Sometime in about the last 3 months, a Norton 360 update changed its Auto VPN behavior. If Auto VPN is enabled to turn the Norton VPN on for public or unsecured Wi-Fi networks, when Norton 360 detects that a VPN is no longer needed, it turns off ALL VPNs, not just Norton VPN. And it keeps checking to be sure that ALL VPNs remain turned off. The effect is that I can't run any other VPN, such as PIA or Blokada, for more than 30 minutes or so without Norton closing it. Auto VPN used to control just the Norton VPN.
@peterweb, I have submitted three error reports with logs on this issue. I reproduced the problem on two devices using two "other" VPNs, PIA and Blokada, and Auto VPN turned them both off within a half hour. I included the case ID "forum MickMickle" and link to this thread https://community.norton.com/en/forums/auto-vpn-turns-all-other-vpns. Thanks for letting your contacts know.
Interestingly, if you have a non-Norton VPN running on a secure Wi-Fi, doing almost anything interactively with the Norton 360 interface will close the VPN. For example, checking Wi-Fi Security will state "Connected to secure network" and "Auto VPN has turned off VPN." And clicking on the Privacy section and VPN will also do that. Further, if Auto VPN is turned off, those two interactive selections above will also turn off third-party VPNs. (A desired VPN can be kept on using the Android More connection settings/Always-on VPN, to disregard Norton 360. But, then, Auto VPN won't automatically connect when it's needed.)
Thanks, @peterweb. I like your advice. I will create logs for the Norton 360 events that close other VPNs and send the error reports within a few days. I'll let you know when I've submitted the logs.
I chose a community post first in case others might have noticed this problem. The problem might have been more evident to me since I have continually used Blokada to block ads for over 2 years, even on my secure Wi-Fi network. Blokada works with locally downloaded hosts lists through the VPN mechanism. So it was very noticable when it started being automatically closed over and over again. I traced the cause to Norton 360. Then I verified that Private Internet Access would also be closed automatically. If Auto VPN doesn't think a VPN is needed, then apparently no VPN is allowed.
(Note, BTW, that Android devices can have only one VPN at the same time, so I'm aware that when Auto VPN starts the Norton VPN, other VPNs will be closed and would have to be restarted after Norton VPN closes. That limitation isn't a concern in this case. This issue was almost a show stopper for me for a recent Norton subscription renewal - and I've been a Norton user for well over 20 years.)
Two devices: Samsung S22 Ultra, Android 14, and Samsung Tab S5e, Android 11.
What device and Android version are you using?
This sounds like something you need to log and send to Norton for diagnosis.
Open the 360 app and tap the three bars at the top left. Tap on Settings > General, and scroll down to the Logging section. Turn on Enable Debug Log. Then continue using your device until your issue happens again. After the issue has happened, go back to the Debug Log settings and then tap on Send Error Report with log files. In your submission please include "forum 'your username' " in the Case ID section of the report. Also include a link to this thread. You can turn off logging when you have sent the logs.
If you do send logs, please let me know and I'll notify my contacts to look for them.