In a world where the internet is not so safe, VPN gives some security by encrypting our internet connection and masking our IP address. If you are a regular user of VPN, you might have faced the error which states “the network connection between your computer and the VPN server was interrupted” on your Windows computer.
You may face this issue while connecting to the VPN or setting up the VPN for the first time. Generally, this error triggers when there is an unstable internet connection or the VPN server has reached its limit. Certain VPNs put a limit on the maximum number of simultaneous connections i.e 4 or 5. This means if you have multiple devices using the same VPN server, then this issue may happen when you use more than the limit.
These are some general causes that may trigger this error. Moreover, there may be many different factors as well which can cause computer and VPN connection errors.
Being a regular user of VPN, I too have faced this error a few times, and I tried certain workarounds to fix it, and luckily few of the fixes worked. The same solution may or may not work every time because multiple reasons may cause this error.
In this article, I am going to explain all the factors that may cause this error, and how to fix the issue.
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“The Network Connection Between Your Computer And VPN Server Was Interrupted” Error Causes
- Unstable Internet Connection: Since I have been using a VPN for a long time, I have faced this error many times, and most of the time, I found that the root cause of the issue was poor internet connectivity. As soon as the internet connection got stable, the issue went away. So, if you face this issue, make sure that the first thing you check is your internet connection.
To check this, you can just try opening a few websites, or playing a video, or you can try checking the speed of the connection using some internet speed checker tools. These may give you a fair idea of whether your internet is working properly or not. - Firewall or Security Program: Sometimes firewall or security programs may block the connection or some files which may cause the issue of connection interruption. Most of us do have an antivirus program installed on our computers. So, if you face the error, you can try disabling the firewall or antivirus, and then try. This may solve the issue.
- VPN Server Down or Not Responding: Sometimes VPN server may be down or unresponsive as well. If this is the case, you can just use a different VPN location or server, and the error will go away.
Error “The Network Connection Between Your Computer And VPN Server Was Interrupted” Solutions
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Most Basic Fixes
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- Rebooting the computer: Whenever we have some issues, the very first thing we should do is reboot the computer. Most of the chance if the error is due to some small causes, rebooting fixes the issue. Thus, the first thing you must do is restarting your PC and check if it solves the issue.
- Rebooting your Router: Now, if the issue is still there, restart the wifi router installed in your house. Sometimes just rebooting it may fix the problem as well.
- Switch to Wired Connection: Most of us connect our devices via wifi. So, once you can try with wired connection between the router and the computer, and then see if it solves the issue.
- Switching the server location: If you still face the issue, once try to change the server location from the VPN interface, and see if it helps.
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Disable Antivirus and Firewall
Disabling antivirus may be useful at times because sometimes antiviruses may detect VPN connection as rogue stuff, and may block the connection which may result in the error. If you are someone who is not so comfortable disabling the antivirus, then you can add your VPN software as an exception in your Antivirus program which means that you are asking the antivirus to ignore the VPN. So, it will not block it.
If you have activated Windows Firewall, you should disable it as it could be the reason of the error as well.
To do this, go to Control Panel on your Windows computer, then go to System and Security, then look for Windows Defender Firewall. If you don’t find it, just type this in the control panel’s search bar, and you will find it.
Now, click “Windows Defender Firewall”. Now, from the left side, click “Turn Windows Firewall On or OFF”
Now, click Turn OFF Windows Defender Firewall for the Public and Private Network settings. Then, click OK to save the changes.
Many times disabling the firewall may fix the error “the network connection between your computer and the VPN server was interrupted”.
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Switch the VPN Connection Protocol to PPTP
PPTP is a VPN connection protocol that stands for Poin-to-Point Tunneling Protocol. It is one of the oldest protocols which is quite fast but it is not very secure. Just for testing, or if you are fine with a lesser secured connection, you may try changing the protocol to PPTP and see if this solves the problem.
Here is How to Change VPN Connection Protocol to PPTP
- Go to Run Command, type ncpa.cpl, and hit enter.
- It will open the network connections. There, right click on VPN Connection, and click Properties.
- Now, a VPN Connection Properties Window will be displayed on the screen.
- Go to the Security tab, and under Type of VPN, click the dropdown, then choose PPTP, and click OK to save the changes.
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Uninstall WAN MiniPorts
At times, users have reported that uninstalling the drivers of WAN adapters have solved the error. So, you can try doing that too. For that, go to the the Device Manager by the run command Win X, and there, expand “Network Adapters”. Now, right click on WAN Miniport(IP). And, click Uninstall device.
Again, repeat the same for WAN Miniport IPv6 and the tunneling protocol you are using for VPN connection. Such as WAN Miniport (PPTP) in case of PPTP protocol.
After the changes, you have to restart your PC. See if this solves the issue for you.
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Check Whether VPN Passthrough is Enabled for the Protocol in Use
VPN Passthrough is responsible for allowing the VPN traffic from your computer system/device to pass through the router. So, this must be enabled.
Go to the router settings, then go to “Security” tab. And, check whether the passthrough for the protocol is enabled or not. If not, enable that. In fact, make sure that for all the protocols, VPN passthrough is enabled such as PPTP Passthrough, L2TP Passthrough, IPSec Passthrough.
Click Save to save the changes, and see if the issue is resolved.
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Try Different VPN Software
This is not the exact solution to the error “The Network Connection Between Your Computer And The VPN Server Was Interrupted” but, if nothing works for you, and you are in haste, you should probably try a different VPN software, and I am sure, you may not face the same issue with that.
Conclusion
“The Network Connection Between Your Computer And The VPN Server Was Interrupted” this error is quite common among VPN users, and trying various tweaks may solve the issue. There is no fixed solution to solve this every time. So, try these tweaks, and see which one works for you.
For me, most of the time, the slow internet was the cause, and it was fine after some time. Moreover, once I had to disable the Windows Firewall to get rid of this error. So different times and different solutions worked for me.
I am sure, you would be able to solve this error, and enjoy your VPN connection. Share your thoughts and experience if you are also getting this error.