Your NordVPN is disconnecting because the data packets are not being sent or received, there are internet connection issues, or your VPN is not configured correctly.
Luckily, I know how to fix it, and I’ve decided to share the solutions with you.
This will be quick and easy. Let’s dive in!
How Can You Fix NordVPN Disconnecting?
We know of 8 solutions that are guaranteed to fix NordVPN from disconnecting.
Follow along!
1. Reset NordVPN
You could’ve set something incorrectly if you recently configured your VPN settings. Reset your NordVPN settings and revert everything to its default state.
Here’s how to do that:
- Open NordVPN, and then open its “Settings” menu by clicking the “Cog” icon.
- Click on “General” and then select “Run diagnostics” under “Diagnostics.”
- Under the “NordVPN Diagnostics tool,” click “Reset app.”
After you reset your NordVPN, relaunch it and see if you’re still disconnecting.
If you are, here’s our next solution.
2. Change the VPN Protocol
You could be facing an issue because your selected VPN protocol isn’t working.
Try changing the protocol and connecting again.
Here’s how to do that:
- Launch NordVPN and open the “Settings” page by clicking the “Gear” icon in the top right corner.
- Click “Connection” on the right-side menu and select “VPN Protocol.”
- Under “VPN Protocol,” select a different protocol.
If this didn’t help, here’s our next solution.
3. Change the VPN Server Location
If you tried changing the protocol but to no avail, changing NordVPN’s server location should fix the issue. As you know, you can pick a server location manually.
But if you are new to NordVPN and need help, here’s how to change your server to a different VPN server location:
- Open the NordVPN app and expand the “Servers” list.
- Now click on a different server.
- If your NordVPN keeps disconnecting despite changing the server, change the server location again.
Changing server locations didn’t stop the NordVPN client from disconnecting?
Give it a shot to our next solution!
4. Temporarily Disable Firewall and Antivirus
Sometimes your firewall settings or antivirus can prevent an application from working properly or could block the internet connection. You can disable them temporarily and then launch your NordVPN client.
As long as you aren’t visiting dubious websites, temporarily disabling them is safe and won’t result in malware or a virus infecting your computer.
To disable your firewall, follow these steps:
- Click on the “Start” menu and search for “Control Panel.” Open it.
- Click “System and Security” and select “Windows Defender Firewall.”
- On the left side, click on “Turn Windows Firewall On or Off.”
- Select “Turn off Windows Firewall (not recommended)” under both “Private network settings” and “Public network settings.”
- Now, click on “OK” to save the changes.
To disable your antivirus, follow these steps:
- Open the “Start” menu and search for “Windows Security Settings.”
- On the right-side menu, click “Virus & threat protection.”
- Under “Virus & threat protection settings,” click “Manage settings.”
- Now, click the toggle under “Real-time protection” to turn off the Windows Defender Antivirus.
Now, your NordVPN should stop disconnecting automatically.
But if this didn’t help, don’t worry; we’ve got more solutions to help fix this.
5. Reset Network Stack
If NordVPN keeps disconnecting, it may be due to an incorrect network configuration. Resetting it should also prevent your NordVPN from disconnecting randomly.
Here’s how to reset the network stack:
- Click on the “Start” menu and search for “Command Prompt.”
- Click on “Run as administrator” to open it as an administrator.
- Now, enter the below commands one by one and press the “Enter” key after each command:
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /renew
netsh winsock reset
netsh interface ipv4 reset
netsh interface ipv6 reset
netsh winsock reset catalog
netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log
netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log
- Now close the command prompt and launch NordVPN. Check if you are still disconnecting.
6. Connect to Another Network or Use LAN
If you are on a WiFi network and NordVPN keeps disconnecting, connect your PC with an Ethernet cable and then launch NordVPN.
Usually, WiFi networks are unreliable, and the internet speed can drop if you are far away from the router. Connecting your PC with an Ethernet cable ensures you get a proper internet connection.
If this doesn’t help, turn on the hotspot on your mobile device.
Connect your PC to the mobile’s hotspot and use the mobile data connection to see if it helps.
7. Reinstall NordVPN
If nothing else works, the issue could be with NordVPN itself.
The problem can be fixed by uninstalling and reinstalling your NordVPN app.
Here’s how to reinstall NordVPN:
- Open “Control Panel” and click on “Uninstall a program.”
- Wait for the indexing to be completed, locate “NordVPN,” and click on the “Uninstall” button.
- NordVPN’s uninstallation window will open. Click “Yes” to uninstall it.
- Click on the “Start” button and type “%temp%” and press the “Enter” button to open the junk files folder.
- Locate a folder named “NordVPN” and press the Ctrl+Shift+Del buttons simultaneously on your keyboard.
- Now restart your computer.
- Go to NordVPN’s website and download it again for your computer.
- Open the download file, and a setup window will open.
- Complete the setup process by accepting the terms and agreement, choosing a location to save the files, and confirming your decision.
8. Contact Customer Support
If you’ve tried all the solutions we mentioned and your NordVPN still disconnects, the only solution left is to contact customer support.
NordVPN’s customer support team is prompt and excellent.
They can better assess what’s causing the NordVPN connection to disconnect randomly and help you troubleshoot the issue.
How to Fix NordVPN Showing "Connection Timed Out"?
If you’re seeing “Connection Timed Out” when trying to connect to a server, it could be for any of the following reasons:
- An unstable internet connection
- Third-Party App Interference
- Networking related problems
Now let’s look at it briefly and see how each causes the “Connection Timed Out” issues on NordVPN.
Unstable Internet Connection
The most prominent cause of “Connection Timed Out” on NordVPN is an unstable internet connection.
Your internet connection can sometimes act janky due to bad weather, traffic overload on your channel, or various other reasons.
Restart your router and check your internet connection.
To see if your internet connection problems are resolved, run an internet speed test a few times and see if you are seeing normal internet speed results.
But if restarting the router didn’t help, contact your internet service provider and raise a ticket about your problem. Once they fix the issue, you should no longer see the “Connection Timed Out” issue.
Third-Party App Interference
Another reason NordVPN could show a “Connection Timed Out” error is that other applications are blocking VPN traffic.
When you have multiple programs open, they need your computer resources to function properly.
If you have programs that need lots of resources in the background, your computer will be unable to allocate resources properly. Close a few resource-hungry applications and then launch your VPN app.
You can quit apps using lots of resources in the background by opening Task Manager and manually quitting them. Here’s how:
- Press Ctrl+Alt+Del or Ctrl+Shift+Esc and open “Task Manager.”
- Now, click on CPU or Memory to show apps that are using lots of CPU or Memory.
- Select the apps using lots of resources and click on “End Task” in the bottom right corner.
Now you can launch NordVPN and connect to a server without seeing the error message “Connection Timed Out.”
Networking Related Problems
A lot of the time, turning off IPv6 has resolved any VPN-related issues.
IPv6 is the most recent version of a computer’s networking architecture, but we are still using the IPv4 architecture.
For this reason, NordVPN and many other major VPN service providers don’t support IPv6. Disabling IPv6 should resolve the issue.
Here’s how to do that:
- Right-click on the network icon in the taskbar.
- Select “Network and Internet Settings.”
- Choose “Advanced network settings” and select “More network adapter options.”
- Now, open the “Properties” of the adapter you are using by right-clicking on it and selecting “Properties.”
- Under the “Networking” tab, uncheck “Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/Pv6).”
- And click on the checkbox of “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).”
- Click on “OK.”
- Restart your computer.
FAQ
Why Does NordVPN Keep Disconnecting and Reconnecting?
NordVPN could be disconnecting and reconnecting because of an unstable internet connection. Another reason could be that data packets sent from your device to the VPN server, and vice versa, are blocked or lost. It can be because of your ISP, router, or VPN service provider.
Why Does NordVPN Keep Disconnecting on Android?
Slow internet speeds prevent data packets from being sent and received.
Connect your Android phone to WiFi for decent internet speeds if you are on mobile data. The other reason this could happen is that your Android isn’t letting a VPN run in the background.
Final Words
Often, NordVPN can disconnect because of unreliable internet traffic or if your internet connection drops frequently. A reliable network connection won’t cause the “VPN disconnecting” issue.
However, if your NordVPN connection drops and disconnects while having a reliable internet connection, resetting the VPN should resolve the issue.
If it didn’t, changing the VPN protocol or connecting to a different server should help.
If nothing works and NordVPN keeps disconnecting, try Surfshark; it is cheaper, provides fast speeds, and has all the necessary security features.
