vpn shows connected but browser says no internet

TL;DR

A VPN that connects but leaves the browser offline usually means DNS is broken through the tunnel, a captive portal is intercepting, or the default route did not change. Test DNS first, then check for a captive portal, then the routing table.

The query

vpn shows connected but browser says no internet

Use this when

• VPN shows connected but every site fails to load
• works on some networks but not hotel or airport Wi-Fi
• internal resources work but public internet does not, or vice versa

Not for

• VPN client will not connect (fix the connection first)
• one specific site blocked (check content filtering)
• proxy-required networks without proxy config

Steps

1. Test DNS directly: resolve a public hostname with nslookup while connected. Expected output: you know whether DNS or traffic is broken
2. Check for a captive portal by opening a plain HTTP site or the OS portal detection. Expected output: portal found and completed, or ruled out
3. Check the routing table to see whether the default route points through the tunnel as your policy intends. Expected output: routing matches the intended split or full tunnel design
4. Try disabling the VPN kill switch briefly to isolate it as the cause. Expected output: you know whether the kill switch is blocking
5. Flush the DNS cache and retry the browser. Expected output: fresh lookups attempted
6. If split tunnel, confirm the split rules are not sending browser traffic into a dead end. Expected output: traffic flows on the intended path

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_Ab3wVxgxmPkdZYRfeLLdqw