Connected but Nothing Loads? Your Easy Guide to DNS Issues — and How We’re Fixing Them

If your VPN says “Connected” but websites and apps won’t load, it’s frustrating — and it can feel like the VPN isn’t working.

In many cases, the tunnel is actually up and encrypted, but DNS resolution (the part that translates website names into IP addresses) is temporarily failing or timing out.

This guide explains what’s happening in plain English, why it can occur during network upgrades, what we’re doing to improve DNS resilience, and what you can do immediately.

---

Section 1: Understanding DNS Resilience

DNS (Domain Name System) is the internet’s “address book.”

• You type: example.com
  
• DNS returns: the IP address your device needs to reach that site
  
• Your browser/app then connects to that IP
  

DNS resilience means DNS continues to work reliably even when:

• traffic spikes
  
• routes change
  
• regions experience congestion
  
• networks are being upgraded
  

A VPN connection can be encrypted and active — but if DNS lookups fail, it can still feel like “the internet is down.”

---

Section 2: Why You May Be Connected but Unable to Browse

2.1 What DNS Does Behind the Scenes

Every time you open a website or app, your device performs DNS lookups for:

• websites you visit
  
• app servers (e.g., messaging, streaming, banking apps)
  
• CDNs and content servers
  
• authentication endpoints
  

Even when the VPN tunnel is working, those apps still need DNS answers to load anything.

2.2 Why DNS Issues Can Block Browsing Even with an Active VPN Connection

A “Connected but nothing loads” situation commonly happens when:

• DNS requests time out (no response)
  
• DNS responses are slow due to congestion
  
• your device holds onto a stale DNS route
  
• a network path is temporarily degraded
  
• a regional resolver is under heavy load
  

In short: the VPN tunnel can be fine, but name resolution becomes the bottleneck.

2.3 Common Symptoms Users Might Notice

You may see one or more of these:

• VPN shows connected, but webpages don’t load
  
• apps keep spinning or show “No internet”
  
• some sites load, others fail
  
• browsing works on mobile data but not Wi-Fi (or vice versa)
  
• switching locations temporarily fixes it
  

---

Section 3: How DNS Behavior Changes During Network Upgrades (And Why It Stabilizes After)

3.1 Why Routing and DNS Adjustments Happen Together

DNS and routing are tightly linked:

• routing changes influence which resolver is “closest”
  
• capacity changes influence which region should serve DNS
  
• peering and transit changes can affect resolver response time
  

So, when a network is upgraded, DNS paths may also be tuned to maintain speed and reliability.

3.2 Temporary Nature of DNS Inconsistencies

During upgrades, some users may temporarily experience:

• slower DNS response times
  
• intermittent failures in specific regions
  
• inconsistent behavior across devices
  

This does not mean DNS is “down globally.” It usually affects specific conditions (region + time + network path).

3.3 How Stability Improves After Updates Propagate

As upgrades settle:

• routes normalize
  
• resolver load redistributes
  
• caching behavior stabilizes
  
• fallback systems settle into predictable patterns
  

That’s why DNS-related issues often improve gradually after a rollout.

---

Section 4: How We Strengthen DNS Resilience Across Different Regions

4.1 Regional DNS Redundancy Implementation

To reduce single points of failure, DNS resilience improves with redundancy:

• multiple resolvers per region
  
• regional fallback options
  
• automatic rerouting when a resolver slows or fails
  

This means that if one DNS node has trouble, queries can shift to another.

4.2 How Traffic Load Affects DNS Response Times

DNS is lightweight, but it’s also extremely high volume.

During peak traffic:

• more requests per second hit DNS resolvers
  
• response time can increase
  
• timeouts can occur if the path is congested
  

That’s why capacity upgrades and load balancing are crucial to DNS stability.

4.3 Monitoring and Rapid-Response Systems

DNS systems are monitored continuously to detect:

• elevated error rates
  
• timeouts and slow responses
  
• regional spikes
  
• abnormal resolver behavior
  

This enables faster mitigation — typically through rerouting or load redistribution.

---

Section 5: How Our DNS Infrastructure Prevents Leaks and Improves Reliability

5.1 DNS Leak Protection by Design

A DNS leak occurs when DNS queries go outside the encrypted VPN path (e.g., to a local ISP resolver).

Leak protection aims to ensure:

• DNS queries follow the same protected route as the VPN tunnel
  
• your DNS traffic does not unintentionally “fall back” to an ISP resolver
  

5.2 Private DNS Routing to Safeguard User Identity

DNS is part of privacy because DNS queries can reveal patterns (like what domains are being resolved).

A privacy-focused DNS design emphasizes:

• minimizing exposure of DNS traffic
  
• keeping DNS resolution aligned to protected routes
  
• preventing ISP-side visibility of DNS requests
  

5.3 How Our DNS Architecture Isolates and Protects Requests

DNS resilience and DNS privacy improve when:

• DNS requests are routed through private paths
  
• resolver behavior is controlled and monitored
  
• fallback logic avoids unsafe “leak-prone” states
  

Note: A VPN can protect your connection even during DNS issues — but reliability improves when DNS systems have stable redundancy.

---

Section 6: Troubleshooting “No Browsing” Issues: What You Can Do Immediately

6.1 Quick User-Side Fixes

Try these quick steps first:

1. Disconnect and reconnect the VPN once
   
2. Switch to a different location (preferably in the same country/nearby region)
   
3. Toggle Airplane mode ON → OFF (mobile)
   
4. Restart the affected browser/app
   
5. If possible, try switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data to isolate the issue
   

6.2 Device-Level DNS Reset Instructions

These are safe “refresh” actions that often clear stale DNS paths.

Windows

• Open Command Prompt as Administrator
  
• Run: ipconfig /flushdns
  
• Optional: restart the PC
  

macOS

• Restart the Mac (simple and effective)
  
• Or flush DNS via Terminal (varies by macOS version)
  

iOS / Android

• Toggle Airplane Mode ON → OFF
  
• Restart device
  
• On Wi-Fi: “Forget network” → reconnect
  

Router / Wi-Fi

• Restart the router (especially if multiple devices show the same issue)
  

6.3 When to Contact Support (and What Helps Us Diagnose Faster)

If the issue persists after the above:
Please share:

• your approximate region/country
  
• the VPN location you selected
  
• whether it happens on Wi-Fi, mobile data, or both
  
• whether some sites load while others don’t
  
• time of occurrence (local time)
  

This helps narrow down whether it’s:

• a resolver performance issue
  
• a regional route issue
  
• a device/network caching issue
  

---

What We’re Improving Next to Ensure Long-Term DNS Stability

Here’s what’s being strengthened to reduce “connected but no browsing” incidents over time:

• Regional DNS nodes being added or upgraded to reduce latency and timeouts
  
• Enhanced fallback systems for high-traffic regions to prevent resolver overload
  
• Smarter DNS load balancing so traffic distributes more efficiently during peak hours
  

These improvements focus on reliability first — so DNS stays stable even when demand spikes.