Proton VPN Blocked on School or Work Wi-Fi

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Switch to Stealth

   Copy steps
   1. Open Settings > Protocol and choose Stealth
   2. On Linux GUI, Stealth support depends on your app version; check Settings > Connection
   3. Reconnect
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Use Smart Protocol

   1. Choose Smart Protocol so the app tries every protocol until one connects
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Turn on alternative routing

   1. Enable Alternative routing in settings so the app can reach Proton through third-party networks
   Did this fix it? Yes No

4. 4. Try other servers and countries

   1. Connect to servers in several different countries; blocking is not always applied to every server
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

Proton VPN connects at home but hangs on Connecting or fails instantly on campus, office, hotel or public Wi-Fi, or in countries that block VPNs.

Why it happens

• Firewall or deep packet inspection blocks WireGuard and OpenVPN
• Proton's API is blocked, so the app can't even fetch servers
• Filters treat some servers differently from others
• A network proxy is required

This guide also covers

• proton vpn blocked on school wifi
• proton vpn stealth not working
• proton vpn not working at work
• proton vpn blocked

The same problem in other apps

All plan limits, paywalls & watermarks guides →

• Mullvad Google CAPTCHAs and Blocked Websites (Mullvad VPN)
• Surfshark Getting CAPTCHAs and Blocked Websites (Surfshark)

Other Proton VPN errors

• Proton VPN Not Connecting
• Why Is Proton VPN So Slow?
• Proton VPN Not Working With Netflix
• Proton VPN Keeps Disconnecting on Android
• No Internet After Disconnecting Proton VPN
• Proton VPN Port Forwarding Not Working
• Proton VPN Getting CAPTCHAs and Blocked Websites
• Proton VPN Login Not Working