ExpressVPN causes problems with my internet connection

DrTSPC

11/18/23, 7:18 PM

After connecting ExpressVPN, the internet connection works for a while. But after some time, perhaps a few minutes, it is lost. The relevant icon/symbol at the top of the ubuntu screen changes from the internet connection symbol to a grayed out version of that symbol with a question mark in front of it.

I use Ubuntu 22.04 on a desktop.

Is there an internet setting on my desktop that I should change?

Thanks, Tim

user68186 suggested I edit this question to update the issue: user68186's suggestion to set the network_lock to off solved the network disconnect problem.

I let the vpn run for several hours, then shut it down and turned the preference "on" to see if the problem recurs. It does.

I wonder if there are actual unnoticed (by me) flickers in the internet that cause the lock to set?

427

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user68186

11/19/23, 12:31 AM

Do you have the "Kill Switch" turned on in the Express VPN settings? If so, turn it off and see if it works better. Edit your question with the update. You may want to ask the Express VPN xustomer service.

user68186

11/20/23, 9:11 PM

Your edit suggests it may be the VPN that is connecting and disconnecting. The kill_switch/network_lock just makes you notice it every time that happens. I have no solution. Maybe Express VPN customer service can help troubleshoot.

DrTSPC

11/21/23, 10:36 PM

@user68186: Thank you for the input. VPN disconnections seem possible, except that I use it on a Mac and IoS devices w/o incident. I will ask ExpressVPN customer service if they have an explanation/solution that allows me to keep the VPN on.

user68186

11/21/23, 10:44 PM

The purpose of the "kill switch" is to kill the internet connection if the VPN goes down for any reason. This way, if you are visiting a site you don't want your ISP or the government to know about, and the VPN connection goes down, and you without noticing that the VPN is down click on that site, you won't be able to reach it and your ISP or the government won't know which site you were trying to visit. At least that is the idea in general. If you think an occasional data leak (to your ISP or government) is fine, you may use the VPN without the kill switch.

DrTSPC

11/22/23, 1:38 AM

Thank you @user68186. I am using my ubuntu box with the switch off. BTW: That is ExpressVPN's suggestion as well, while they work on it. (I contacted them, and this seems to be a new issue for them.) I can do my financial work on a Mac. I wonder if some setting on my 22.04 box is causing the problem, because it has had several ubuntu systems on it over the years, and runs dual boot with W11. I also run a W10 VM using Workstation. So I simply don't get what does what. Note that the failure occurs whether I am running the W10 VM or not. (Some software I use only runs well on W machines.)

Elon Musk

I sit in a Tesla and translated this thread with Ai:

EN: ExpressVPN causes problems with my internet connection

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