Fix “Authentication required” issue in Proton VPN

Fix “Authentication required” issue in Proton VPN

This error occurs frequently in Proton VPN. It occurs mostly after hitting the “Connect” button on any VPN Server Location while attempting to connect to the server.

You will note that the Authentication window that pops up has the PASSWORD field auto-filled for you. [ One might wonder what the hell is supposed to be the password here (Your Proton VPN password? Hell No!), and where the hell did the auto-filed password come from (Hint: Proton VPN devs know, of course they do!)? ]

In many if not all cases, you will find out that hitting the “Connect” button on the Authentication pop up window doesn’t resolve the issue. To avoid the issue there are two possible solutions;

[ SOLUTION 1 ]

– close the error window again
– make sure you have a good internet connection
– attempt to connect to a different VPN Server Location (different from the one you had connected to to land on this issue)
– if the Authentication error window pops up again, try connecting to other servers [eventually you’ll land on one that connects successfully]

[ SOLUTION 2 ]

If Solution 1 does not work;

– close the error window again
– disable “Kill Switch” or “Permanent Kill Switch“
– quit Proton VPN GUI/CLI window or kill Proton VPN’s process via Terminal
– check whether you have an Internet connection (navigate to a random site or do a random search)
– if the Internet is working, open Proton VPN afresh
– connect to a VPN Server Location of choice
– enable “Kill Switch” or “Permanent Kill Switch” if you wish to
– if the Internet is not working, fix it then open Proton VPN and connect to a VPN Server Location of choice

Fix “Authentication required” issue in Proton VPN
Forum [ Proton VPN ] | thetqweb