Proton VPN Port Forwarding Not Working

How to fix it

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

1. 1. Enable port forwarding on a P2P server

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   1. Windows: Countries > P2P, connect, click Port forwarding in the right sidebar, switch it On and click Apply
   2. macOS: connect to a P2P server and click Port forwarding On
   3. Linux GUI: connect to a P2P server, then Settings > Features > Port forwarding
   4. Linux CLI: run protonvpn config set port-forwarding on, then reconnect
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Configure qBittorrent

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   1. Tools > Options > Connection
   2. Untick Use UPnP / NAT-PMP port forwarding from my router
   3. Enter the active Proton port in Port used for incoming connections and click OK
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Update the port after every reconnect

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   1. Check the current port (hover Port forwarding on Windows; below the button on macOS)
   2. On Linux, read it from /run/user/$UID/Proton/VPN/forwarded_port and script the update
   3. Docker users: Gluetun's VPN_PORT_FORWARDING_UP_COMMAND can update qBittorrent automatically
   Did this fix it? Yes No

4. 4. Turn off moderate NAT

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   1. If you enabled Moderate NAT (NAT type 2) in the app, turn it off; port forwarding does not work with it
   2. Reconnect to a P2P server and re-enable Port forwarding
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

The port shows as closed, qBittorrent stays firewalled or unreachable, or the port stopped working after a reconnect.

Why it happens

• Not connected to a P2P server
• Forwarded port changed after a reconnect
• UPnP / NAT-PMP enabled in the torrent client conflicts with Proton VPN
• Moderate NAT (type 2) is enabled, which does not support port forwarding
• Using a mobile app or router setup (not supported in the apps)
• No app is listening on the port, so port checkers report it closed

This guide also covers

• proton vpn port forwarding not working
• proton vpn qbittorrent port forwarding
• proton vpn port changes
• proton vpn port forwarding firewalled

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