WiFi disconnection when VPN is enabled in Windows 10 Fix

Using VPN on a PC has numerous advantages, it has its own set of problems. While these problems aren't very common, they can sometimes be really irritating and difficult to fix. One of those topics we're going to talk about is Wi-Fi disconnection when VPN is enabled. As reported by various users, as soon as the VPN is enabled on your PC, the internet automatically stops working.

Enabling the VPN could interfere with several settings on your PC, so you may never be sure what's causing it. However, here are some things that could go wrong:

a) You are only disconnected from the Wi-Fi network you are connected to. You can just go ahead and reconnect to the Wi-Fi network and the problem will be fixed.

b) As soon as the VPN is activated, your PC's Wi-Fi card is automatically disabled. Again, you can try to connect to your Wi-Fi network again by simply turning on the wireless network card manually. There is usually a hotkey on the keyboard to enable / disable the wireless card.

c) Internet cannot be accessed after enabling VPN, even if the PC is connected to the Wi-Fi network.

Now, you may be able to easily reconnect to Wi-Fi in some cases, but sometimes you may need to go through a multitude of solutions to get the internet working again while the VPN is on. Let's go through all the possible solutions that can help you solve the problem of disconnecting from the internet when the VPN is connected.

Solution 1: set Wi-Fi as the default connection

You can start by setting the Wi-Fi network as the default network. To do this, you will need to move the Wi-Fi connection to the top of the preferred connections list on your PC.

Step 1: Go to the system tray, right-click the Internet connection icon and select Open network and sorting point option.

Step 2: In the control panel window that will open, go to the left panel and select the file Change adapter settings option.

3 pass: In the next window, click Advanced option available in the top menu, then from the list of options that opens, select Advanced Settings. This menu may be hidden; if you can't see the file Advanced option, press the Other when the new window opens.

4 pass: Now a new window will open. Here, go to Adapters and connections language. Now select Wi-Fi and move it to the top of the list using the arrow keys.

After making these changes, save your settings and see if you can access the internet.

Solution 2: Install the latest TAP adapter driver

The VPN software requires TAP adapters to function. An outdated TAP adapter driver can cause PC problems and prevent Internet access. You can try installing the latest TAP adapter driver on your PC and see if that helps you get rid of this problem.

You can go here and download the faucet adapter driver. Depending on the architecture of Windows 10 installed on your PC, you may be able to download the 32-bit or 64-bit MSI installer. Once downloaded, go ahead and install the driver. Restart your PC and check if everything is working properly.

To find out if Windows 32 or 64 bit is installed on your PC, go to Desktop, right click on What PC and select Property. In the new window that opens, select System type under the System section.

Solution 3: Use the Network Troubleshooter

Windows 10 comes with a number of troubleshooting tools to help you troubleshoot your PC. One such troubleshooter is the Network Adapter Troubleshooter. Here's how to run this troubleshooter:

Step 1: Press Win + R keys on the keyboard. In the run box, type the following command and press ok:

msdt.exe /id NetworkDiagnosticsNetworkAdapter

Step 2: The network card troubleshooter will open. Here, click The next and follow the onscreen instructions. If a problem with the network card is found, the troubleshooter will fix it.

Restart your PC once the troubleshooting is complete and see if you can fix the Wi-Fi disconnection issue when the VPN is enabled.

Solution 4: Make changes in the Group Policy Editor

If you can't access the internet when the VPN is on, try making the following changes in the Group Policy Editor:

Step 1: Open the Run box by pressing Win + R keys. In the Run box, type gpedit.msc and press the button Log in key.

Step 2: In the editor window that opens, go to the following path:

Computer Configuration> Administrative Templates> Network> Windows Connection Manager

3 pass: Go to the right pane of the Group Policy Editor window, right-click the file Minimize the number of simultaneous connections to the Internet or a Windows domain and select the option change option.

4 pass: In the new window that opens, select the file deactivate option and click ok to apply the settings.

After applying the settings, exit the Group Policy Editor window and restart your PC. After the reboot, check if you can access the internet with the VPN enabled.

Solution 5: Disable the Network Location Awareness Service

You can also try to get rid of this problem by disabling the network location detection service on your PC. To do this, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open run by pressing the button Win + R keys together. Gender services.msc in the Run box and press the button Log in key.

Step 2: In the Services window that opens, find the named service Knowledge of the network path. When you find it, select it and click Stop option. When the service stops, right-click the service and select the file Property option.

3 pass: In the Properties window, go to Start type select the file deactivate option and click ok.

Also click Start to start the service.

After making this change, restart your PC and see if the problem is resolved.

Solution 6: clear the DNS settings

Sometimes a simple DNS cache dump can help you get rid of this problem. Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Press Win + X keys on the keyboard. Then, in the menu that opens, select Command Prompt (Admin).

Step 2: In the Command Prompt window that will open, type the following command and press the key Log in key:

ipconfig / flushdns

After the DNS cache is cleared, check if you can access the internet with the VPN enabled.

Solution 7: Change your DNS settings

You should try this solution if you are connected to Wi-Fi but cannot access the internet with VPN enabled.

Step 1: Right-click the network icon available on the right side of the taskbar and select Open network and sorting point option.

Step 2: The network control panel will open. Here, go to the left panel and select Change adapter settings option.

3 pass: You can now see the connection list on your PC. Right click on the Wi-Fi network you are connected to and select Property.

4 pass: In the Properties window that opens, select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP / IPv4) option and then click Property button.

5 pass: A new window will open again. Here, select the file Use the following DNS server address option and enter the following DNS address:

Preferred DNS Server: 8.8.8.8

Alternative DNS Server: 8.8.4.4

Save the configuration after entering the above values.

Once the DNS settings are saved, disconnect from the Wi-Fi network and reconnect. Now check if you can access the internet on your PC.

Solution 8: reset the internet adapter

By resetting the internet adapter on your Windows 10 PC, you can try to fix the Wi-Fi disconnection problem when the VPN is enabled. That's how:

Step 1: Opens the command prompt with administrator privileges. For this, press Win + X keys, then select Command Prompt (Admin) menu option that opens.

Step 2: Now, type the following commands in the command prompt window and press Log in after inserting each of these lines:

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

After successfully executing these commands in CMD, go ahead and check if the problem still exists.

Solution 9: Change the properties of the wireless network

You can also change a couple of properties of the wireless connection to fix the problem.

Step 1: Open Network and Sharing Center in Control Panel, select Change adapter settings, right-click on the Wi-Fi network you are connected to and select the file Property option.

Step 2: Now, in the Property window, go to Advanced tab and in the file Property section, find Disabled with wired connection Y Minimal energy consumption options. Select each of these options at the same time and change the value to Disabled. When finished, click ok to save the settings.

Now restart your PC and check if the Wi-Fi disconnects when the VPN is on.

Solution 10: Disable Unknown Processes from Startup List

In this method, we make sure that no third-party software or processes are interfering to allow you to connect to the Wi-Fi network. At this point, you will be prompted to perform a clean boot on your PC. Find out how to restart your PC in clean boot mode in Windows 10.

Solution 11: Run the VPN software setup

The VPN protocol you are using may be blocked in your country / region. Try changing the VPN protocol and check if you can access the internet on your PC.

Problems with VPN software can cause the internet to stop working if there is something wrong with the VPN server. You may want to wait.

You can also try reinstalling the VPN software and see if that helps the case.

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