IPHere.org › Website not loading? Check your VPN

Website not loading? Check your VPN first

If one site refuses to load while everything else works, a VPN, proxy or datacenter connection you forgot about is the most common cause.

Step 1: check what address the internet sees

Open the IP checker. If it says VPN or proxy detected, or the location and provider are not yours (a different country, or a hosting company instead of your internet provider), a VPN or proxy is active.

Step 2: turn it off and test

Disconnect your VPN app (and quit it fully, since some reconnect automatically).
Check for a browser VPN or proxy extension and disable it.
On Windows, look at Settings → Network & internet → Proxy; on Mac, System Settings → Network → Details → Proxies. Turn off any proxy you do not recognize.
Reload the IP checker to confirm your real address and provider are showing.
Try the website again.

Why a VPN breaks some sites

Blocked ranges: banks, streaming services, ticketing and many businesses block VPN and datacenter addresses to fight fraud and bots.
Shared addresses: hundreds of VPN users share one address, so one bad actor can get the address banned for everyone.
Geo-restrictions: a VPN in another country can lock you out of country-limited services.
Slow or dropped tunnels: some VPNs interfere with large uploads, video calls or captive Wi-Fi sign-in pages.

Still not loading with the VPN off?

Test the domain with the DNS checker. If it returns no records or different answers across resolvers, the problem is DNS, not you. See DNS propagation.
Flush your DNS cache (ipconfig /flushdns on Windows, dscacheutil -flushcache on Mac).
Try mobile data instead of Wi-Fi to rule out your router or provider.
Try a private window to rule out extensions and cached redirects.

For site owners

If customers say your site will not load, ask them to open iphere.org and send you the result. It shows whether they are on a VPN, plus their network, so you can tell a blocking rule from an outage.

Frequently asked questions

Why does a website work on my phone but not my computer?

The computer probably has a VPN, proxy, extension or stale DNS cache that the phone on mobile data does not.

Can a VPN make a website not load?

Yes. Many sites block VPN and datacenter addresses, and some VPN tunnels fail or slow down certain traffic.

How do I know if my VPN is on?

Check the VPN app, then look at the IP checker: a different country, a hosting company, or a VPN warning means it is active.

See your own IP addressCheck it now or look up a domain with the free DNS checker.

Related guides

An Matrix Anchor free tool. We build websites, apps and VoIP for businesses.