I just downloaded Proton VPN. I have been using Brave but my ISP keeps throttling down my usage so I spend a lot of time just trying to access the net so I downloaded Proton. Where do I go next? It says I am connected with Netherlands. Do I just continue to do this with Brave or is there a hidden browser with Proton. I clicked all the links and don’t see any way to find sites

I’ve used Foto app (fotoapp[.]co) for a year or so without problem, until earlier this week. Now the app (v0.11.3 on iOS 27) just gives a “failed to load” error instead of showing photos. It won’t even show those in my own gallery. I’ve tried various servers, wireguard and stealth modes, secure core and non-secure core, and none of them work. Any ideas?

Hi everyone, I was wondering if someone else ran into this issue. Since a few days ago ProtonVPN on my Debian machine doesn't connect, and the GUI app simply doesn't boot at all. Trying to start it up does however create a default route, which causes all network traffic to be lost. Uninstalling and reinstalling does not help, and simply creates that default route again (which stays even if ProtonVPN is uninstalled and has to be removed manually). Anyone else who has ran into this problem?

See also the post I made about it on stackexchange before I figured out that proton caused it. Very frustrating to debug!

Are there any other US servers that work in China now that CO#49 is in a maintenance break?

After the first run, when I try to run the gui a 2nd time, I get:

``` error: app/com.protonpvn.www/x86_64/master not installed

```

I have uninstalled and reinstalled and get the same. Do you know what this is about?

This is probably all MacOS's fault, but that little menu bar icon showing connection status is so dinky, it's hard to tell at a glance if the VPN connection is active or not.

I keep the Proton app window on display, but it often gets covered up by browser windows or other things.

Is there another more obvious way to show connection status on MacOS machines? Maybe have the dock icon change color?

I am following this: How to install Proton VPN on Fedora | Proton VPN, and I find no program named proton-vpn-gnome-desktop. Is there are another name?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking at ProtonVPN and trying to find the lowest price I can get. I know Mullvad is a flat €5/month, so I’m comparing against that.

A few questions:

• What’s the cheapest ProtonVPN plan right now (1-month, 1-year, 2-year)?
• Are there any legit vouchers, promo codes, or discount links?
• Do they run sales (Black Friday, anniversary, etc.), and is it worth waiting for one?
• Is the long-term plan actually cheaper than Mullvad per month, including renewal price?
• Any tips on paying in my local currency or avoiding currency conversion fees?

I’m in the Philippines and mainly want it for router / streaming / privacy / torrenting

I'm experiencing frequent connection issues with Proton VPN on my Firewalla Gold and would appreciate some advice on how to improve stability.

My setup:

• Firewalla Gold as my main router, behind a FRITZ!Box 7583 (DSL connection, double NAT)
• Proton VPN configured via WireGuard directly on the Firewalla
• Four different Proton VPN servers configured in a VPN failover group
• All four VPN connections remain active simultaneously
• Each WireGuard profile has a unique tunnel IP address
• PersistentKeepalive = 25

The problem:

Several times per day, my active Proton VPN connection suddenly stops passing traffic. Internet access becomes completely unavailable, even though Firewalla still shows the VPN tunnel as connected.

After approximately 2–3 minutes, Firewalla finally detects the failed connection and automatically switches to another Proton server. Internet access then works again.

I've tested this with the Internet Kill Switch both enabled and disabled, with no difference.

What I've already tried:

• Configured four different Proton VPN servers.
• Repeatedly tested additional Proton servers, including different server combinations.
• Changed the server priority/order within the failover group.
• Verified that all WireGuard profiles use different internal tunnel IPs.
• Confirmed PersistentKeepalive = 25 for all profiles.

None of these changes have improved stability. The problem appears to affect all Proton servers equally, regardless of which server is selected as primary.

Importantly, my regular internet connection is completely stable when Proton VPN is disabled. I experience no internet outages whatsoever without the VPN.

This makes me suspect an issue with Proton VPN's WireGuard connections, their interaction with Firewalla, or possibly something related to my network configuration.

My questions:

1. Is anyone else experiencing frequent WireGuard connection failures with Proton VPN, particularly on Firewalla or other routers?
2. Could this be related to Proton's WireGuard implementation, UDP timeouts, or my double-NAT setup?
3. Are there any recommended WireGuard configuration adjustments that could improve stability?
4. Would switching to OpenVPN (UDP or TCP) potentially provide a more reliable connection?
5. Is there a way to prevent these frequent connection interruptions rather than relying on failover?

My goal is to have a reliable, always-on Proton VPN connection for my entire home network, without experiencing several minutes of downtime multiple times per day.

Any suggestions or experiences with similar setups would be greatly appreciated!

Also posted in r/firewalla

note 1: This is an unofficial fork and is not affiliated with the Proton team (or Proton AG).

2: This app is not notarized by Apple, so you may need to allow it in Settings when installing.

3: Most of the code was generated by AI. If you don't use apps that contain AI-generated code, please keep this in mind.

4: I'm subscribed to VPN Plus, so I haven't been able to check whether every feature works on a free account. I didn't change anything related to accounts or connections, so it will most likely work, but if it doesn't, please let me know.

5: If you want to experiment with this app, give it a try. But if not, just assume there is something like this and pass by. My goal is not to increase the number of users of this app, but to get the Proton team interested in the Proton VPN app for Mac again.

---

Unlike the Windows and mobile clients, ProtonVPN for Mac is still using the old design, and there haven't been any commits on GitHub for over 5 months, so I forked it myself and fixed the things I was unhappy with.

Repository: https://github.com/gpdir16/prtvpn-mac

Here's a quick summary of the differences you'll notice as a user (more details below):

• Entire UI rebuilt in a native macOS style
• A firewall feature that replaces the kill switch
• A setting to choose whether to use virtual servers
• No telemetry, no promotions
• You can also sort countries by distance instead of name.
• (Also) You can install it alongside the official app (but don't connect both at the same time)

The biggest difference is that I redesigned most of the screens to be clean like ProtonVPN for Windows, but in a native macOS style.

The next biggest difference is that I removed the kill switch, which never worked properly, and added a feature similar to the firewall in the Windscribe client instead. (For example, in the official app, the user's real IP is exposed when the server is changed: https://x.com/gpdir16/status/2109171272462807442)

The firewall has 3 modes plus an off option, so 4 in total: a mode that works like a normal kill switch, a mode that only allows connections through the VPN tunnel regardless of whether the VPN is connected, and an extreme mode that blocks everything, even connections through the VPN tunnel.

Not sure how many of you care about this, but internally, to make all this work, I removed the official app's tunnel creation through the system network extension and switched to creating the tunnel with a root daemon, like MullvadVPN does. This let me implement things that weren't possible with Apple's extension APIs alone.

When you delete the .app, the daemon automatically removes itself too, so you don't need to worry about leftover files :)

I've now deleted the official app and only use my fork, and I think it would be great if these improvements made it into the official app too.

When I contacted support, they said it was on the roadmap, but I haven’t seen changes yet. If anyone working on the Mac app sees this, I’d really love to see these improvements in the official app.

When I use the VPN app on Windows, the country list on the left keeps scrolling back to the top after I connect. The list is alphabetical, so my current connection ends up somewhere in the middle or bottom. Then I have to scroll manually to find it again whenever I want to switch servers. Most of the time, I'm using servers in the UK, Sweden, or the Netherlands.

Pinned list: Can't select servers

Profile: Can only choose "fastest" or an individual server

Is there a setting to keep the list where my current connection is? Having to hunt for the same city every time I want to switch servers is pretty annoying.

Since Proton VPN has discontinued support for IKEv2, I’m wondering if this ProtonVPN IKEv2 Configuration Profile Certificate for iOS is still official and valid? Or, if it is currently a dangerous downloadable object leftover within the Proton VPN website?

For reference, I found it in a seven year old Reddit post, "Instructions to use ProtonVPN on iPhone without any apps installed," based on a nine year old Reddit post, "Creating an on-demand IKEv2 Configuration profile for iOS/macOS," that was removed by Reddit’s filters. 

Hey everyone,

I’m looking to subscribe to Proton VPN and saw a deal on TopCashback offering over 100% cash back on some plans.

It looks great on paper, but almost all the recent reviews on TopCashback say the tracking completely fails, missing cashback claims get denied after waiting 3+ months, or Proton/TCB blame browser cookies.

Has anyone here actually bought their subscription through TopCashback?

• Did it track automatically, or did you have to file a claim?
• Did you actually receive the payout in the end, or was it declined?

I genuinely want to try Proton, but I don’t want to count on the cash back if it's just going to be a headache. Would appreciate hearing any real experiences before pulling the trigger. Thanks!

They have unloaded photos with (?) in their place and similar stuff. I’d like to find out what might help before I try it thousands of times. Would these help and do I have to do each of them hundred times to achieve a result or not?

- turning airplane mode on and off

- trying all the servers within my countries (I’ve tried a good number of under 25% load servers with no difference. They’re different states far away from my state in the USA. I’d prefer not to use my state because of privacy reasons. The states nearest to me have much higher load and I’ve tried them too - no difference)

- reducing the privacy protections function within Safari on iOS (I’d prefer not to do that)

I’m searching to use my protonvpn config but with adguard app on the side to block ads or settings up nextdns with protonvpn but i need an app that let me do this that is free and configurable on ios what you recommend?

I'm using the latest ProtonVPN app on Windows 11 and the VPN never establishes a connection. This goes for any server I select. That said, the VPN does connect via the ProtonVPN browser extension.

What could be the cause and solution for this? I have already tried reinstalling it a couple of times.

Hi everyone,

I'm having trouble with Proton VPN's split tunneling on Windows. When I connect to a Counter-Strike 2 server, the game freezes briefly and my ping then jumps to a level matching the VPN's country, so the game traffic is obviously still going through the tunnel.

I've added Steam, Counter-Strike 2, and Steam Client WebHelper to the split tunneling exclusions, but it makes no difference.

With a different VPN provider, I only had to exclude Steam and it worked fine.

Has anyone gotten split tunneling to work properly with CS2 on Proton VPN? Am I missing an executable or a setting (e.g. a specific protocol or the way exclusions are set)?

Thanks in advance!

This has been asked 5 million times, and I'll be the 5 million and 1st to ask this question.

However, my VPN provider that I've had for a good part of 8 years has decided to be a fucking sellout and sell their org to an American company.

It's been working fucking great - it has port forwarding (which is a must) and it's just great speeds and no hassle.

Now I am looking elsewhere for that sweet sweet feeling of "privacy".

I am looking at Proton and Mullvad mostly right now.

• The thing with Mullvad is that it's been proven that it (can't) doesn't give any customer data BUt it lacks port forwarding.

• Proton on the other hand is based in Switzerland, has openly supported the Trump administration and is a hassle with the port forwarding stuff where on the regeneration of key you must open a new port.

Both seem like they have their drawbacks, but both also seems like they value privacy at the same time.

I am sure there are other VPNs out there like Airvpn, Private internet access yada yada. But the most talked about are the two above.

What is your take on it?

Thanks a lot

I'm thinking of getting Proton VPN. I'd like to have traffic exit in the US so I don't get hardcoded languages on some websites.

I understand that the free version doesn't do this. If I get the paid version, is there a way for me to get or edit a VPN configuration that allows me to set the exit point to the United States? I'd be using it with VPN Fusion in an Asus RT router.

Anybody else getting this?

I connect to some city in my country which is very far away, and I want to stay connected to them. But the next time I relaunch the browser, it will initially connect properly to that city which I prefer but then within 1-2 seconds it reconnects to the city closest to me.

It's driving me kinda mad. I don't see any setting in the extension which makes sense as driving this behavior. Anybody have any ideas?

When i disconnect from proton vpn it kill my internet, i have kill switch turned off, i read that i should turn off vpn accelerator, but im in free tier, cant do that

Even after uninstalling the vpn my internet still killed, please help

My platform is windows, in phone its not like this

Theres at times not always but rarely when i wake up and the vpn is just on for some reason

Ive checked a lot of settings like VPN always on or "auto connect" but these seem not to be on

Any idea why this may happen?

Port forwarding in Proton VPN lets you connect to your home computer while you’re away. If you keep files or a setup at home, you can get to them from a hotel or a client site without disconnecting.

A port is a numbered doorway that allows specific apps on your device to send and receive information over the internet. When you use a VPN, it acts like a locked gate, blocking any incoming connections you didn’t specifically ask for. 

Port forwarding creates a controlled path through that gate. It’s mainly used for P2P apps like BitTorrent, but it can also improve performance for online gaming. When you turn it on, the VPN server picks a random port number and opens it for incoming traffic. Any data sent to that port is passed through the VPN connection to your device.

Opening a port carries a small risk, read the page linked via the support page below to learn more.

The same feature lets you play P2P games with friends and increases your file-sharing speeds.

If you’ve been switching the VPN off to get any of this working, you can leave it on.

Read more: https://protonvpn.com/support/port-forwarding