A service worked for months and then stopped connecting — with no updates, no settings changes, no visible cause. Let's break down what usually lies behind this.
The short answer
Most often it's not the app that changes but the network around it. Carriers' traffic conditions get updated, and a connection that passed yesterday may not pass today. Less often the cause is on the device side: a profile conflict, power saving, an old version of the client.
Cause 1. Network conditions changed
The most common. Traffic filtering is configured on the carrier's side, and its rules get updated. Protocols that are recognized by characteristic signatures — OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2 on fixed ports — are the first to be caught by this.
A telltale sign: it stopped working for many users of one carrier at roughly the same time, while with another carrier everything is fine.
Cause 2. A specific location became unavailable
A specific server's address may stop being accepted while neighboring locations keep working. It's checked in five seconds — by changing the location in the app. That's exactly why it's the first piece of advice in any troubleshooting.
Cause 3. A second VPN profile in the system
An underrated cause. The user tried another service, the configuration stayed in the device's settings and keeps intercepting traffic. It looks like the current app is broken. It's checked in the system VPN settings.
Cause 4. Power saving
Especially on Android. The system unloads background apps to save battery, and the VPN client turns off by itself. On iOS, Low Power Mode does the same. It's fixed by removing the restrictions on the app.
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Cause 5. An outdated version of the client
If the app is installed from a file rather than from a store, updates don't arrive automatically. An old client may not support the current connection method. Check the version.
Cause 6. A change in network type
Switching from Wi-Fi to mobile internet changes the external address and route. The established session breaks in the process. If the connection is stable at home and unstable outdoors, that's the reason, and we have a separate breakdown of it.
The order of checks
- Change the location in the app.
- Check the list of VPN profiles in the device's system settings and remove the extra ones.
- Turn off the VPN and make sure the internet works without it.
- Remove the power-saving and data-saving restrictions on the app.
- Check the app version and update it.
- Switch between Wi-Fi and mobile internet — this will show whether the cause is the network.
- Restart the device.
Why we can't promise it won't happen again
Let's be direct: network conditions change, and no service can guarantee it will work forever. The difference between services isn't the presence of problems but how quickly they respond. We use protocols designed for such conditions — VLESS Reality, Trojan, and Hysteria 2 — and the client picks a suitable one itself.
If nothing on the list helped, write to support without registering. State your carrier, city, connection type, app version, and the location you selected — with this information the troubleshooting takes minutes instead of hours.