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If Norton VPN isn’t working, try connecting to a different server or restarting the VPN. If that doesn’t work, check your firewall isn’t blocking it and remove any conflicting apps. Reinstalling the app can fix many issues, but there are also simple configuration changes you can make on Windows and macOS to fix common errors.
Norton Secure VPN is owned by NortonLifeLock, one of the world’s biggest cybersecurity software companies. The VPN is available as a standalone application or as part of the Norton 360 suite, which also includes antivirus, firewall, and password manager tools.
Our Norton VPN review found that the VPN is mediocre at best. It’s reasonably fast and cheap, but it doesn’t protect your privacy and security.
If you’ve purchased Norton VPN separately or as part of the Norton 360 suite, you may also find that the VPN doesn’t always work properly.
Quick Guide: How to Fix Norton VPN Not Working
For more specific troubleshooting advice, read our tips for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android later on in this guide.
Some users report that Norton VPN often fails to start, or cannot connect to a server at all. Conflicts with certain software and operating systems can cause the VPN to crash, and if your internet connection is poor, the VPN might simply cut out altogether.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to fix common errors with Norton Secure VPN and the VPN built into Norton 360.
If you’re having difficulty enabling the VPN, connecting to a server, or you’re seeing different error messages, you’ll find the solution here. We’ll also list some alternative VPNs that are more effective and reliable than Norton’s.
There are two versions of Norton Secure VPN. The first version is included in the Norton 360 security suite, along with antivirus, firewall, and password manager tools. To access this version, open Norton 360 and choose ‘My Norton’. The VPN is listed as ‘Secure VPN’.
You can access a version of Norton VPN in the Norton 360 security suite.
You can also subscribe separately to Norton Secure VPN, which runs as a separate app on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.
You can also access Norton Secure VPN as a standalone application.
Both versions of the VPN use very similar infrastructure and suffer from the same problems. In the troubleshooting advice below, we’ll explain how to fix both versions of Norton VPN.
If you’re unsure whether your version of Norton VPN is working properly, test your IP address or use our VPN leak test to find out if you’re successfully connected to a VPN server.
To check if you’re connected to a Norton VPN server:
You may find other issues as you carry out this process. For example, Norton VPN might fail to connect to a server, the VPN may repeatedly turn itself off, or maybe you can’t enable it at all.
Norton is not a reliable VPN for Netflix, so if you’re having trouble streaming geo-blocked content then we recommend simply choosing a VPN that works reliably with Netflix, instead.
If you’re receiving error messages or you’re having any of the issues above, the instructions below will help you fix them. For more general advice, you can also read our tips on how to check your VPN is working and what to do if your VPN keeps disconnecting.
In this troubleshooting section, we’ll explain how to fix the most common issues with Norton VPN before digging into more specific issues by device. If your version of Norton isn’t working and you’re not sure why, we recommend starting here.
You can’t get any VPN working until you have a working internet connection. If Norton VPN connects but suddenly stops working, it could be because your internet connection is weak or unreliable.
To check for network problems, open a new browser tab and visit a web page to see if it loads.
If your internet connection is not working:
If your VPN won’t connect, there might be a problem with the particular server you’re trying to connect to.
If you can’t access Netflix with your VPN, for example, it might be because your server has been identified and blocked by Netflix. Alternatively, there could be a fault on the VPN server.
It’s easy to try connecting to a server in a different country. In fact, that’s what Norton recommends you do if you see the error message “VPN is currently unable to connect. Error Id: 13801”.
During our tests, Norton Secure VPN showed us a 13801 error, which means there’s been a connection error.
Unfortunately, Norton VPN does not offer city-level servers in singular regions, which means it’s difficult to connect to a different VPN server in the same country.
However, if you disconnect and reconnect, you are likely to be connected to a different server. This is the best way to connect to a different server without changing the region.
There are two ways to connect to a different Norton VPN server in the same country:
Restarting Norton VPN may help to resolve any temporary problems with the application.
To restart the standalone Norton Secure VPN app on a desktop computer:
Mobile devices and the Norton 360 app don’t have an option to quit the VPN (although you can turn it off). The easiest way to restart the software is to restart your computer or turn your mobile device off and on again.
If you see the following error message, it means that something is blocking your internet connection:
“Error: (9012, 809) “An error is preventing the VPN from connecting. Reference error ID 809”
Norton Secure VPN uses UDP ports 500 and 4500, so you’ll need to make sure that your firewall is allowing it to access them.
There’s a good chance you’re running Norton’s own firewall as part of the Norton 360 suite. If so, follow these steps to configure your firewall:
The firewall settings in Norton 360 Security Suite.
If you’re using a different type of firewall, we’ve listed some more configuration tips for Windows firewalls later on in this guide.
Norton Secure VPN can conflict with other VPN apps, in particular Cisco AnyConnect, which is a type of remote access VPN that supports remote working.
It’s unlikely you’ll want to remove similar software if you need it for remote working. In this case, try simply turning off these other applications to avoid conflicts when using Norton VPN for your personal activities.
It’s also a good idea to remove any VPN apps you don’t need. If you’ve tried a few before settling on Norton VPN, there might be conflicting software still running.
Online services have outages from time to time, so it’s worth checking whether the problem is related to Norton and its network.
Unfortunately, Norton doesn’t publish the status of its VPN service. However, you can see whether there are issues with other Norton services on Norton’s status page, which may indicate any wider problems.
If some Norton services are experiencing problems or are down, it’s possible that Norton Secure VPN will also be affected. Give the service time to recover before taking more drastic steps.
Both versions of Norton VPN include an option to enable the VPN automatically on startup. If Norton VPN isn’t starting automatically and you expect it to, check the VPN’s settings.
In Norton 360, go to ‘My Norton’ and click ‘Settings’ in the menu beside ‘Secure VPN’. Ensure that Auto-Connect is turned on, so your VPN starts when your computer restarts or wakes up from its sleep mode.
The Auto-Connect setting will start your VPN when you turn your device on.
If the VPN is starting automatically and you’d prefer it not to, simply turn off this setting in the same menu.
The Auto-Protect setting will also turn the VPN on when you’re connected to an insecure network.
If you can’t get Norton VPN to work, consider upgrading to a better VPN. Norton VPN is cheap, but its features are weak and it’s not good enough for popular activities such as streaming and torrenting.
If you’re using Norton VPN because it came bundled with your Norton security suite, consider switching to a free alternative VPN like Windscribe Free.
Most free VPNs are untrustworthy, but Windscribe’s free app has a good logging policy and robust encryption. It unblocks 32 Netflix libraries and allows torrenting on most servers. There is also a paid version you can upgrade to, which will remove the 10GB per month data limit.
For the most reliable long-term VPN, we recommend subscribing to ExpressVPN. It’s a little more expensive than most services, but our review of ExpressVPN found it to be the best VPN on the market right now.
It has fast speeds worldwide and unblocks Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Amazon Prime Video. It allows unrestricted torrenting across 3,000 servers in 106 countries.
What’s more, its MediaStreamer Smart DNS service lets you access US Netflix on Smart TVs and games consoles, which don’t support native VPN software.
In addition to the steps above, there are several steps you can take to fix Norton Secure VPN problems that specifically occur on Windows.
Norton gives some error messages on Windows to help steer you to the right solution.
If you see error 9012 or 809, ensure that Windows Firewall is not blocking your Norton VPN traffic.
Norton 360 error ID 809.
If you see either of these messages, follow these steps to manually delete your Norton Secure VPN account info and restart the app:
The TAP driver is software that is used to make a VPN connection. If you see the “TAP driver error” or “Unsigned Driver” errors in Norton Secure VPN, uninstall the TAP driver and then reinstall your VPN.
Follow these steps:
If Norton VPN can’t connect, you might see an error message that says “An error is preventing the VPN from connecting. Reference error ID 87” or a message that says “Connection Error: Secure VPN has experienced a connection failure. Please try again later.”
Norton VPN has experienced a connection failure error message.
To fix it, you need to reinstall the WAN miniport driver, which is software used to create your VPN connection. You also need to reset the network adapter and TCP/IP stack.
Follow these steps:
Test whether Norton Secure VPN is now working for you. If not, follow these steps to reset the network adapter and TCP/IP stack:
If Norton still doesn’t work, you can try deleting old root certificates for Secure VPN. Follow these steps:
Norton Secure VPN is supported on Windows 11 and Windows 10 (but not in S Mode); Windows 8 and Windows 8.1; and Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 or later. It is not supported on Windows XP or Windows Vista.
Update your Windows device in the settings menu.
Operating system updates may include fixes that resolve problems with Norton Secure VPN.
Follow these steps to update Windows 10 or 11:
The Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is used by Norton Secure VPN to talk to your hardware. If it’s not working correctly, you may find that nothing happens when you connect to Norton Secure VPN.
Follow these steps to fix it:
If you have a problem opening your Norton VPN software, or experience other difficulties, you can try reinstalling the software. Norton provides an application to uninstall and reinstall Norton 360. For the standalone Norton Secure VPN application, you’ll need to uninstall and reinstall manually.
Follow these steps to reinstall Norton 360:
Follow these steps to reinstall Norton Secure VPN:
If you’ve tried connecting to a different country, restarting, and configuring your firewall, there are several additional steps you can take to fix Norton Secure VPN problems on macOS.
First, ensure that you have updated macOS to 10.14.x or later. To update to the latest version, follow these steps:
You can update your MacOS device in System Preferences.
You may be able to upgrade your Norton 360 product, including Secure VPN, to improve its stability.
Norton provides a tool for removing all of its files from your Mac, so that you can do a clean reinstallation. To use it, follow these steps:
If you’re using the standalone Secure VPN app and it crashes often, Norton recommends you reinstall it. Follow these steps:
Norton only supports Secure VPN on the latest three versions of iOS, so you’ll need to update your software if you are running older versions. To install Norton Secure VPN, you’ll need 100MB of storage space.
Updating iOS to version 15.0 or later can disable Norton security software. To fix this, and potentially fix other issues, update your Norton 360 or Norton Secure VPN app.
You can update the Norton VPN on the App Store.
Follow these steps:
If an app or service detects your VPN, it might block your internet traffic. To get around this, Norton suggests you try turning Airplane mode on and off again.
Turning Airplane mode on and off can also help if you lose connectivity when your device goes to sleep. The VPN is turned off when you’re not using your device to save battery power, and it should reactivate when you next use the network.
Turning Airplane mode on and off can prompt the device to restart the VPN.
If you lose VPN connectivity when your device goes to sleep, you can also try turning the VPN off and on again:
Turn the VPN on and off again to create a new connection on the iOS app.
Uninstalling and reinstalling your Norton VPN app is not as simple as reinstalling other apps. There’s an extra step to remove the Norton 360 VPN profile.
Follow these steps:
To use Norton Secure VPN, you need to be running Android 8.0 (Oreo) or later. Secure VPN needs the Google Play app and 100MB of storage space to install.
If you experience problems using Norton Secure VPN or Norton 360 on your Android device, follow these steps:
If you see the message “Warning: Torrent Traffic Active”, Norton has detected torrenting traffic. Norton does not allow torrenting on its VPN, and says it will disable your VPN connection if you try. This is true for all torrenting clients, including uTorrent.
For that reason, we cannot recommend using Norton Secure VPN for torrenting. If you do try it, ensure you enable the kill switch in the settings. The kill switch is only available on Windows and Android.
There are signs that Norton’s stance on this might be changing. In the Android and Windows apps, Norton is adding a feature to choose a torrent-optimized region from the VPN regions, which would enable torrenting.
Does Norton Secure VPN Work with Netflix?
Why Your VPN Keeps Disconnecting and How to Prevent It
Netflix VPN Not Working? Try These Fixes
We've been testing and reviewing VPN services since 2016. We also publish VPN research and advice to help protect your internet privacy and security.
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