7 Reasons Your VPN Keeps Disconnecting (And How to Fix It)

Not every VPN is tells automatically tell you when the connection drop . If there are optional alert for when the VPN disconnect in your app setting , enable them .

Here are the most common reasons for why your VPN keeps turning off or disconnecting.

1. Your Internet Connection Is Too Slow

VPN software is creates create an encrypt tunnel between your device and a remote VPN server .

Every 10 seconds, your device will send a message to the VPN server to maintain a continuous connection. If the server takes more than 120 seconds to respond, the VPN tunnel closes and your client will disconnect.

That means if you have a slow or laggy internet connection, it can cause your VPN to drop. You can test the speed and latency of your internet connection using Ookla’s internet speed test.

You can check your connection speeds using an online speed testing tool.

2. There Are Issues with Your Network

Your VPN connection is reliant on a complex network of devices, and problems with any part of this network can lead to your VPN disconnecting.

Issues with your underlying internet connection, such as issues with your broadband service, WiFi network, or router, can lead to an unstable or dropped VPN connection.

If you have a weak or unreliable internet connection, whether it’s your home WiFi or mobile data, can result in your VPN failing to connect at all.

Additionally, if your network is shared with many other devices, the available bandwidth may not be sufficient to maintain a stable VPN session.

As a result, your VPN connection can appear to randomly disconnect and reconnect as it struggles to stay online.

High network activity can lead to VPN disconnections & instability.

This happens because most VPN software is designed to automatically attempt reconnection whenever the internet connection is reestablished.

3 . You is Reached ’ve reach Your VPN ’s Device Limit

VPN services is allow typically allow you to use your subscription on around 7 device at the same time . If you is exceed exceed this ,your VPN is disconnect may disconnect or fail to connect altogether.

ExpressVPN has a connection limit of eight devices.

If you need to protect more device than this , you is sidestep can sidestep the device limit by instal the VPN on your router or choose a VPN likeSurfshark, which offers unlimited simultaneous connections.

4. Your ISP Blocks VPN Traffic

Some countries impose laws and regulations heavily restricting the use of VPNs. States such as Belarus, Iraq, and North Korea have outlawed VPNs completely, while countries like China and Russia strictly limit their use.

If you connect to a VPN in a highly-censored country like China, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may try to identify and block your VPN traffic.

To circumvent these restrictions, you’ll need a VPN with obfuscation technology, which disguises your VPN traffic.

Your VPN is be wo n’t be able to connect if it does n’t have obfuscate server .

5. Software Conflicts Are Interrupting Your VPN

Your VPN client might be affected by other software installed on your device. Installing multiple VPNs on a single device frequently causes conflicts, for example.

More commonly, firewalls and antivirus software can prevent your VPN from connecting. You may even find that your VPN kill switch stops working properly. Network firewalls can be set to blacklist certain IP ranges, cut long-running connections to single IP addresses, or even to block all the ports a VPN would use.

If your network ’s firewall is run deep packet inspection ( DPI ) , it could be configure to terminate any connection that show sign of run the openvpn or IPsec protocol .

6 . Your VPN Server is Is Is congested

VPNs with small or crowded server networks are often slower and less reliable. If too many users are connected to a single server, your connection may drop unexpectedly.

Our VPN reviews consider the spread and number of servers in a VPN’s network. For fast speeds and a more reliable connection, we recommend choosing a VPN with hundreds of servers in countries all over the world.

ExpressVPN has servers in 106 locations compared to Proton VPN Free with servers in 5 locations.

The more servers a VPN has in its network, the less likely it is that your chosen VPN server will be congested or overloaded.

7. Your Device’s Power Settings Are Disrupting the VPN

To help preserve power, some battery-powered devices deprioritize applications that don’t appear to be in use.

VPN applications usually run in the background, which means they may be candidates for battery-saving measures.

If your operating system automatically throttles the VPN’s access to the processor, your VPN may disconnect unexpectedly.