OpenVPN configuration error General

I tried to configuration OpenVPN TLS and I got an error message “Failed to start OpenVPN tunnel”. Every time i got this message when i try to configure. Can anyone suggest me what is the actual issue?

I don’t know, but I found this old thread that might have some clues? Let me know if it helps.

Thank You Ken!
I hope this thread will have a proper solution. But after that if I have still error then I will contact you again.

Hi, Ken

Thank you to suggest me the right path. Now the error is resolve and properly connect but in the meantime I google how to connect open vpn automatically. Most of the result were about VPN and they also offers openvpn connection. Do you think they are reliable?

These are vpn sites that offer openvpn


Do you think they are reliable and secure?

Quick steps to fix an Authentication Failure error

If you encounter this error, there are a number of things you can try to remedy this situation. Please try the following steps to fix the problem:

  1. Verify that you’re using correct OpenVPN credentials

Make sure you are using your OpenVPN credentials. Proton VPN employs two sets of credentials, your Proton account credentials, used to log in on our homepage protonvpn, and your OpenVPN credentials, which are used to authenticate with the VPN servers if you are using a 3rd party OpenVPN application.

For security reasons, you must use your OpenVPN credentials and not your Proton credentials when logging in via third party VPN applications. See this article for details on where to find and set your OpenVPN credentials.

  1. Confirm that you’re accessing servers which are available for you Proton VPN plan

Check that the server you are trying to connect to is available for your subscription. Proton VPN has different plan offerings and each tier has access to a different set of servers.

For example Proton VPN Free users only get access to free servers in these countries, while Proton VPN Plus users get access to all servers in all countries, including Secure Core servers. See here for more details on different servers or check out our different plans.

  1. Make sure that you are using a reputable client.

Make sure that you installed the correct client and have updated to the latest section.

For example, a staggering number of VPN clients (external link – CISRO research paper, PDF) available in the Android Play store are not properly implemented and pose a security risk instead of improving your privacy.

Despite a few bad implementations, a good number of reliable clients exist. If you have auth problems, please use one of our recommend clients from our guides for macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.

  1. Check whether a different server works

Connect to a different server in a different country and see if this issue persists. Sometimes, we need to take certain servers offline for maintenance and as such it can happen that they are temporarily unavailable. In the Proton VPN native applications, this information will automatically be displayed.

For third party clients, check the server page and or our Proton Mail status page to see if there are any reported downtimes.

  1. Check number of connected devices / wait x minutes and retry

Make sure that you do not have more devices connected than your maximum number of allowed connections. Is that the laptop in the other room still connected? How about your workstation? Or that tablet at your parents’/friend’s/partner’s place still connected?

Double check your past devices and make sure that none of them are keeping their sessions alive and taking up connection slots.

  1. Upgrade to Proton Plus

Our Plus plan allows up to ten connections. If you are on our Free plan, you can upgrade for more connections.

  1. Change OpenVPN username and password and retry the connection

If all of the have not yielded good results, try changing your OpenVPN username and password as explained here and see if this enables you to connect again.

Warning: This will require you to reset all other existing devices which use the OpenVPN password (native clients will adjust automatically). Example: you have Tunnelblick set up on Mac successfully but encounter issues with iOS connections. If you reset your OpenVPN credentials, both devices need to be reconfigured.

  1. Get the latest OpenVPN config files

Periodically, we do update config files, and servers are sometimes removed, reassigned, or added. If none of the steps above are working for you, you can try using the OpenVPN config files for your platform.

To do this, log in to account using your Proton username and password (details here) and go to Downloads → OpenVPN configuration files.

  1. Check if you have paid for the services

When you register and pay for Proton VPN, you will be charged the moment you register. After the time you have paid for goes by, you will have to pay for the invoice that you will receive at the end of subscription.

To find your invoices, log in to account and go to →Payments →Invoices.

Regards,
Rachel Gomez