VPN Loses Internet

I have a similar issue.

Browser cannot access some microsoft URLS with VPN on.  Haven't tried everything ABC news site works though.

I'm Guessing that this VPN may be used by some for spam and as a result has been blacklisted by some sites?

Individual sites not working is different from a 'no internet' issue.  Many web sites do not allow access from known VPN IP addresses. They do this for copyright, legal, and political reasons. There is nothing a VPN provider can or should do to circumvent these legal protections. 

I have the same issue !

No practical action taken by Norton.

As a diagnostic test. When using the VPN and you see this internet drop, have you tried waiting a few minutes to see if the connection comes back? I don't use the VPN much, but i did recently have it on for an extended length of time, and I saw the same loss of connection. I tried a couple of things to check what was happening, and after about a minute or so, the connection came back on its own. I did not cycle the VPN feature during 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.

First, thank you for trying to help. Unfortunately, that's not a resolution at all

I was not suggesting this was a fix. It is just a diagnostic step to see if everyone is seeing the same thing. If all users here can verify the same observation, it can help Norton figure out what is wrong.

I have already escalated this issue in another thread. So the message should get sent to the right department.

@peterweb The same problem persists on macOS too, so please let them know about it. One thing that really wonders me, why don't the staff of Norton monitor the forums? They are relying on hobbyists to notify them of complaints on the forum. REALLY?

@Gayathri_R we need far more than a "we will look into this issue." It's all over the Internet. There are literally countless threads within the Norton Community Forum and also Forums not within the Norton Community. This is a full-blown, mega, widespread issue impacting Mac users, Windows users (win 7 - win 11), Androids and I want to say I think I saw a few iPhone posts as well, but absolutely on the Android. This has been going on since early March, with an uncountable number of users/paying customers posting countless threads in and out of the Norton Forum in that quick a time. An administrator saying that they will look into the issue, while sweet and acknowledging, and I thank you very much for that, isn't a good enough response. Norton's paying customers, which we all are, need to know, want to know, and fully deserve to know that Norton is aware of this widespread issue, is acknowledging it, owning it... and is doing something about it, with an estimated ETA on the fix. Norton should be making a formal statement about this on their website or emailing their customers. The most frustrating part, other than the obvious, is that their paying customers aren't hearing from Norton about this - it's not being acknowledged by Norton and Norton isn't letting their paid customers know that they know, they're working on it, and/or they hope to have it repaired by ________. I do mean it with all sincerity when saying that I appreciate your acknowledgement and sincerity, it's just not enough for a widespread issue that's this megalithic. The reports of this issue, and a smaller one, but also a consistent one that's also interfering with customer's ability to use their Norton Secure VPN, are huge. I spent all morning, afternoon and part of the evening yesterday finding so many threads, posts, replies and reports within Norton's Forums and other Forums, that it's just too big (in my opinion of course) to be something that Norton hasn't noticed yet, but will now look into?  This is a programming issue (or worse but I'm not going to go there), average Tech Support cannot fix this, Tech Support cannot fix this, it's bigger than that. We don't need Forum Advisors advising that they will look into this, we need, want and deserve to know that they're aware of it, which they must be based upon the sheer number/size of threads, posts and replies all over the Net and within Norton Forums alone. 

I said all of the above with a kind, soft and compassionate tone - very difficult to read tone in type, unless you CAP, usually meaning it's super important or yelling. I'm just trying to state the facts as the facts currently are, nothing more... I do genuinely appreciate the help by Forum Administrators, Advisors, Fighters, etc. This issue, and another is just way too big for Forum Folk to look into and/or for Norton to be advising they'll look into it - they should already know, it's that big... big enough to keep me reading from 7am yesterday morning until 8pm last night.

If you can push this into the hands of the Norton Top Tier Technical Team and/or Programmers, that would be of huge help to us. 

Thank you so very much in advance.

@gbayus I absolutely agree; though it isn't just in the case of Norton. Every since all "software" products moved to online controlled, rather than us having our product in our own hands as we always did, not all that long ago, nearly every forum, for nearly every product is the same way. There's Administrators or Admins, or Fighters, all doing the same thing with different names who are merely monitoring the Forums, though they are "supposed to be" reporting multiple user issues to Norton and/or the other companies. Unfortunately, in the manner they get reported, they rarely to never reach the department that needs to know and/or the only department that can actually acknowledge, own, repair and update their customers of the new patch to fix the issue. So yes, I agree with you wholeheartedly. I can't even begin to tell you how uncomfortable I've been for the past over a week now, being on any website, or even having any of my browsers open, without a Secure VPN running - I feel naked and vulnerable and I am not happy.

And, the dangers of listening to some of the (not necessarily in this case alone, and not necessarily with Norton alone) other users/customers with regard to technical steps to take to resolve issues are very, very dangerous for the every day user to do. You don't know who's giving you the information, you don't know what it will do or not do to your device, and if even if they're steps are good steps, without some form of true technical knowledge to a greater degree than average users have, the mistakes, errors and/or inability to follow the full instructions that can take place are pretty severe. So we're not actually having to be "technical support," perse - we're just not getting any! And, this is far larger than "technical support." This issue and a few others, this being the wider spread mega issue, needs to be in Programmers hands - the people that actually code, because only they can see, have the ability to read the code and see, what's been done, changed or damaged, and the only ones who have the knowledge to fix the coding. Tech Support, including supervisors, try their hardest to fix this and other issues, but only to the best of their knowledge - they aren't programmers, they don't know how to read full code of these programs, nor do they have the ability and/or "rights" to change coding and send out a major update patch to the entire customer base. I'm pretty annoyed by this already.

Opening my email to find over 20 emails regarding responses in the forum after spending an entire morning, day and night the first day in the forum, collecting data, compiling information, really digging deep and connecting the dots, wiped me out. Having to open email and find 20+ emails a day are now exhausting me. Yet, I don't want to unsubscribe to the threads yet, in case there's an actual "Norton Professional Employee" response acknowledging and owning this issue by Norton, explaining what caused it and giving us an EtA on the patch/fix update. It's a damned if I do and damned if I don't situation. I'm unprotected online (TYVM Norton), and now I'm spending far too many hours and getting slammed with emails from the forum, simply because I'm sitting on sheer hope (empty air) that a genuine Norton employee with knowledge of this issue will respond? I'm not a happy camper and I'm beyond exhausted by this and not getting things done that I need to get done in my life. This is ridiculous and a viscous circle. I've said it before in many threads and I'll say it again - my yearly renewal is up in a few months and if this hasn't been resolved by then, I am not renewing. That in itself is sad, because aside from this ginormous issue, I happen to think that Norton is the best out there for other protection(s). Doesn't cause your device to be sluggish, offers other services, works seamlessly, I've always loved Norton as far as antivirus software, but I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get one that either doesn't work as well or is too heavy a hog (too many components and causing my laptop to be super sluggish), because there's no way at all that I'm going to pay for this service which is supposed to provide a secure vpn, and then have pay for another vpn service, because Norton isn't acknowledging the issues with theirs, therefore not repairing it. 

Funny, we all hit the forum in countless threads, and not just within the Norton community, it's in threads outside the Norton Community as well - TONS, within a matter of days from each other, all at the same time, all noticing the enormous issue going on, yet Norton doesn't know? I might have been at night, but not last night if you know what I mean. 

Growing ever so grumpy since I began speaking in the forums about this.... *insert sleepless and sleepy in FL here*

I would recommend going to a different provider. I am. I have had nothing but trouble with this VPN lately, have spent hours on the phone with techs who have taken over my computer and made it worse. I had supervisors tell me the situation has been escalated and the escalation department will call me back and they do not. I have had support personnel not understand what I want or what I am saying, or they just do not want to listen to the problem. 

Do not get me wrong, Norton was a good company. I have been with them for nearly 20 years, but to have a good company you need to have a product your customer base can trust. With that customer base you build loyalty to the product and company. They had both my loyalty and trust up to this point, but have totally lost it completely with this incident. The VPN is supposed to work in conjunction with the other products Norton provides. If Norton and its employees can not fix this problem it shows me the company can not be trusted to make sure the other products work...I recommend finding another company

I didn't have a problem with the VPN until I turned off "auto renewal" and told them I will be letting my subscription run out. As soon as I did that I started having problems connecting with the internet with the VPN on. 

gary bjorklund:

I didn't have a problem with the VPN until I turned off "auto renewal" and told them I will be letting my subscription run out. As soon as I did that I started having problems connecting with the internet with the VPN on. 

This is purely coincidence. Users seeing this issue have made no changes to their account or auto renewal and are still seeing this connection loss issue.

yes , still having problem . Like you,   different days...  different severity