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Windows 10/11 VPN connecting forever: How to fix it?
6 min. read
Updated onOctober 4, 2023
updated onOctober 4, 2023
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Key notes
One of the most common issues with using aVPNon Windows 10 is the service being stuck in a loop so that it seems that theVPNis connecting forever.
As a result, your connection is never established, and a long time may pass before you even see anerrorprompt on your screen. TheVPNdialog displays an everlastingConnecting to …message and at some point, it might display an ambiguouserror.
Although it can be quite annoying when this happens, things are not so bad. You can rest assured knowing that among other issues that are way more serious, this one is a piece of cake.
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Windows VPN says connecting forever
There’s no simpler way to describe this issue. If you’re using the Windows 10 built-inVPNfeature, you might experience theVPNconnecting forever issue.
TheVPNdialog refuses to connect, but also won’t let go of the connection. Instead, it holds theVPNconnection attempt in a loop and keeps you waiting for it to be established successfully. Only it never happens.
We’ve noticed that most of the time, this issue occurs whenever you try to establish two consecutive connections in a row without giving the adapter enough time to cool down.
More often than not, if you just wait a couple of minutes before attempting to connect to another (or even the same)VPNconnection in Windows 10, you’ll bypass this inconvenience without even noticing it was there.
How to fix VPN stuck on Connecting?
1. Wait it out
As we said above, most of the time you need to allow some timeout between consecutive connections.
Once a connection is disrupted, the virtual adapter needs to reassign values such asIP addressesand gateways to your system, and this might take a while.
Not waiting might lead to conflicts between the old, default, and new values.
2. Try the alternative route
If you’re trying to connect to yourVPNby using the network button in the notification area, try connecting to theVPNthis way, instead:
Granted, this is a Windows-type of deal and we have no idea why it works better than connecting aVPNfrom the notification area, but most of the time it does.
We’re guessing that it takes you more time to reach theVPNmenu in theSettingsapp, which gives the connection more time to reset, which we’ve explained in the suggested fix above.
3. Try using a consumer-grade VPN
Sure enough, choosing a consumer-gradeVPNinstead of relying on your own connection is not a solution all the time. Many users prefer creating their ownVPNso that they can connect to remote computers and share resources more easily.
However, if you’re using aVPNfor the sake of keeping things private and don’t need resource management features, you could easily skip Windows’ built-inVPNissues by choosing such a product.
PIA is an excellentVPNservice offered by Kape Technologies that can keep your connection private and secure. It has a lot of fast servers you can connect to and provides you with 24/7 customer support, should you ever need it.
4. Reset your network adapter
Sometimes, a faulty or slow network adapter can spell trouble for other components that are depending on it. In this case, theVPNconnection, which uses your network adapter to enable you with Internet access, all the while keeping things on the hush.
Therefore, you might find that simply resetting your default network adapter, whether it’s wired or wireless, can easily fix the issue of yourVPNconnecting forever.
Note that some laptops have a dedicated hardware button for swiftly disabling and enabling WiFi functionality. It does exactly the same thing and it takes a whole lot less time.
5. Restart your modem, router, or PC
This doesn’t, or better yet shouldn’t need any additional step-by-step instruction list. It’s as self-explanatory as it gets, and doesn’t require a rocket engineering degree to accomplish.
Just unplug your router and/or modem for a few (~10) seconds and plug it back in to reset it. If you haven’t tried this yet, consider restarting your PC, as well.
There’s a good reason any tech support agent asks you to do that before trying other solutions. If it works, yourVPNshould bypass the connecting forever issue and everything should be a-ok.
6. Flush your DNS
This is an easy fix that could save you from a lot of headaches. It simply involves releasing any bad or dated information and updating any wrong connection data on your system.
VPN connecting forever on Windows 10 can be fixed
All things considered, if your Windows 10VPNconnection seems to be stuck inside a loop, there’s no need to despair. There are a lot of fixes that can assure things are back to smooth sailing, and none of them require extensive PC knowledge.
If you decide to give any suggested fix a try for yourself, make sure you follow our instructions as closely as possible. Although there’s little to no chance to mess anything up, you should always double-check before you perform any system configuration.
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More about the topics:VPN,windows 10 error fix
Vlad Constantinescu
Vlad might have a degree in Animal Husbandry and Livestock Management, but he’s currently rocking anything software related, ranging from testing programs to writing in-depth reviews about them.
He spent 3-4 years as a software editor at Softpedia and another year as a VPN specialist before he landed his current job as an author at Windows Report.
In his free time, Vlad enjoys playing guitar, doing jigsaw puzzles, researching cybersecurity, and even having a good read on rainy days.
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