ProtonVPN connects to server, but connection doesn't work

zpero · October 19, 2024, 8:20pm

I started here, and begun with the steps in 1.3:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/ProtonVPN#Installation
I rebooted, and tried to connect. I can successfully connect to a server, like for example, CA#88 for a random Canadian server. The issue is that none of my computer’s connections are actually being sent over the VPN connection, but none are circumventing it either. The result is that my PC is seemingly incommunicated from the rest of the world until I disconnect the VPN.

I will copy the log for the VPN connection at the end of this post.

My only thought is that maybe there is some sort of issue with the DNS settings. A while back I remember looking up an online guide for setting up my DNS for my whole computer to go over Cloudflare’s DNS over TLS. Here is the exact guide that I followed:

I’m not sure how to proceed. Please help! I’ll refresh this tab every now and then for the next few hours, so if you need more info, please ask.

Log

2024-10-19T19:57:35.772145 | proton.vpn.core.connection:448 | INFO | CONN:STATE_CHANGED | Disconnected (initial state)
2024-10-19T19:57:35.773705 | proton.vpn.app.gtk.app:57 | INFO | APP:PROCESS_START | self=<app.App object at 0x7edfcbb14d40 (proton+vpn+app+gtk+app+App at 0x62c2da7e6a40)>
2024-10-19T19:57:35.832688 | proton.vpn.app.gtk.widgets.main.tray_indicator:45 | INFO | AyanaAppIndicator3 not found: Namespace AyatanaAppIndicator3 not available
2024-10-19T19:57:35.835749 | proton.vpn.core.refresher.vpn_data_refresher:167 | INFO | APP.VPN_DATA_REFRESHER:ENABLE | VPN data refresher service enabled.
2024-10-19T19:57:35.835873 | proton.vpn.core.refresher.vpn_data_refresher:175 | INFO | Next client config refresh scheduled in 2:35:16.473115
2024-10-19T19:57:35.835963 | proton.vpn.core.refresher.vpn_data_refresher:184 | INFO | Next server list refresh scheduled in 0:05:53.980217
2024-10-19T19:57:35.836382 | proton.vpn.core.refresher.vpn_data_refresher:193 | INFO | Next certificate refresh scheduled in 4 days, 16:32:03.163682
2024-10-19T19:57:35.836462 | proton.vpn.core.refresher.vpn_data_refresher:202 | INFO | Next feature flags refresh scheduled in 0:17:25.278751
2024-10-19T19:57:35.856594 | proton.vpn.app.gtk.services.reconnector.reconnector:94 | INFO | VPN reconnector enabled.
2024-10-19T19:57:40.008395 | proton.vpn.app.gtk.controller:147 | INFO | APP.STARTUP:STARTUP_ACTIONS | Running startup actions
2024-10-19T19:57:40.008516 | proton.vpn.app.gtk.widgets.vpn.vpn_widget:173 | INFO | APP.VPN:WIDGET_READY | VPN widget is ready (load time: 4.17 seconds)
2024-10-19T19:57:40.055631 | proton.vpn.app.gtk.services.reconnector.reconnector:174 | INFO | Network connectivity was detected.
2024-10-19T19:57:43.946085 | proton.vpn.app.gtk.widgets.vpn.search_entry:86 | INFO | Search done in 51.35 ms.
2024-10-19T19:57:44.288644 | proton.vpn.app.gtk.widgets.vpn.search_entry:86 | INFO | Search done in 49.23 ms.
2024-10-19T19:57:46.125455 | proton.vpn.core.connection:348 | INFO | CONN.CONNECT:START | Server: CA#88 / Domain: node-ca-16.protonvpn.net / IP: 146.70.198.50 / OpenVPN Ports: ProtocolPorts(udp=[80, 51820, 4569, 1194, 5060], tcp=[443, 7770, 8443]) / WireGuard Ports: ProtocolPorts(udp=[443, 88, 1224, 51820, 500, 4500], tcp=[443]) / Protocol: openvpn-udp / Backend: None
2024-10-19T19:57:46.202951 | proton.vpn.backend.linux.networkmanager.protocol.wireguard.local_agent:41 | INFO | Fallback local agent was loaded.
2024-10-19T19:57:46.203972 | proton.vpn.core.connection:448 | INFO | CONN:STATE_CHANGED | Connecting
2024-10-19T19:57:46.507123 | proton.vpn.backend.linux.networkmanager.core.networkmanager:90 | INFO | VPN server REACHABLE.
2024-10-19T19:57:48.033780 | proton.vpn.core.connection:448 | INFO | CONN:STATE_CHANGED | Connected
2024-10-19T19:58:03.271253 | proton.vpn.app.gtk.widgets.main.tray_indicator:296 | INFO | UI.TRAY:DISCONNECT | Disconnect from VPN
2024-10-19T19:58:03.271652 | proton.vpn.core.connection:448 | INFO | CONN:STATE_CHANGED | Disconnecting
2024-10-19T19:58:03.337095 | proton.vpn.core.connection:448 | INFO | CONN:STATE_CHANGED | Disconnected

1093i3511 · October 19, 2024, 9:54pm

Have you tried to use it via wireguard ?
Proton VPN provides the required configuration files for wireguard, accessible via the user account.
And the setup seems to be pretty straight forward.

If it’s the lack of an GUI which is bothering you, wireguird is available in AUR which you can try to establish the connections without the need to rely on shell commands.

As the AUR package for the Proton VPN app is not directly maintained by Proton themselves, it may take some time until the client is updated.

And with the DNS over TLS encryption, at least you’ve got the video as a reference to revert your changes. In principle, encrypted DNS won’t prohibit VPN connections, but isn’t the ideal setup. As the VPN services handle DNS requests on their own DNS servers.