For nearly a year, my computer has intermittently reported that it is connected to the internet even though browsers, online games, and other applications cannot connect. My internet provider, operating system, VPN, and browser all indicate that the connection is active, but traffic either fails completely or occasionally drops to extremely low speeds, sometimes around 152 bytes per second. The connection may work normally for a few minutes or even a couple of weeks before becoming unreliable again. This happens over both Wi-Fi and Ethernet, and I have already tried many troubleshooting steps. Could the VPN be causing this, and what tests should I run to identify the problem?
2 Answers
Try disconnecting or uninstalling the VPN first and see whether the connection becomes stable. A VPN adds another server and routing layer, so it can cause latency, packet loss, or connectivity problems. Since the issue also happens over Ethernet, the VPN or another software/network configuration is still worth ruling out before replacing hardware.
When the problem happens, test both an IP address and a domain name. For example, ping 8.8.8.8 and then ping google.com. If the IP works but the domain fails, the likely problem is DNS. If both fail, the issue is more likely the router, ISP connection, network adapter, or another local configuration. Also check whether the computer can reach the router's local address.
Neither test worked while the connection was failing.
I tested it without the VPN, but the connection still failed.