Certain ISPs and public WiFi networks completely block VPN connection, either intentionally or because they allow only specific kind of traffic.
Various applications that we use on a daily basis generally use default configurations and networking ports. Network admins know these configurations which is why they can easily block particular activities.
Admins can block VPN using one of the following methods:
- block VPN ports
- use advanced filtering methods: Deep Packet Inspection (DPI)
In this guide we will discuss methods to bypass the above restrictions and list the best VPN services that offer tools to unblock VPN on restrictive WiFi networks.
Best VPN Services to Bypass Strict Firewalls
How to unblock VPN when ports are blocked
VPN protocols use specific ports that need to be open for you to be able to connect to the VPN server. For instance, OpenVPN uses port 1194 while your regular Internet browsing uses HTTPS port 443.
When network admins block port 1194, OpenVPN cannot work so you cannot connect to VPN.
Depending on how restrictive your WiFi network is, firewall might block only specific ports or, alternatively, only have a few common ports open, while the rest are blocked.
The most common ports that are normally open are:
So in order to bypass this firewall and unblock VPN, you need to get a VPN with a port forwarding feature.
Port forwarding allows sending encrypted OpenVPN traffic through an open VPN port. So instead of using port 1194, you can setup OpenVPN to use port 433, which is the recommended port that is open even on the most restricted WiFi networks.
You can also send your VPN traffic through DNS port 53 or HTTP port 80, but network admins would be able to see unusual traffic patterns so it’s best to use port 433 that is reserved for encrypted HTTPS traffic, like normal browsing activities.
The Best VPN Services that Support Port Forwarding
How to bypass DPI firewall, Unblock VPN and Hide VPN Use
This method is more advanced than port blocking. Without getting too technical, firewalls that implemented DPI analyze bits of data going through the network and reject traffic that does not belong.
Basically, this advanced firewall can differentiate HTTPS traffic from OpenVPN traffic because OpenVPN has a different signature, even through both are encrypted and both go through port 443, for example.
So if you simply send OpenVPN traffic through port 443, the firewall will recognize and block it.
The only way to bypass DPI and unblock VPN on the most restricted networks is to “hide” or “mask” VPN encryption protocols. VPN services that support obfuscation (masking) methods use various tools to make OpenVPN traffic look like it is HTTPS (encrypted browsing).
For this purpose VPN services implemented custom setups that mask OpenVPN traffic and make VPN undetectable to the firewall.
VPN Services & Methods to Hide VPN Use:
Chameleon is offered by VyprVPN.
OpenVPN over SSL is offered by ExpressVPN and AirVPN.
StealthVPN is offered by TorGuard.
SoftEther is offered by Hide.me
Other methods are offered by NordVPN and StrongVPN.
ANNUAL PRICE: 3.49 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 11.95 USD
Panama based NordVPN is one of the best VPN services with fast and incredibly secure infrastructure. NordVPN was independently audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers AG based in Zurich, Switzerland (one of the Big 4 auditing firms) that confirmed NordVPN to be a no logging VPN service that don’t log identifiable user information under any circumstances. Additionally, NordVPN offers a Double VPN – a privacy feature that sends your Internet traffic through two VPN servers, encrypting it twice.
NordVPN has over 5,000 servers in 62 countries and is also one of the best VPN services that can bypass VPN ban. If you are located in a country that completely blocks VPN, NordVPN offers obfuscated VPN servers that can bypass even the most advanced network firewalls on restrictive WiFi.
NordVPN Obfsproxy servers not only unblock VPN on strict firewalls, they also hide OpenVPN and make your VPN use completely undetectable. For this reason, neither ISPs nor the government will know that you are using a VPN.
NordVPN can, therefore, bypass Internet restrictions and online censorship anywhere in the world. Besides, NordVPN has a Smart Play technology offering an encrypted connection to access geo-restricted content on Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Spotify and similar services. If you are a torrenting user, NordVPN has torrenting VPN servers as well.
To read a full NordVPN review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 1.32 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 10.95 USD
PureVPN is a no logs VPN service that was independently audited by Altius IT, a leading California-based independent Certified Information Systems Auditor. Altius IT team members are experts in higher-level network security audit, risk management, assessment, and security consulting services.
PureVPN has 2,000 high-speed VPN servers in 140 countries and a port forwarding feature that allows sending VPN traffic over Internet ports that are not blocked in the country. This way PureVPN can bypass VPN block on restrictive networks.
High-speed and secure PureVPN network offers multiple security features for anonymous Internet browsing. PureVPN has desktop and mobile VPN apps with a built-in WebRTC, IP and DNS leak protection. Kill switch is another important feature for VPN users since it prevents unencrypted data leaks when VPN connection drops. PureVPN even has a DDoS protection add-on.
PureVPN can unblock content on restricted services like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter. PureVPN is also one of the few VPN providers that can effectively unblock Netflix with their dedicated streaming servers for Netflix USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Japan.
Additionally, PureVPN introduced dedicated Streaming add-on that will boost streaming speed and enhance performance. PureVPN optimized streaming servers are best to get a buffer-free streaming experience in Turkey.
If you need to limit your VPN use only to specific websites or services, PureVPN split tunneling feature lets you decide which applications to send through unencrypted channel and which one to secure with an encrypted VPN service.
To read a full PureVPN review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 2.19 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 11.95 USD
PIA is one of the largest no logs VPN services with over 3,000 VPN servers that deliver great speeds and a reliable performance.
PIA offers easy to install VPN apps for all devices with security and privacy features that protect VPN users. In 2018 PIA was subpoenaed by the FBI and the only information they could provide was that the cluster of IP addresses being used was from the east coast of the United States. The FBI case confirms that PIA indeed does not log any user activity.
Desktop apps have a built-in kill switch, DNS and IPv4/IPv6 leak protection that guards the connection from IP leaks. Their NAT firewall does a great job at protecting from cyber attacks.
PIA VPN in one of the best services to bypass VPN ban as you can also send VPN traffic over various ports: 443, 80, 110, 53, 8080, 9201. Since certain ISPs block VPN by closing certain VPN ports, port forwarding is an especially useful feature for VPN users who need to bypass strict firewall. Port 443 is the best option because it is used by encrypted HTTPS traffic, so setup your VPN to use port 443 if you need to bypass VPN ban.
For faster streaming and torrenting experience, PIA software offers switching between different connection types and ports. You can choose between UDP and TCP connections types that, depending on network, can speed up traffic. UDP is also greatly preferred for torrenting and streaming.
SOCKS5 proxy is another excellent feature that can re-route only certain traffic through VPN tunnel eliminating the need for split tunneling. SOCKS5 is widely used with torrenting software due to its convenience. Once installed on uTorrent, for instance, it works for p2p traffic only.
Overall, the provider gives unrestricted and uncensored access to blocked or censored websites, like multimedia, social media, religious content and controversial news reports. Aside from unblocking various restricted sites, PIA can also unblock Netflix USA and Netflix UK libraries, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Amazon Prime.
To read a full PIA review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 1.66 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 12.95 USD
Switzerland based VyprVPN is a leading no logs VPN provider with over 700 ultra fast servers worldwide that support gigabit VPN speed (1,000Mbps). With over 200,000 IP addresses in 64 countries, VyprVPN offers a fantastic choice of VPN locations.
VyprVPN was independently audited by Leviathan Security that verified VyprVPN no logging claims. Unlike most VPN providers who rely on 3rd party hosting, VyprVPN owns their VPN servers and only VyprVPN staff has access to them.
VyprVPN is also a great service to bypass strict firewalls that block VPN. For this purpose VyprVPN developed a proprietary VPN protocol – Chameleon. The protocol scrambles OpenVPN and reroutes VPN traffic via port 443 (always open), thereby bypassing VPN block and hiding VPN use from ISPs. Chameleon makes VPN undetectable even via deep packet inspection (DPI) and allows you to use VPN on very restrictive networks that completely block VPN.
VyprVPN infrastructure is one of the fastest, offering ultra fast gigabit speeds and low ping times for high speed HD streaming. Being one of the fastest VPN services, VyprVPN boasts some of the best VPN speeds. VyprVPN also offers dedicated streaming servers that can bypass Netflix proxy error, unblock BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Spotify and many more.
To read a full VyprVPN review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 6.67 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 12.95 USD
Based in the British Virgin Islands, ExpressVPN is one of the best no logs VPN services to protect your data from mass surveillance, bypass censorship and access restricted content.
ExpressVPN has been independently audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, a top team of security audit experts with access to ExpressVPN servers’ codebase to verify the provider’s no logging claims. The audit also checked whether TrustedServer implementation operates as described. TrustedServer means that all ExpressVPN servers run on RAM only (not on hard drive) and are wiped every time they are rebooted, which eliminates any possibility that the government could seize VPN servers and access sensitive user data.
ExpressVPN has one of the largest and fastest infrastructures with over 3,000 servers in 94 countries, which makes them a great choice to access unrestricted Internet and local content.
Ultra fast ExpressVPN is one of the few VPN services with network that supports gigabit Internet connection, making it a perfect choice for ultra high speed streaming and torrenting. ExpressVPN can unblock Netflix USA and UK, Hulu, BBC iPlayer and a number of other streaming services.
To bypass VPN ban, ExpressVPN implemented the technology that hides VPN use. The provider wraps OpenVPN into SSL and reroutes VPN connection through HTTPS port 443. This setup completely hides VPN use from ISPs and makes your VPN traffic appear as regular encrypted Internet browsing. Assuming your restrictive network blocks VPN protocols and ports, ExpressVPN can unblock VPN on virtually any network.
ExpressVPN desktop apps have a built-in DNS leak protection to ensure that no data is leaked while the app is running. Even though ExpressVPN is extremely reliable and does not disconnect, kill switch is another useful feature that protects you from unexpected data leaks.
Overall, this ultra fast infrastructure, dedication to security, and a number of features definitely makes ExpressVPN a top VPN provider.
To read a full ExpressVPN review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 4.49 USD/mo [promocode]
MONTHLY PRICE: 8.99 USD
Offering over 3,000 servers in 55 countries, all mainstream protocols and top-notch security, TorGuard rightfully earned its place as a top VPN provider. No logs TorGuard is a reliable, fast and secure VPN service that can bypass VPN ban to unblock censored websites and services.
Stealth VPN is a technology that TorGuard uses to unblock VPN and bypass filters (typically used by the government to censor and restrict online content). Consequently, TorGuard is a highly recommended VPN service for users who live in the regions with particularly oppressive governments, and would like to unblock VPN on any network.
TorGuard desktop apps have a built-in kill switch feature that actively monitors your Internet connection and protects your real IP from leaking on unstable WiFi.
Besides a great number of security features and ability to bypass VPN block, TorGuard is also an ultra fast VPN service with gigabit servers (actually, 10 Gbps). This infrastructure allows the fastest VPN speeds with a reliable streaming and browsing experience.
Unlike most VPN providers, TorGuard can bypass Netflix proxy error with Netflix streaming IPs. TorGuard gives access to a number of Netflix regions (USA, UK, Canada, Italy, Germany, Finland, France, Italy, Spain, Japan and Singapore), Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Spotify and virtually any streaming or social media service, including YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
But TorGuard is not just a VPN provider, they offer additional security services like OpenPGP encrypted email with 2 factor authentication and up to 10Mb free, secure storage.
To read a full TorGuard review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 4.99 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 9.95 USD
Based in Malaysia, Hide.me is one the most secure and fastest VPN providers offering gigabit VPN servers that deliver the fastest VPN speeds for users on gigabit Internet connection.
Hide.me is a no logs VPN service that offers advanced VPN masking tools to bypass VPN ban. Hide.Me masks (obfuscates) OpenVPN traffic with TLS-Crypt so, if your WiFi network blocks VPN by analyzing traffic patterns, this method can bypass even the most advanced firewalls. The technology also encrypts every OpenVPN packet twice, sort of like Double VPN encryption.
Additionally, the provider offers a dynamic TCP/UDP port-forwarding (UPnP) with up to 10 TCP/UDP ports, a useful feature on WiFi networks that block VPN ports. So if your ISP blocks regular OpenVPN connection, you can try forwarding VPN traffic via another port (normally 443) to make your VPN work. Some ISPs also throttle the speed on some ports, so again, testing various options may speed up your browsing, streaming and torrenting activities.
Hide.Me VPN apps for desktop and mobile devices have advanced features for privacy and security. A built-in protection against IP and DNS leaks, with a kill switch that automatically shuts down Internet access when your connection to a VPN server is dropped.
Stealth Guard takes this even further by blocking access to predetermined apps (like Chrome or uTorrent) even when the VPN is OFF. Basically, Internet access for a predetermined app is cut off unless you connect to Hide.Me VPN.
Hide.Me also implemented perfect forward secrecy, an advanced feature that forces OpenVPN to regularly renegotiate encryption keys. This means that if your keys are stolen, your previous and future VPN sessions will not be affected.
More so, you can selectively tunnel only specific traffic via VPN. Split tunneling feature allows this or, alternatively, SOCKS5 proxy can be setup on your browser/torrenting client to re-route only that traffic.
Overall, Hide.Me VPN is an ultra fast, reliable VPN service, a perfect choice for security oriented users who need additional anonymity, but also would like to enjoy uninterrupted streaming and browsing experience.
To read a full Hide.me review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 8.99 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 12.99 USD
Perfect Privacy is an ultra fast (gigabit servers) VPN provider with a heavy focus on advanced online security. As the name suggests, Perfect Privacy VPN has some of the most secure VPN features for maximum anonymity.
Perfect Privacy has one of the most advanced kill switch implementations. A regular kill switch only works when the VPN app is running. Perfect Privacy integrated firewall enforces all traffic to be sent through secure VPN servers whether the app is running or not. Essentially, it prevents unsecured online access when you restart your device, thereby, guarding your data from IP leaks not only when the app is running, but also after OS reboot.
In addition, Perfect Privacy offers a unique Multi-Hop VPN feature that allows cascading over up to 4 OpenVPN servers at the same time along with SOCKS5 and Squid proxies. This way you can connect to a chain of 6 VPN servers, so no entity can trace you back. While this setup surely provides more anonymity, it will dramatically slow you down.
Perfect Privacy can also bypass VPN ban by hiding OpenVPN traffic. Perfect Privacy implemented Stealth VPN and OpenVPN over SSH features to obfuscate OpenVPN and make it look like normal HTTPS traffic. For additional firewall penetration Perfect Privacy allows 5 custom port forwardings or 3 default random ports.
Basically, if you are connected to a WiFi that completely blocks VPN, Perfect Privacy can bypass firewall and unblock VPN on virtually any network.
NeuroRouting is an AI based routing that determines the most secure and fastest route through the Internet. It also automatically changes your external VPN IP address depending on the destination. Another fantastic anonymity feature is the provider’s ability to resolve .onion (TOR) addresses without the need for the Tor Browser.
Overall, Perfect Privacy VPN is a perfect tool to avoid mass surveillance, bypass Internet restrictions, access censored websites, and securely stream multimedia content. The provider’s focus is not the amount of servers they own, it is security, privacy and complete anonymity.
To read a full Perfect Privacy review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 4.50 EUR/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 7 EUR
AirVPN is an Italian VPN provider created by privacy activists whose main goal is data protection. AirVPN has over 200 servers in 23 countries that have Perfect Forward Secrecy through Diffie-Hellman key exchange DHE. Essentially key negotiation is performed every 60 minutes to avoid data breach if the key is compromised. AirVPN offers OpenVPN dynamic port forwarding on 80 TCP/UDP, 443 TCP/UDP and 53 TCP/UDP. Additionally, AirVPN offers OpenVPN over SSH and OpenVPN over SSL that mask OpenVPN and make the use of encryption tools invisible to some of the most advanced firewalls. To read a full AirVPN review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 1.99 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 8.88 USD
No logs Trust.Zone is a Seychelles based VPN provider with user privacy as their foremost priority. Since Trust.Zone is a VPN service launched by one of the largest torrenting websites ExtraTorrent, it’s no wonder they are one of the best providers for p2p file sharing. Their apps have DNS, WebRTC leaks protection, Kill Switch and port-forwarding features. To read a full Trust.Zone review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 5.83 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 10 USD
StrongVPN is a no logs VPN provider offering OpenVPN, IPsec, PPTP and L2TP protocols along with OpenVPN obfuscation tools in order to bypass restrictions in countries like China, Iran, Syria. With almost 500 servers in 21 countries StrongVPN offers an impeccable speed for streaming Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Pandora, Amazon Video and many other services as well as torrenting. To read a full StrongVPN review click HERE.
I want to Unblock vodacom is blocked
For http injector vpn files
If I’m reading your question correctly, you likely need a VPN that offers advanced obfuscation methods which we cover in the second part of this article under “How to bypass DPI firewall and Unblock VPN.”