Can't access a site when Bitdefender VPN is active? Use Split Tunneling

Can’t access a website with Bitdefender VPN connected

Can’t access a particular site when the device is connected to Bitdefender VPN? Some websites have implemented a system to detect VPNs and do not load or display errors if the Internet connection is filtered through a VPN. To determine whether the problem lies within the VPN, temporarily disconnect from Bitdefender VPN and then try to visit again the site. To disconnect Bitdefender VPN, simply press the power button on the VPN interface. If the site still doesn’t load after interrupting the VPN, the issue lies somewhere else. If the site loads properly in this situation, you know it’s the VPN that is causing the issue.

Here’s everything you can try to resolve the issue after finding out that you can’t access a particular webpage when Bitdefender VPN is active:

Step 1 – Connect to another Bitdefender VPN server

Certain websites practice geo-blocking as a way of limiting access to their content based on geographical location. Geo-blocking is done by identifying an IP address. What does that mean? For instance, if you live in the USA and you connect Bitdefender VPN to the Sweden server, an IP corresponding to that country will be assigned to your device. Now, all websites will think that you access the Internet from Sweden. But if you go to a site whose content isn’t available in Sweden, you won’t be able to access that specific site.

Connecting to another Bitdefender VPN server

Therefore, as a first troubleshooting method, if you can’t view a website with the VPN on, connect to a few different VPN servers from the list of available locations.

Start with the country you are currently in. Bitdefender Premium VPN provides servers in over 45 regions across the globe. If there is no VPN server for your country or the VPN location is already set to your country, then choose the nearest region. For example, if you live in Monaco, choose to connect to France.

To connect to a different server:

Open the Bitdefender VPN app on your device.
Press the Virtual Location button in the lower part of the interface.
Select any country you wish, or type the name of a country in the search bar to filter your results.
Click on the Connect to [country of choice] button in the lower part of the interface.

If the site doesn’t work regardless of the VPN server, go to the next step.

Step 2 – Use Split Tunneling to allow a site through VPN

Split Tunneling allows you to route any website outside the VPN connection, to access the Internet directly. This feature is available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.

Select one of the following to learn more:

on Windows

To exclude a site from using the Bitdefender VPN connection on Windows:

Open the Bitdefender VPN app on your computer.
Access Settings (represented by a cogwheel ⚙︎) on the navigation menu of the VPN interface.

3. Go to the General tab, then toggle Split tunneling to the on position.

4. In the Split tunneling panel, click on Manage.

5. Click the Add button. Next, select Website in the drop-down menu.

6. Type the URL of the website you can’t access, then press the + sign in order to add the website to the whitelist.

on Mac

To exclude a site from using the Bitdefender VPN connection on macOS:

Open the Bitdefender VPN app on your Mac.
Click on the small cogwheel ⚙︎ in the top right corner of the VPN app, then select Settings in the menu.

3. Go to the Advanced tab and toggle Split tunneling to the on position.

4. In the Split tunneling panel, click on Manage.

5. Next, press the Add website button.

6. Type the URL of the website you can’t access, then press the + button in order to add the website to the whitelist.

on Android

To exclude a site from using the Bitdefender VPN connection on Android:

Open the Bitdefender VPN app on your smartphone or tablet.
Tap the cogwheel in the top right corner of the VPN app to enter the Settings menu.

3. Toggle Split tunneling to the on position.

4. In the Split tunneling panel, tap on Websites.

5. Next, press the + button.

6. Type the URL of the website you can’t access, then press ↵ (Enter) on the virtual keyboard in order to add the website to the whitelist.

7. Return to the Bitdefender VPN Settings section and tap on the Android Settings option shown in the picture below.

8. If Bitdefender appears in the VPN list, tap the cogwheel ⚙︎ next to it.

9. Toggle “Block connections without VPN” to the off position for Split tunneling to work.

on iPhone | iPad

To exclude a site from using the Bitdefender VPN connection on iOS or iPadOS:

Open the Bitdefender VPN app on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap the cogwheel in the top right corner of the VPN app to enter the Settings menu.

3. Toggle Split tunneling to the on position.

4. In the Split tunneling panel, tap on Websites.

5. Next, press the + button.

6. Type the URL of the website you can’t access, then press ‘done’ (Return) on the virtual keyboard in order to add the website to the whitelist.

That’s it. You should be able to access the website now. To remove a site from Split Tunneling, simply click the trash can icon next to it.

Was this article helpful?

Yes