behind a restrictive firewall? I've tried all the methods that are listed in this thread (and some more) but nothing is working. I tried downloading and installing the software on another computer with no luck. I tried doing a hard reset of my router and still nothing.

My IP address is definitely not censored. I was able to connect just fine a couple of days ago. I am also not behind a firewall, as I am connected to the Internet through an ethernet cable.

I was also wondering why I needed to add an address in the format of 192.168.x, as I have an ethernet port with a static IP address. Do I have to do something special for my computer to connect to my VPN?

I'm also confused by the word "port". Is that the way it's supposed to be spelled?

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