I'm trialing Norton VPN on my Microsoft Surface Pro IV running Windows 10, connecting over a mobile hotspot from my iPhone 13 (IOS 15.4).
If my hotspot drops off then reconnects I get no internet access until I manually turn off NVPN. I can turn NVPN on again, manually, but this is tedius and unsatisfactory. Are there some settings I can adjust so NVPN permits internet access when recovering from a temporary hotspot drop out?
Thanks for confirming.
I'll escalate this thread to have this information forwarded to the proper department.
Yes. I've gone back to ExpressVPN which is set to autorun on system startup and as far as I can tell, it detects whenever an internet connection is made and diverts traffic through the VPN without any requirement to manually cycle off/on. Doesn't matter whether I've restarted my computer or just lost/regained hotspot connection, it just works.
And were you using ExpressVPN the same way you describe here using the iPhone as a hotspot?
I only have experience with ExpressVPN, which seems to recognise re-connections and automatically adjust settings to provide protected browsing without any manual intervention.
I have no experience with other VPN products so not sure if they would work the same way. A VPN connection has to have an internet connection to be able to establish the connection to the VPN servers. If that connection is lost, that secure connection has been broken, and would have to be re established. As you are now doing manually.
As you are trying out Norton, just stop using the Norton VPN feature and try another provider's VPN. See if the other products also behave like you are seeing with Norton.
I've never touched the Kill Switch setting.
I did some experimenting:
Default(?) VPN settings
- Auto-Connect off
- Auto VPN off
- Kill Switch off
- Ad Tracker Blocking off
- Split Tunnel off
Turn off hotspot via phone settings. Turn on again... Tablet reconnects fine, but nil VPN (no surprise there).
Open My Norton, Turn On Secure VPN > NortonSecureVpn Internet Access & <iPhone> No Internet Access (according to mouse hovering over wifi icon).
Turn off hotspot via phone settings. Wifi-mouse-hover says "NortonSecureVpn Internet Access" but can't browse anything.
Turn on hotspot again... mouse-hover says NortonSecureVpn Internet Access & <iPhone> No Internet Access but can't browse internet.
Open My Norton, Turn off Secure VPN, Turn On again, same mouse-hover message but now I can browse the internet.
Change VPN settings to Auto-Connect on.
Turn off hotspot via phone settings. Wifi-mouse-hover says "NortonSecureVpn Internet Access" but can't browse anything.
Turn on hotspot again... mouse-hover says NortonSecureVpn Internet Access & <iPhone> No Internet Access but can't browse internet.
Open My Norton, Turn Off Secure VPN, I can browse the internet. Turn on again... "VPN Connection Blocked. Error ID: 809".
So far I'm Norton VPN seems way more trouble than its worth.
Something to look into. On the tablet, open the My Norton interface and click/tap on the down arrow beside Turn on/off for the VPN feature, then click/tap on Settings. See if you have the Kill Switch turned on. If so, turn it off. What that does is kill your internet if the VPN disconnects, which is happening if you move the phone far enough away from the tablet that the hotspot connection fails/disconnects.
Yes I’m using the VPN feature of Norton 360.
I have no mobile VPN even installed. From the phone end I’m merely going to Settings> Personal Hotspot > Allow Others to Join (with a Wi-Fi Password).
I can connect and then activate Norton VPN, but if my hotspot drops off (e.g. when I have to move away from my tablet for some reason) when my tablet reconnects, I can’t browse the internet and when I hover the mouse over my wifi notification icon it says “NortonSecureVpn Internet access” at the top, then lists my phone/hotspot details and “No Internet access”.
I have to then manually open My Norton, turn off Norton VPN then turn it on again to get VPN protected internet access… something I did NOT have to do while using Express VPN previously.
Are you using the VPN feature of Norton 360 iOS on the iPhone as well as the on the Surface Pro? If so, you should use only one.
Are you using cell data or wifi to provide the hotspot?