Fix Bitdefender VPN errors 2, 4, 9, 12 and more on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS
Here you’ll find quick-fix solutions to common Bitdefender VPN connection errors on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, or iPadOS. These are some of the error messages you may encounter when connecting to Bitdefender VPN:
An error occurred while trying to connect. Error code: 2 | Error code: 4 | Error code: 9 | Error code: 10 | Error code: 12 | Error code: 99 | Error code 182 | Failed to get server list, please try again later. |
There are a few general causes for connection errors encountered by Bitdefender VPN:
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- You are not connected to the Internet and can’t access the Internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable. Make sure you have Internet access before using Bitdefender VPN.
- A strictly configured firewall is preventing VPN connectivity (e.g. 3rd party firewall software, router’s built-in firewall). If you are not sure if your router comes with a dedicated firewall or how to turn it off please refer to its manual, contact the manufacturer or your ISP.
- Another VPN or Proxy is running when you try to connect. In this case, disable the other VPN/Proxy solution.
- You’re on a public Wi-Fi such as work, school, airport, etc. which may have blocked the ports required by Bitdefender VPN. You need to contact the network administrator to try and change their firewall settings.
- The port used for the VPN connection is closed. Depending on the device you’re currently using, the port 443 UDP must be open.
No matter the reason, we’ll show you exactly how to deal with any VPN error code and successfully connect to Bitdefender VPN in no time. Begin by clicking the name of your operating system to learn more:
1. Restart your PC Sometimes the operating system or other services and software dependencies do not start up correctly. Shutting down Windows and rebooting your computer can address such issues. Reconnect to Bitdefender VPN after the PC has restarted and check if the situation has been resolved. 2. Change your DNS If you are currently using the default DNS (Domain Name System) from your Internet provider, switch to a third-party DNS server that might be faster and reliable. How to change your DNS to see if that’s the problem: • Open Control Panel → Network and Internet → Network and Sharing Center → Change adapter settings → double-click your active adapter (network) → choose Properties. or • Go to Windows Start menu • Click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) in the connection items list, then press Properties. • Select Use the following DNS server addresses and enter the following addresses: Preferred DNS server: 8.8.8.8 • Click OK to confirm the change, then restart your PC. 3. Reset the Internet connection If you have followed all the above steps, but Bitdefender VPN is still unable to establish the connection, there may be an issue with the way the network is configured. To correct it, please reset the Internet connection by following the instructions below. Open Command Prompt with administrator privileges: click the Windows Start ⊞ menu, type cmd then right-click the Command Prompt option in the search results and choose Run as administrator. Type the following in the Command Prompt window: Restart your computer, then check to see if you can connect to Bitdefender VPN. 4. Reinstall Bitdefender VPN To make sure all the VPN files are intact, and you have the latest version of the product it is recommended to reinstall Bitdefender. Follow these steps: 5. Try another network If the VPN errors persist after going through the previous steps, something on your local network is most likely still blocking the connection to the Bitdefender servers. Check if you can use Bitdefender VPN after connecting your computer to another network (Wi-Fi, hotspot, Ethernet cable, etc.). If Bitdefender VPN is working when the PC is using another internet connection contact your network administrator or your Internet Service Provider to determine which network or router settings may be blocking the VPN connection. 6. Sign-in again To make sure you are signed in with the right Central account and the VPN app communicates properly with Bitdefender Central, use the Switch Account feature. • Bring up Bitdefender VPN then access the human-shaped icon on the sidebar. • Click on Switch Account at the bottom of the interface. • Sign in with your Bitdefender Central account from the window that appears on your screen, then try again to connect to VPN. 7. Disable other VPNs & Networking apps If the computer is already connected to another VPN app, then a second simultaneous connection from Bitdefender VPN will not be possible. Therefore, make sure to disconnect from any other VPN software before trying to connect to Bitdefender VPN. Also, uninstall any networking and web filtering software that aims to optimize the network card. These tools can have a negative impact on VPN functioning. In particular, these two programs are known to cause errors in Bitdefender VPN: • Intel Killer Intelligence Center also known as Killer Control Center, Killer Performance Driver Suite, or Killer Performance Suite. You can either uninstall the entire Killer suite as it’s a non-essential component or only disable the Advanced Stream Detect option. • Safe Browsing from Easy Solutions. This URL filtering app will cause the error code 182 in Bitdefender VPN when is present on the PC. 8. Enable the VPN adapter Make sure the Bitdefender VPN adapter is enabled: • Go to Windows Start menu • This will open Network Connections. In this window, right-click on the adapter TAP-Windows Adapter V9 and choose Enable if it’s disabled. • Then open Device Manager by following the instructions provided here → go to Network adapters and expand the tree menu → right click on the entry TAP-Windows Adapter V9 and select Disable. • Wait for a few seconds, then right-click again on TAP-Windows Adapter V9 and this time choose to Enable it. • Now try again to connect to Bitdefender VPN. 1. Restart your Mac Sometimes the operating system or software dependencies do not start up correctly. Shutting down macOS and rebooting your Mac can address such issues. Reconnect to Bitdefender VPN after the Mac has restarted and check if the situation has been resolved. 2. Repair Keychain Access Keychain Access from macOS is a password management system. Force Bitdefender VPN to repair the information stored there in case of data corruption: • Open Finder, then click on Go at the top of the screen. • Select Utilities. • Inside the Utilities folder double-click on Keychain Access. • A new window will pop up. Select All items on the sidebar, under Category. • Use the search bar located in the upper right-hand corner of the window and type in the word VPN. • Look at the Kind column and delete all entries that include the word IPSec […]. • Next, click the Bitdefender VPN icon from the top menu bar, open the small cogwheel button, and choose Quit. • Then open Finder, click on Go at the top of the screen, select Applications → Bitdefender → open Bitdefender VPN → connect to VPN. 3. Check if Bitdefender VPN is installed correctly Search for “Bitdefender VPN.app” on Mac to check if the Bitdefender VPN app exists in other locations besides: /Applications/Bitdefender/Bitdefender VPN.app /Library/Bitdefender/Central/Modules/com.bitdefender.vpn/Bitdefender VPN.app If you find Bitdefender VPN.app in other paths than the Applications and Library folders mentioned above, delete those extra Bitdefender VPN entries. Also eject mounted volumes and disks on which Bitdefender VPN may still reside, to ensure they do not impact the VPN connection. 4. Reinstall Bitdefender VPN To make sure all the VPN files are intact, and you have the latest version of the product it is recommended to reinstall Bitdefender VPN. Follow these steps: • Uninstall Bitdefender VPN using the instructions provided here. When you reach Step 5 in the article choose to uninstall only Bitdefender VPN. • Then reinstall Bitdefender VPN with a fresh kit downloaded from the product page. 5. Uninstall other VPNs Other VPN applications such as Kaspersky VPN, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, etc. may generate connection errors if installed on the same Mac as Bitdefender VPN. Therefore, make sure to uninstall other VPNs if Bitdefender VPN encounters connection errors. Consult the manufacturer’s documentation to find out how you can uninstall their VPN application. 6. Disable Proxy If the issue persists, check if you have enabled any Proxy settings. To disable Proxies: • Open System Preferences from the dock or from the Apple Logo menu . • Click the Network icon, then click Advanced at the bottom of the window. • Open the Proxies tab. • Disable ‘Auto Proxy Discovery’ or any other options checked under Select a protocol to configure. • Click OK. 7. Change your DNS If you are currently using the default DNS (Domain Name System) from your Internet provider, switch to a third-party DNS server that might be faster and reliable. How to change your DNS to see if that’s the problem: • Open System Preferences from the dock or from the Apple Logo menu . • Go to the search bar located in the upper right-hand corner of the window and type in DNS. • Select DNS servers from the search results. • Click the + button under DNS Servers and enter 8.8.8.8 • Click + again and enter 8.8.4.4 (This is for redundancy.) • Click + and enter 2001:4860:4860::8888 • Click + one more time and enter 2001:4860:4860::8844 (This is for redundancy.) • Press OK, then Apply. 8. Try a different network If the VPN errors persist after going through the previous steps, something on your local network is most likely still blocking the connection to the Bitdefender servers. Check if you can use Bitdefender VPN after connecting your Mac to another network (Wi-Fi, hotspot, Ethernet cable, etc.). • To learn how to set up a hotspot on your iPhone or iPad access this link. • Go here to learn how to set up a hotspot on Android phones. If Bitdefender VPN is working when the Mac is using another internet connection contact your network administrator or your Internet Service Provider to determine which network or router settings may be blocking the VPN connection. 1. Restart your Android device Sometimes the operating system or software dependencies do not start up correctly. Shutting down and rebooting your Android device can address such issues. Reconnect to Bitdefender VPN after the Android smartphone or tablet has restarted and check if the situation has been resolved. 2. Reinstall Bitdefender VPN To make sure the VPN app is intact, and you have the latest version it is recommended to reinstall Bitdefender. Follow these steps: • Uninstall Bitdefender VPN from your Android device. If you need help uninstalling the app please read this article. • Then, reinstall Bitdefender VPN from Google Play Store. 3. Grant permissions If Bitdefender VPN doesn’t connect on Android, make sure the necessary permissions were granted to the Bitdefender VPN app. • Clear the Bitdefender VPN app cache: go to Settings • Next, uninstall Bitdefender VPN from your device. If you need help uninstalling the app please read this article. • Finally, reinstall Bitdefender VPN from Google Play store. 4. Disable other VPNs Android doesn’t allow more than one VPN to be active. If the smartphone or tablet is already connected to a VPN app, then a second simultaneous connection from Bitdefender VPN will not be possible. Therefore, make sure to disconnect from any other VPN before trying to connect to Bitdefender VPN. On Android 7 and later you may also want to look into a feature called Always-on VPN. If Always-on is enabled for another VPN app installed on the device, it will block any network connections that don’t use that VPN, including Bitdefender VPN. To address this issue, disable the Always-on VPN option for all the VPN applications installed on your device: • Open your phone’s Settings app • Tap Network & internet. Depending on the device model, the name may vary – e.g. Wi-Fi & internet, Wi-Fi & network, etc. • Tap VPN. If you can’t find it, search for “VPN”. • Tap • Disable Always-on VPN if it’s enabled for any VPN except the Bitdefender app. 5. Change your DNS If you are currently using the default DNS (Domain Name System) from your Internet provider, switch to a third-party DNS server that might be faster and reliable. To learn how to change your DNS settings on Android follow this link. 6. Try a different network If the VPN errors persist after going through the previous steps, something on your local network is most likely still blocking the connection to the Bitdefender servers. Check if you can use Bitdefender VPN after connecting your Android device to another network (Wi-Fi, hotspot, cellular data). • To learn how to set up a hotspot on your iPhone or iPad access this link. • Go here to learn how to set up a hotspot on Android phones. If the VPN is working when the device is using another internet connection contact your network administrator or your Internet Service Provider to determine which network or router settings may be blocking the VPN connection. 1. Restart your iPhone / iPad Sometimes the operating system or software dependencies do not start up correctly. Shutting down and rebooting your iOS device can address such issues. Reconnect to Bitdefender VPN after the iPhone or iPad has restarted and check if the situation has been resolved. 2. Reinstall Bitdefender VPN To make sure the VPN app is intact, and you have the latest version it is recommended to reinstall Bitdefender. Follow these steps: • Uninstall Bitdefender VPN from your iOS device. If you need help uninstalling the app please read this article. • Then, reinstall Bitdefender VPN from App Store. 3. Grant permissions If Bitdefender VPN doesn’t connect on iOS, make sure the necessary permissions were granted to the Bitdefender VPN app: • Go to Settings • Next, open the Bitdefender VPN app and try to connect. • Choose Allow in the ‘BitdefenderVPN would like to add VPN Configurations’ screen. • Enter your iPhone / iPad passcode, to allow the VPN connection. 4. Change your DNS If you are currently using the default DNS (Domain Name System) from your Internet provider, switch to a third-party DNS server that might be faster and reliable. To learn how to change your DNS settings on iOS follow this link. 5. Try a different network If the VPN errors persist after going through the previous steps, something on your local network is most likely still blocking the connection to the Bitdefender servers. Check if you can use Bitdefender VPN after connecting your iOS device to another network (Wi-Fi, hotspot, cellular data). • To learn how to set up a hotspot on your iPhone or iPad access this link. • Go here to learn how to set up a hotspot on Android phones. If the VPN is working when the device is using another internet connection contact your network administrator or your Internet Service Provider to determine which network or router settings may be blocking the VPN connection.Fix Bitdefender VPN errors on Windows »
in the lower-left corner → type in ncpa.cpL and hit Enter → double-click your active adapter (network) → choose Properties.
Alternate DNS server: 8.8.4.4
and type in ncpa.cpL then hit Enter on your keyboard.
Fix Bitdefender VPN errors on macOS »
Fix Bitdefender VPN errors on Android »
→ Storage → tap Other Apps → find Bitdefender VPN among the listed apps and tap it → choose Clear cache.. next to the name of each VPN app from this list.
Fix Bitdefender VPN errors on iOS & iPadOS »
→ General → scroll down and select VPN → tap the ⓘ icon next to Bitdefender VPN → choose Delete VPN → tap Delete to confirm.
If you managed to follow all the steps provided in this comprehensive guide, the VPN errors should stop. Now you should be able to successfully connect to Bitdefender VPN.
