NordVPN Stopped Working? Try These Common Fixes

Sometimes, things just break… especially with computers and tech.

All of a sudden, something that was working perfectly no longer wants to play ball. It’s frustrating and stressful but there’s almost always a fix if you are patient and do your research.

VPNs are no exception to this, even the very best ones like NordVPN! The complicated nature of VPN services means that sometimes issues can arise that cause all sorts of problems, from constant crashing to connectivity issues.

Here are three of the most common NordVPN issues that Windows users have and how you can fix them.

Issue #1 – Your NordVPN Account Is Not Active

By far, the most common NordVPN issue is an account that hasn’t been activated. If you want to use the NordVPN service, you must activate your account via email. When you register, you get sent an activation link—don’t ignore this!

You will still be able to log in to the app with an inactive account, but you won’t be able to connect to anything.

The Fix: Check the status of your NordVPN account

Head on over to nordvpn.com, log in, and navigate to ‘My Account’. From there, you can check the status of your account.

If you do not see the green ‘Active’ box it means your account (and subscription) has not been activated via email. If this is the case, there will be a button you can press to have an activation email re-sent to you.

Once you’ve activated your account through email, you will be able to use NordVPN.

Oh, and make sure you have the latest version of NordVPN.

Issue #2 – Unable to Connect to Servers with an Active Account

This is a problem we had once upon a time—NordVPN simply would not connect to any of their servers. We would choose one, it’d start connecting, and then it would just drop.

Caused by Windows networking problems, this can be fixed by resetting winsock.

The Fix: Launch command prompt as an administrator

You can do this by pressing the START key and then typing “cmd”. Right-click the “Command Prompt” app and then press “Run as administrator”.

Type in “netsh winsock reset catalog” and press ENTER.

Then type in “netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log” and press ENTER.

Then type in “netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log” and press ENTER.

Restart your computer and this problem will be fixed.

Issue #3 – TAP Driver Error

OpenVPN uses the TUN/TAP driver to pass and receive data packets from your operating system’s network stack. The TAP driver itself is a virtual Ethernet network device. If OpenVPN cannot communicate with the TAP driver, NordVPN will not work since this is the tunneling protocol it uses. Usually, restarting the TAP driver will fix this problem.

1. Close down NordVPN

In the system tray, right-click the NordVPN icon and press ‘Quit App’.

2. Restart your TAP drivers

Navigate to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change Adapter Settings.

One of the local area connections will say “TAP-NordVPN Windows Adapter v9” underneath it. Right-click it, select ‘Disable’ before right-clicking again and selecting ‘Enable’.

The TAP driver error should now be fixed, and you can connect to NordVPN as normal.

Got Another Problem?

These are three common problems that NordVPN users face.

If you have another issue that isn’t listed here or these solutions didn’t work for you, reach out to NordVPN’s 24/7 customer support team and they will be able to provide you with further assistance.