ExpressVPN Troubleshooting: 10 Tips & Quick Fixes [Updated]

At a Glance

There are several reasons why ExpressVPN or any other VPN may not be working properly. Your app may not load, you may not be able to get a connection, or when you do connect, your favorite streaming service won’t stream.

In this article, we’ll cover the top 10 issues you may see when using ExpressVPN, while sharing information about how you can remedy the issue.

10 Quick Fixes for ExpressVPN Not Working

Quick Fix #1: Check Your Internet Connection

When you experience connection issues, there are several reasons why you might not be connecting properly. This means that ExpressVPN may not be the culprit.

First, make sure to disconnect from ExpressVPN and exit the app. Load your favorite browser and attempt to visit a website. If you are able to do so, your internet connection is likely working properly.

However, if you visit a few of your favorite sites and none of them will load, you’ll need to do some internet connection troubleshooting.

First of all, and it may sound like a scene from the IT Crowd, have you tried turning it off and back on again? No, really. Restarting your computer could fix the issue. I’ll wait.

Oh, I see you’re back, did that help? No? Okay, let’s try the following.

Windows 11 Network Troubleshooting

Click on the Windows symbol in your taskbar or press the Windows key on your keyboard.
Type “Find and fix network problems.”
Click on the first result that appears.

Click “Next” in the window that appears.

Click “Troubleshoot my connection to the internet.”

Windows will walk you through the steps to fix your connection issues, if any.

macOS Sonoma Network Troubleshooting (WiFi)

Click on the Apple icon in the upper left-hand corner of your Mac’s desktop.
Click on “System Settings…” in the pulldown menu that appears.

Click on the “Wi-Fi” menu option in the left-hand pane.

Try toggling the “Wi-Fi” switch off (wait a few seconds) and then toggling it back on again.
If the above fails to remedy the issue, make sure your Mac is connected to the proper WiFi network.

macOS Sonoma Network Troubleshooting (Ethernet)

Click on the Apple icon in the upper left-hand corner of your Mac’s desktop.
Click on “System Settings…” in the pulldown menu that appears.

Click on the “Network” menu option in the left-hand pane.
Click on the “Ethernet” menu option in the right-hand pane.

Make sure the green “Connected” indicator is illuminated.

Make sure your Mac has an IP address.

Check Your Internet Connection Speed

While you may find that you are indeed connecting to the internet, your connection could be very slow, making it seem like you’re not connected. This could be due to an issue with your ISP, an issue with your VPN app, or your VPN could be having issues with the server you’re connected to.

To test your internet connection speed, do the following:

Open your browser of choice and visit the Speedtest website (http://www.speedtest.net).
Here, you can simply click the big round “GO” button that you’ll see once the site loads in your browser. Or, you can download the Speedtest app for your computer or device.

Once you run the speedtest, you will see your download and upload speed results.

Repeat the speed tests when you are both connected to an ExpressVPN server and when you’re not connected to a VPN server.

If your connection is slower than usual when you are not connected to a VPN server, that means your internet connection or your WiFi router is the culprit. Try restarting your modem and your WiFi router and then run a speed test again.

If your connection is still slow, try getting your computer closer to your WiFi router. Your router’s signal could be weak or is being interfered with. Set your router to use another WiFi channel. The one it is currently using could be congested, as neighbors may also be using the same channel.

If you continue to have issues, try connecting your computer to your router via an ethernet cable. Run the speed test. If it’s still slow, you may need to contact your ISP’s customer support folks for assistance.

If your connection is sufficiently fast enough when you’re not connected to a VPN server, go ahead and select a VPN server from the ExpressVPN app and connect to it. Repeat the speed test. If your speeds precipitously drop, try disconnecting and try connecting to a different VPN server. Test your connection speed again. This should fix the issue. If not, contact ExpressVPN customer support for help.

Quick Fix #2: Connect to a Different VPN Server

If your VPN connection is still excruciatingly slow, you can also try connecting to another server from ExpressVPN’s impressive global server network that has 3,000+ servers located in more than 100 countries around the globe.

There can be several reasons for a VPN server providing slow connections. There could be tech issues with the server in question (servers need to be rebooted from time to time, just like your home computer). The server may be overloaded by users, slowing down the server’s operations. There could be connection issues somewhere between your computer and the VPN server.

It’s easy to change a server in the ExpressVPN app. Simply disconnect from the server you’re on, then click on the three dots to the right of “Selected Location,” and choose another server (ExpressVPN has thousands of servers, so it should be easy to find another server in the country you’re connecting to). Lastly, click on the big ol’ button at the top of the ExpressVPN app window to connect to the new server.

Quick Fix #3: Disable Your Firewall or Whitelist ExpressVPN

If ExpressVPN continues to not work or connect, it might be blocked by your computer’s firewall. So, let’s try temporarily disabling your firewall to see if that fixes the problem.

Windows 11

Click on the Windows symbol in your taskbar or press the Windows key on your keyboard.
Type “Firewall”.
Click on “Firewall & network protection.”

On the next screen, you’ll see “Domain network,” “Private network,” and “Public network.”

Click on each of these one-by-one and on each screen toggle the “Microsoft Defender Firewall” switch to the off position for each of these networks.

Test connecting to an ExpressVPN server and test your connection speed.

If this resolves your issue, go back and toggle all three networks’ firewall switch back to the “on” position. Since we know that the firewall is the culprit, we’ll whitelist the ExpressVPN app so the firewall will no longer block the app’s access to the internet.

To whitelist the ExpressVPN app, do the following:

Click on the Windows symbol in your taskbar or press the Windows key on your keyboard.
Type “Allow an app through firewall.”
Click on “Allow an app through firewall.”

On the next screen, click on “Change settings.”

Click the “Allow another app…” button.
Click on the “Browse” button, then select the ExpressVPN app and then click the “Add” button.

That should fix the issue when the Windows Firewall isn’t allowing the ExpressVPN to make the connection it needs.

macOS Sonoma

Click on the Apple icon in the upper left-hand corner of your Mac’s desktop.
Click on “System Settings…” in the pulldown menu that appears.

Click on the “Network” menu option in the left-hand pane.

Click on “Firewall” in the right-hand pane.

Try toggling the “Firewall” switch off.

Try the ExpressVPN app again.

If the above allows the ExpressVPN app to work properly, do the following:

Toggle the Firewall switch back to the on position.

Click the “Options” button on the Firewall screen.

Make sure the “expressvpnd” option is set to “Allow incoming connections.”

Try the ExpressVPN app again.

Quick Fix #4: Update the ExpressVPN App

You may not be running the most recent version of the ExpressVPN application. ExpressVPN will notify you when there is a new version of its app. While you can certainly ignore the notification, it is to your advantage to keep the ExpressVPN app up to date. This is because developers fix bugs and add new features to apps when they update them.

If you see a notification at the top of the ExpressVPN app telling you that there is an update, click the “Update Now” button. The app will load the ExpressVPN website in your default browser, taking you to the page where you can download and install the latest version of the app.

Quick Fix #5: Uninstall Other VPN Apps (Mobile Devices)

If you have multiple VPN apps installed on your device, you may be attempting to run two or more of the VPN apps at the same time. This is especially possible on mobile devices, like an iPhone or an Android smartphone, where users have less control over which processes are running at the same time.

Check your installed applications to determine whether you have more than one VPN application installed. If you are no longer using these VPN apps, you should uninstall them (be sure not to uninstall the ExpressVPN app).

Quick Fix #6: Try a Different Connection Protocol

Most VPN providers, ExpressVPN included, offer multiple connection protocols. Here’s how to change the protocol.

Open the ExpressVPN app.
Click on the three-bar “Hamburger Menu” icon in the upper left-hand corner of the app window.

Click on “Preferences” from the pulldown menu that appears.
Click on the “Protocol” tab at the top of the Options window.

Select one of the protocols on the list (by default, “Automatic” is likely selected) and click the “OK” button. Try either OpenVPN or Lightway. Both protocols provide excellent protection and also provide fast connection speeds.

Quick Fix #7: Whitelist ExpressVPN in Your Antivirus App

Your antivirus could be blocking your app. Seriously, it happens. Your antivirus or anti-malware app may be mistaking your VPN app as malware. If this happens, your antivirus/malware protection may be preventing the VPN app from running properly.

Most antivirus apps and anti-malware apps include a whitelist. By adding the VPN app to the whitelist, your virus/malware protection will allow your VPN app to operate properly.

Each virus or malware protection app requires different steps as to how to whitelist an app, so check with your antivirus or anti-malware app provider for more information.

Quick Fix #8: Clear Your App Cache (On iPhone or Android)

On your iPhone or Android device, you’ll occasionally find that you’re having issues with the ExpressVPN app (or other apps for that matter), which can happen when the app’s cache is full. While cache memory helps an app to operate more efficiently, the cache can get full and cause issues. This means you’ll want to clear the app’s cache from time to time.

Android

To clear ExpressVPN’s cache on Android, do the following (these steps can vary slightly, depending on which version of Android you have installed on your phone):

Open the Settings app.
Tap “About device.”
Tap “Storage.”
Tap “Apps and data.”
Find ExpressVPN in the list and tap it.
Tap “Clear cache.”
Confirm by tapping “OK.”

iPhone

Unfortunately, the iPhone lacks an option to clear an app’s cache. However, you can accomplish the same thing by “offloading” the app. When you offload an app, you delete the app without deleting the documents or settings that are associated with the app.

Once you offload an app you can quickly reinstall it and it will function just like it did previously.

To offload ExpressVPN on your iPhone, follow these steps:

Open the Settings app.
Tap “General.”
Tap “iPhone storage.”
Find the ExpressVPN app item and tap it. (You may have to tap “Show All” first.)
Tap “Offload App.”
Confirm by selecting “Offload app” again.

Quick Fix #9: Uninstall and Reinstall ExpressVPN

When you’ve seemingly tried everything and ExpressVPN is still not working properly, there is at least one solution left, and that is to uninstall and reinstall the ExpressVPN app.

Uninstalling and reinstalling the ExpressVPN app has two benefits. First, uninstalling the app removes all of the files associated with the app, including any files that may have become corrupted. Plus, reinstalling the app means you will have the latest version of the app installed. (Yes, make sure to download the app from the website again, don’t use the installation app you may already have in your computer’s download folder).

Windows

To remove and reinstall ExpressVPN on Windows, perform the following steps:

Click on the Windows symbol in your taskbar or press the Windows key on your keyboard.
Type “ExpressVPN” into the search bar that appears.
Click on “Uninstall.”

You’ll now be taken to a list of all your Windows programs. Locate ExpressVPN and click on the three dots (…) to the right of the ExpressVPN label.

Click “Uninstall” in the pop-up menu that appears.

Click the “Uninstall” button in the dialog that appears.
Select “Yes” in the dialog box that appears to confirm you want to uninstall ExpressVPN.
Click the “Uninstall” button in the dialog box that appears.

Wait as the ExpressVPN app is uninstalled.
Go to the ExpressVPN website and download and install ExpressVPN again.