Unable to connect to a public WiFi network when FREEDOME VPN is on (F-Secure Troubleshoot Windows)

Symptoms

I try to connect to a public WiFi network. To ensure that I can safely use the network, I have FREEDOME VPN turned on. However, I can’t connect to the WiFi network.

Diagnosis

There are two likely explanations why you are not able to connect to a public WiFi when FREEDOME VPN is turned on:

• VPN protocol is not allowed
• WiFi requires a login.

Solution

1. 1. VPN protocol is not allowed:

The administrator of the WiFi network has configured the wireless network so that it does not allow VPN protocols through. Some public WiFi providers only allow HTTP and HTTPS protocols and block everything else. If this is the case, there is nothing that can be done to get immediate access to the network. However, users of that particular public WiFi network could request the WiFi provider to allow VPN protocols.

1. 1. WiFi requires a login:

The public WiFi network requires that you log in before you are allowed to use the network. FREEDOME VPN usually detects that it is in a captive portal, but in some cases this is not however possible. If the network requires a login first, the connection will fail because FREEDOME VPN tries to make an encrypted VPN connection directly to the F-Secure servers as soon as the device connects to the public network. In this case, do the following:

1. Turn off FREEDOME VPN.
2. Log in to the public WiFi network.
3. Turn FREEDOME VPN on again.