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Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 16-Mar-2022 | 8:30AM · 17 Replies ·

Norton Programmers, your customers need/require your help. The Norton Fighters/Advisors, including customers trying to help other customers with technical steps that far too many users could end up with damage from if they aren't tech savvy enough, are not helping, because they can't help, this is an actual issue with Norton that only Norton programmers can resolve. 

There are countless threads within the Norton Community Forums, and other online Forums, with an incredibly huge amount of your customers, myself included, and I'll copy and paste my issue below, which everyone else is also posting about, with regard to Norton Secure VPN either completely and 100% stopping our connectivity and/or letting you get online and then suddenly and very soon after disconnecting you from your connection. Sometimes it comes back (not good enough, you lose whatever you were just in the midst of first and foremost - and secondly, it's time consuming and unacceptable for a paid for product), but most of us have no connectivity at all unless we shut Norton Secure VPN, which we all want and need. This issue, after my entire morning spent going through Norton Community Forums and other non-Norton Forums, seems to have begun in early March 2022. It's happening to the greater majority of your Norton 360 customers. We need Norton programmers, not Norton management, not Norton Fighters/Advisors to acknowledge this issue, and a few other consistent issues customers seem to be having, combine all the same related threads, and then get to your programming, find the bug/issue and create a fix for it, then release the fix in an update. Here's what's going on for most of us, but again, if you take the time to go through all of the forum threads, you'll find other consistent issues that are also pertaining to Norton 360 Secure VPN that also need to be resolved/fixed - though this one is mega. Here's what I've been sharing with others in the many threads about this.

I began having this same exact problem on my windows 10 laptop about a week 1/2 ago. It was working perfect for the past few years and then boom, a week or so ago every single time I turn it on, I have absolutely no connection to the Internet on multiple browsers (I tried multiple browsers). Sometimes, rarely, but sometimes, I do have connection for a minute or 2, but then it cuts it off again. If I shut the secure VPN, I have immediate connection. Last week I had Norton tech support remote into my laptop, he watched me recreate the issue, which of course cut him off, because I lose connection to the Internet, but he was expecting that - I warned him, and then he spent about 15 minutes - 1/2 hour doing a bunch of updates, deletes, reinstalls, etc., and then once we tried it, it worked fine, and I tried various different sites, multiple browsers, multiple sites, etc. But, I knew that on the rare occasion that it does work, it then stops, so I wasn't feeling all that confident. Within minutes of leaving the remote session, the issue started again. My ISP tech support laughed at the thought of it being on their end, since I have immediate connection (and super fast) without Norton Secure VPN turned on, and my ISP allows 3rd party VPN services, including Norton, nothing changed on their end. It's 100% a Norton issue. I was thinking it might be a Windows 10 issue, since I recently had an update - update 2 billion lol, but since there are Mac users experiencing the same issue, then there's no denying that it's a Norton issue. 

I'm not happy. I don't like being followed around the Net, I don't like my ISP or DNS showing up on game sites, which they do, so that means they're showing on financial sites and other sites I go to, and I need the Secure VPN service. Additionally, in closing, I pay for a yearly subscription to Norton 360, this is a part of the plan I pay for, which means that something I'm paying for isn't working... and Norton isn't acknowledging this issue at all, and what you don't acknowledge, you don't fix. 

Thank you so much for opening this thread, I thought I was losing my mind, I couldn't find anyone else having the issue in the current time, only much older threads. I'm not at all happy that others are experiencing this as well, but I am happy that it's not just me... because now I know it's not my laptop and nothing to do with me on my end. Here's hoping that Norton acknowledges and fixes this sometime soon. My renewal is in a few months and if they don't fix it, while I do love Norton over nearly all others, I won't be renewing if this part of my purchase isn't working anymore, which currently it is not - I have to go online with it shut all day, every day, or I can't get online at all... or I can for a second and then BOOM lost connection until I shut it. 

Norton Tech Support - we're calling for you, and whatever you think might fix it (as the tech did when remoted into my laptop) is not the fix, there's a bug in the programming that needs to be fixed.

Replies

Kudos4 Stats

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 16-Mar-2022 | 8:43AM · Permalink

I posted on this problem yesterday and it is worse today.  I can't even connect to Google.com without truning off the Secure VPN.  See the PDF series of screenshots below.

My browser is Chrome; Version 99.0.4844.51 (Official Build) (64-bit)

I am running a Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H2, 64-bit PC; Norton 360 22.22.2.10;

I start each day by running Live Updates, Quick Scan, and Backup - these usually run OK but I recently have been having problems connecting to "Password Manager" in my browser by selecting "Access Vault" in the "My Norton" window or by selecting:

Norton 360 -> Internet Security -> Password Manager

So, right now, Norton Secure VPN is even occasionally interfering with Norton's own website !!

File Attachment: 
PDF icon 1 - VPN on.pdf
PDF icon 2 - Can't Access Google.pdf
PDF icon 3 - VPN off.pdf
PDF icon 4 - Google Opens.pdf
Kudos2 Stats

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 16-Mar-2022 | 10:35AM · Permalink

Looks like this is a wide spread issue on both mac and Windows. Let's wait for their response. Being a wide spread issue, they will most likely look into it

Kudos1 Stats

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 16-Mar-2022 | 11:51AM · Permalink

@ShellCoder
Wider than wide ShellCoder. I spent 4-5 hours online today looking through forums on Norton and off Norton, this is happening to phone users as well, it's a HUGE widespread problem. I took a manually checked for patch update yesterday, hoping it was the answer, it wasn't. No idea what it fixed or changed, but it absolutely didn't resolve this. In another thread in the Norton Community someone called level 3 support and they told her a patch is available to fix this, I assume the patch I manually checked updates for which didn't work - she was told it would, she downloaded it too - and no, it didn't work. I was pretty shocked, yet relieved (relieved that it wasn't my laptop), to find how many people are impacted by this - I'm assuming at this point that it's everyone, or soon will be, who has a Norton 360 paid subscription and knows about and/or uses the Secure VPN, because it's Macs, Windows (several versions), and cell phones. And, everyone began starting threads and posting in threads both in the Norton Community and others outside of Norton within the first few weeks of March, which is when this apparently started, for me as well. 

Kudos3 Stats

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 16-Mar-2022 | 1:52PM · Edited: 16-Mar-2022 | 2:04PM · Permalink

@ShellCoder "likely" was the key word in your reply. The reports started rolling in, in big, big numbers within and outside of Norton Forums for the past week and so far Tech Support is giving out steps that don't work, remoting in and changing things that don't work, they/Norton released a patch that Tech Support told users would fix the issue, a patch that wasn't pushed out, but that had to be manually looked for and installed, that while it did absolutely nothing to help any of the VPN issues, none of us have any idea what it did, didn't do or what it was for, yet Tech Support is telling customers it was to fix these widespread ginormous issues.

The biggest issue I can see right now, with it spreading over Mac, Windows 7 - 11, android (confirmed) and possibly iphone, don't recall about iphone, and all starting at the same time, about a week or 2 ago, some a little less time than that - and a secondary issue less widespread but nonetheless a big issue that's consistent among users regarding the Secure VPN, all of which I found in the course of a full morning, afternoon and now later afternoon, yet Norton doesn't seem to know?... my idea of they'll "likely" resolve this is a bit of a grump spot for me. If I could find out what I found out in the course of one day, the people on Norton's payroll should have found out just as quickly and already resolved, or minimally acknowledged it. Unfortunately, I don't know if they'll likely do much of anything anytime soon, until users/paying customers such as myself do what I did today - devoted my entire day to this, read more threads, posts and replies than my eyes could handle for an entire day on and off of Norton Forums all stating the same issues exactly as everyone else is, and honestly? I wouldn't even want to do what I did today again, so the likelihood of other paying customers doing it is slim to none. For one, most people don't have the time or availability. For another, who's got the stamina to do what I did? I'm beyond exhausted, my eyes are blurry, I've got a headache and my hands are killing me lol - not to mention how much I didn't get done today... and without large numbers of customers doing what I did, seriously forcing this issue out there louder and harder, because no one in Norton that has the ability to resolve this, to acknowledge this, to own this, was listening to anyone and there were far too many to count, I don't see Norton making this a priority with regard to likely.

Ya know - it just struck me, it all began, some in Dec 2021 (blocking of specific sites customers were never blocked from before, and all at once, within a day of it starting) and the mega widespread can't even get a browser to connect, or the rare occasion when you can, you then lose connectivity mid whatever you're doing which began a week or 2 ago in March 2022, all began as the War in the Ukraine and all the cyber-attacks and cyber blocking began or got worse in so many, many countries. Not trying to sound like a conspiracy theorist here in the least (I'm seriously not), it just struck me as I was typing to you that the timing of this happening was precisely the same timing all else I just mentioned is going on. Just a kind of "hmmm" more than anything else. But rather than go there, we just need Norton Programmers, not Tech Support, to acknowledge this as a known issue, an understood issue, a priority issue, and then get them into their resolution hats, going through lines and lines and pages and books of code, finding the issue, resolving the issue, sending out the fix in a real patch for the fix, not sending out a patch for it, that wasn't for it, and never even telling their customers there's a patch out there in the first place. Likely isn't a word I'd use (though I say that with kindness and friendliness, I'm just literally exhausted from all the research and work I did on this today) with regard to them resolving this when they won't even acknowledge it, yet I found it and how wide spread it was, what platforms, who's experiencing what, when, how and why within one day and I'm just a customer who hasn't worked in the Tech world for 20+ years. I just took the time, something Norton Programmers/Coders obviously aren't - very sad. :-(

I am beyond exhausted and know that I sound a little like "I've got the grumps," please don't take it personally, I genuinely love people who share and try to help others and I'm grateful for you being here, I'm just in need of a head to toe massage right now, aspirin, my vision back and a hand soak in hot water lol. I'm super tired hon and my 3 animals were ignored all day, I'm pretty silly most of the time, so I genuinely hope you didn't receive any of this harshly, it certainly wasn't meant that way in the least. 

Kudos1 Stats

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 16-Mar-2022 | 7:21PM · Permalink

is it EVER POSSIBLE TO TALK TO A NORTON REP OR NOT????  my service is paid in full.. not working for days

Kudos1 Stats

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 16-Mar-2022 | 7:41PM · Permalink

You can contact Norton chat support but I doubt they will fix this issue. This is more likely a server side issue which either the programmers or devops will be able to fix.

Kudos2 Stats

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 17-Mar-2022 | 12:28PM · Permalink

@cyber me re: "is it EVER POSSIBLE TO TALK TO A NORTON REP OR NOT????  my service is paid in full.. not working for days"

* There are way too many phone numbers being given out all over the Net (not by Norton) to chance calling a scammer and giving out your information. The best way, and pretty fast way, to reach them is via chat (and once in chat if they can't help you or you're getting frustrated you can ask for an immediate call back). Here's the steps to reach them. I've used it in the past week, and it went very smoothly. BTW, I am so not proof reading this for typos or grammer, it's way too long lol. 

  1. Login to Norton
  2. Click "Support" from the top menu bar
  3. Scroll down to the bottom of the Support page to where it says "Contact Support" and click under it "Contact Us"
  4. Click "Chat Now"
  5. Where it says "What Can We Help You With" - choose what you want help with and if not listed choose "My Issue Isn't Listed Above"
  6. Fill out the form including the description of what's wrong and/or what you want help with (be as detailed as possible)
  7. Click "Save & Continue"
  8. On the next page you'll see your case # - WRITE THAT DOWN
  9. Then click "Chat Now" right under your case number
  10. You'll then be in the chat box waiting for someone to connect with you (best time of day is very early morning or early afternoon or late at night)
  11. Give then a moment once someone connects with you to read what you typed and see why you've come to them
  12. Then you can either let them continue helping you through chat - sometimes they ask to remote into your computer and will walk you through it - or you can advise them that you'd like someone to call you ASAP. If any tech gives you a difficult time with someone calling you ASAP, ask them *exactly as I'm typing it* "I'd like you to please bring a supervisor into the chat." If they are persistent "not to, as I think it kind of gives them a strike against them to get a supervisor onto the chat... continue to repeat "as I've already requested above, I would like you to please bring a supervisor into this chat, I know it can be done, I'm a paying customer, I do not wish to speak with you, please bring a supervisor into the chat." Most techs won't give you a hard time and will either have someone call you ASAP and/or connect you to a supervisor ASAP (also depends on wait times, sometimes you have to wait for a supervisor to free up, but you can wait in the chat). However, there are some techs that either won't or say they can't get you a call back ASAP and/or will try with all of their might to be persistent on helping you and not connecting you to a supervisor - that's when you just keep your cool, honey catches more bees, but continue to repeat what I said above. Most common issues can usually be done via a tech through chat and/or them remoting into your device - and if not, they can absolutely do a call back, don't let them tell you otherwise.

In all honesty, depending what the issue is (in the case of the Secure VPN disconnecting near all N360 users, Tech Support won't be able to help until Norton acknowledges the issue and already starts working on a fix - I've already had them remoting into my laptop and doing all sorts of stuff they believed was the problem and VPN still cuts off online connectivity)... they are quite good at helping via chat and/or remoting in for several different issues. This Secure VPN issue is far too mega and widespread across their customer base for the people in Tech Support to be able to do anything that will help. But again, that's the mega widespread issue I'm speaking of - if you have a different VPN issue they may just be able to help you thru chat or remoting in. 

Good luck love. 

Kudos1 Stats

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 19-Mar-2022 | 1:13PM · Permalink

There are multiple problems with the Norton VPN product. I just tried to run Live Update and it wouldn't complete until I turned off the Norton VPN. I couldn't access this Norton Community site without turning off the Norton VPN first. There are many many websites that I can't access because of Norton VPN and I have to turn it off first which defeats the whole purpose of having the VPN in the first place.

Kudos0

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 20-Mar-2022 | 7:20AM · Permalink

@K Quail I agree wholeheartedly with everything you said. I can't even get my browsers to work with it on, let alone get to "any" site. On the extremely "rare" occasion that I can, within minutes, usually seconds, connectivity is lost. My wifi's still working, as far as my ISP is concerned, I'm connected, it's all about the VPN, the very second that I shut I have instant connectivity again. The mere fact that you can't even login into or access the Norton Community without shutting it off should be enough (it should all be enough) for Norton to finally acknowledge and own this issue, put a statement out about it (not through forum Admins/Advisors/Helpers, but a genuine Norton Programmer, because not even Tech Support can address or fix this properly, it's a Programmer's issue, a "code within the programming" issue. And if it's not that, then our antivirus "paid for" product has been hacked (that would be hilarious if not for the fact that we're all paying a huge price for it). It's 100% impossible that every single site is blocking it, including all browsers and across all devices of any kind. Whomever is monitoring these Forums, should be reporting ALL of the threads, posts and replies to the appropriate "programming department - as again Tech Support can't fix this, they already remoted into my laptop and assumed they did, they don't code, they don't work on the Norton software, programming or coding," so the Admins should be sending this to the Programmers, and then let us know they have, Norton should be acknowledging this by either emailing all of their customers, explaining what happened and with an ETA on a fix/patch/update to repair it and/or there should be a banner on their website acknowledging the awareness of this issue. I am so uncomfortable online for the past 2 weeks, it's like being naked, but instead of seeing my body, they can see information that is key to wreaking havoc in my life in near every aspect.  

I'm so sorry that you're experiencing this as well, I'm sorry for all of us. :-(

I'm about done with the forums now, absolutely no Admins/Advisors or anyone who's supposed to be responding and relaying this information to Norton is acknowledging or responding. 

 

Kudos0

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 22-Mar-2022 | 3:21AM · Permalink

I have had the same problem with secure VPN. I do not know if more replies adds to the stats and gets more attention from Norton but thought I would try. Norton need to own this and fix it ASAP.

Kudos1 Stats

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 24-Mar-2022 | 8:24AM · Permalink

I have VPN issues as well. I don't turn off the VPN when my internet randomly disconnects me, but I change the location and it magically works again. There's no information in the history that explains why it's disconnecting at random times throughout the day. This problem has increased over the past month. This usually only happens once per day, but today it was several times in a row. I hope I don't get d/c'd when I try to reply now. lol

Kudos0

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 25-Mar-2022 | 2:30PM · Permalink

Same problem here the past week: get message "Hmmm server isn't responding" and "server IP address can't be found" with Microsoft Edge when I try to go to a new web site in a new window. Not all the time, but very often. Once that happens, sometimes I can't return to the original window, either: I get the same message. I'm guessing it is the VPN service, but this started, I think, after a Windows update. I have to restart my computer each time to get it working right again. Incidentally, I now have a couple of messages in Norton that I need to manually update Windows Defender and Windows Device Encryption. Might be related?

Kudos0

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 26-Mar-2022 | 9:30AM · Permalink

Are you talking about Smart Scan?  Look at the versions of the things they want you to update- Norton's updates are out of date.  Windows Update and/or Windows Store update those types of programs.  In that program Norton said I needed to update Excel which is part of Microsoft Office and they were telling me it needed an update from 16.xxx to another 16.xxx version and the Microsoft Office version that I have is 18.xxx. That stuff is wrong too.

Kudos0

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 26-Mar-2022 | 11:16AM · Permalink

K Quail:

Are you talking about Smart Scan?  Look at the versions of the things they want you to update- Norton's updates are out of date.  Windows Update and/or Windows Store update those types of programs.  In that program Norton said I needed to update Excel which is part of Microsoft Office and they were telling me it needed an update from 16.xxx to another 16.xxx version and the Microsoft Office version that I have is 18.xxx. That stuff is wrong too.

You are talking about the software updater feature. This thread is about the VPN feature.

Kudos0

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 26-Mar-2022 | 11:38AM · Permalink

I was replying to IZZ in this thread right above my reply who wrote:

Same problem here the past week: get message "Hmmm server isn't responding" and "server IP address can't be found" with Microsoft Edge when I try to go to a new web site in a new window. Not all the time, but very often. Once that happens, sometimes I can't return to the original window, either: I get the same message. I'm guessing it is the VPN service, but this started, I think, after a Windows update. I have to restart my computer each time to get it working right again. Incidentally, I now have a couple of messages in Norton that I need to manually update Windows Defender and Windows Device Encryption. Might be related?

The part where IZZ talks about manually updating WIndows Defender and Windows Device Encryption is from Smart Scan.  Yet another Norton bad information problem.  I know it's about the VPN.  This problem is on Norton's end obviously.

Kudos0

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 26-Mar-2022 | 3:50PM · Permalink

Just adding a comment to say yes I have been experiencing this too for 2-3 weeks now (after perfect functioning for well over 2 years). Got a Norton tech to remote in etc, their solution however hasn't worked and my troubleshooting with different devices with/without Norton simply points to its being a Norton product issue. Very frustrating and unsecure for a security supplier

Kudos0

Re: Can Norton Itself please check how Many Threads are open about Their Secure VPN having huge issues, combine them and actually correct the programming issue?

Posted: 05-Apr-2022 | 10:05AM · Permalink

I have the same problem - where is Norton?  Why have a community forum that is unmonitored by Norton.  They are the ones that have to fix these issues - we can't do it ourself.

Starting the search for another service.

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