VPN Not Working: What Each Status and Banner in the App Means
When your VPN is not working, the cause is usually your network, your account or the VPN server. In most cases, the app screen shows which of the 3 it is. Check the status line on the server card, the purchase window, banners and the system status. This article covers them in order, from the main screen to “Settings”.
A 1-minute network test without the VPN
Tap “Disconnect” on the main screen, then open 2 or 3 sites. Choose sites that you have not visited recently, so the pages do not load from the cache. If the sites do not open without the VPN, the problem is in the network. A VPN does not restore internet access on such a network. If the sites open, the network is not the cause.
Wi-Fi in hotels, airports, trains and cafés often shows a sign-in or terms page first. Until you complete that page, the network blocks all traffic, including the VPN. While the VPN is connected, the page may not appear at all. Disconnect the VPN, complete the sign-in page, then connect again.
Check that no second VPN is active on the device. If one is, disconnect the other VPN app or your work VPN, then connect again. Also disable any proxy in your browser or system settings while you test. This way, you know which of them causes the failure. Our VPN vs proxy comparison covers what each one does.
Without a subscription, “Connect” opens the purchase window
On the server card, the status line under the country name shows whether the VPN is connected. “VPN not connected” means that your traffic does not go through the VPN. “Connected to” with an address means that the VPN connection is active. If sites still do not open, check the screen for a banner, as described below.
If “Connect” opens the “Buy Ben's VPN” window, the current account has no subscription. In most cases, the payment is not lost. The app is signed in to a different account. On first launch, the app signs in to a guest account for this device. This happens on a new phone or computer and after a reinstall. The guest account is not the account that has your subscription.
If you are already subscribed, tap “Already have a subscription?” → “Sign in to account” at the top of the window. Sign in with the same method that you used on your first device. The fastest sign-in method is a one-time code. On the device with the subscription, open “Account” → “Sign in on another device”. It shows an 8-digit code that is valid for 3 minutes. On the new device, choose “Sign in with code” and enter the 8 digits. If the first device also uses a guest account, link an e-mail address there first with “Account” → “Link e-mail”. After that, you can also sign in with this e-mail address.
Without a subscription, the app only saves the location you choose and does not connect. When a subscription ends, the main screen shows a “Subscription expired” banner. Its “Extend” button opens the same purchase window.
4 steps after a “Bad connection” banner
The “Bad connection” banner appears when the connection through the VPN server is poor. Its “Fix the problem” button opens the “Server unavailable” card. The card shows that the problem is on the VPN server, not in your internet connection. The server may be blocked on your network or temporarily unreachable. The card lists the steps from the fastest to the slowest, so follow them in this order.
Choose another location
The “Change location” button opens the list of locations. The failure may affect only one server, so choose any other location.
Search for a working server
Tap “Find working server” if another location did not help or you need this exact location. The app tests the server again and gives it new IP addresses if needed. As a last resort, it connects you through an intermediate server in another country (multihop). The search can take up to 2 minutes.
Restart the device
This means the whole phone or computer, not only the app. If the network on the device has failed, a restart often restores the connection.
Reinstall the app
Remove the app from the device completely, then install a new copy from our download page. Read the note below before you remove it.
Another location shows whether one server is at fault
Changing the location is the fastest way to test one server. The “Location” tile under the card opens the “Change Location” window. If another location works, the failure was on one server. If no location works, check your network and the settings described below.
A slow VPN is a different problem from a VPN that does not work. Each request travels to the server and back, so a distant location adds delay. Our article on ping in games explains this delay in detail. With the “Fastest” tile, the app chooses a location near you. Each location in the list also has a speed tag, such as “10 GBIT” or “100 MBIT”. For large downloads, choose a nearby location with a higher speed tag.
Bypass the VPN for selected services with “Tunnel”
The “Tunnel” tile opens “Split tunneling”, where selected traffic bypasses the VPN. Use it if a bank or streaming app from your home country fails while the VPN is connected.
- “Manual”. Each line of your list holds a domain, subnet or IP address. Traffic to these addresses goes directly through your own connection.
- “For Russia”. Traffic to Russian services goes directly, and all other traffic goes through the VPN. A separate checkbox adds your manual list to this mode.
- “Apps that bypass the VPN”. On Android, “Select apps” excludes whole apps from the VPN.
A new mode applies after you disconnect and connect again. The same window is also useful in the opposite case. If a site sees your real address while the VPN is connected, it is probably on the bypass list. Only “Off” sends all traffic through the VPN.
4 options in “Settings” when the steps above fail
The other troubleshooting options are in “Account” → “Settings”. Do not change them while the connection works. These 4 options are for failures that the steps above did not fix.
- “Find working server”. This is the same search as on the “Server unavailable” card. Here you can start it without a banner, if the connection is poor but the app shows no warning.
- “Server Replacement”. The “Replace Servers” button gives every location new IP addresses at once. Use it when all locations fail on one network but work on another. If you use the app on other devices, you may need to reconnect on them.
- “Multihop”. By default, it is set to “Automatic”, and the app adds an intermediate server when needed. The “Russia” option is for mobile networks in Russia that use whitelists. Traffic first goes through a server in Russia, and Ben's VPN connects even under these limits. We do not guarantee this for every network. Most locations are unavailable in this mode, so return to “Automatic” when the restrictions end.
- “Automatic Mirror Selection” and “Manual Mirror Input”. Use them if the first setup after installation does not finish. After 15 seconds, the app offers to find a working mirror, because your network may block our servers. Start with automatic selection, and contact support if it does not help.
The app chooses the protocol from VLESS + REALITY, XHTTP, Hysteria2 and Shadowsocks, so “Settings” has no protocol option. How they differ is covered in our article on VPN protocols.
Check the system status before you contact support
The “About” tab shows the current system status at the top. If there is no major outage, the status shows it. In that case, the cause is most likely your network or the chosen location.
If nothing has helped, tap “Support” under the server card and write to Support 24/7 in the chat. The “About” tab lists other ways to contact us, and all of them are on our contacts page. You get a faster answer if your first message includes the following:
- The error text, if the app showed one.
- The app version (shown under its name on the main screen), your device model and its system version.
- Your network (Wi-Fi or mobile network), your internet provider or mobile carrier and the location you connect to.
- The steps from this article that you have already tried.
Questions and answers
I chose another location, but my IP address stayed the same. Why?
Check the “Automatically connect when changing location” checkbox in the “Change Location” window. It is checked by default, so choosing a location connects you to it immediately. If the checkbox is cleared and the VPN is connected, the new location applies at the next connection. In that case, tap “Disconnect” first and then “Connect”.
Can a device limit stop the VPN from connecting?
No, there is no device limit on a subscription. Access is restricted only when a subscription is resold or published. If “Connect” opens the purchase window on a new device, the app uses a new guest account. Sign in to your account as described above.
Sites open, but calls fail. Will a search for a working server help?
Probably not, because the search checks only regular connections (TCP) and does not test calls. It can choose a server where sites work and calls still fail. Connect to another location and test the call again. If calls still fail, contact support and name the calling app and your network.
Why does the app ask for my password the first time I connect on Linux?
This is expected if you run the AppImage. At the first connection, the app installs its VPN adapter, which needs administrator rights. This takes up to 30 seconds, and then the app repeats the connection automatically. The .deb package receives these rights during installation and does not ask for a password. If the AppImage does not start, make the file executable with chmod +x. It also needs FUSE 2: the libfuse2 package, or libfuse2t64 on Ubuntu 24.04 and newer. More details are on our VPN for Linux page.
How can I check that my traffic goes through the VPN?
Open a site that shows your IP address, first with the VPN disconnected and then connected. If the address changes, browser traffic goes through the VPN. If it stays the same, check the status line on the server card and the mode under “Tunnel”.
