How to Check if Your VPN Is Working: 5 Quick Tests

“Is my VPN working?” is a fair question even when the app says you’re connected. A green icon can’t tell you whether some of your traffic is quietly slipping around the encrypted tunnel.

Here’s how to check if your VPN is working: compare your IP address with the VPN off and on, then run DNS, WebRTC and IPv6 leak tests and see what happens when the connection drops. If your real IP address and your internet provider’s DNS servers never show up, the VPN is doing its job.

This checklist takes about ten minutes, needs nothing but a web browser and works with any VPN on any device.

How to check if your VPN is working: 5 tests

Run the tests in order, in the browser you normally use and with any other VPN or proxy apps closed. Each takes a minute or two. Tests 2 to 4 are VPN leak tests, which look for traffic that escapes the tunnel even while the VPN is connected.

1. Compare your IP address before and after connecting

This is the most basic VPN test: if your IP address doesn’t change, nothing else matters.

1. Disconnect from your VPN.
2. Search for “what is my IP address” and note the address, location and ISP name shown.
3. Connect to your VPN and check again.

Pass: you see a different IP address, usually in or near the location you chose, and the ISP name is no longer your internet provider. VPN servers often show up under a hosting or data center company. Fail: your original IP address appears, which means your traffic isn’t going through the VPN.

Don’t worry if the location is a little off: IP location databases are imperfect and sometimes misplace VPN servers. What matters is that your own address is gone. Our guide on how to hide your IP address covers other methods.

2. Run a DNS leak test

DNS (Domain Name System) works like the internet’s phone book: each time you visit a site, your device asks a DNS server for its numeric address. If those requests skip the VPN tunnel, your internet provider can see every site you look up, even though the rest of your traffic is encrypted. That’s a DNS leak.

1. Connect to your VPN.
2. Search for “DNS leak test” and open a free testing site.
3. Use the extended test if one is offered; more lookups give a more reliable result.

Pass: the DNS servers listed belong to your VPN provider or a DNS service it uses, not your ISP. Fail: you see servers run by your own internet provider. Our guide explains what a DNS leak is and how to fix one.

3. Run a WebRTC leak test

WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is built into modern browsers so video calls and voice chats work without plugins. To connect people directly, it can discover your device’s IP addresses, and in some setups a website can read your real public IP through it, even with a VPN connected.

1. Connect to your VPN.
2. Search for “WebRTC leak test” and run one.

Pass: any public IP address shown belongs to your VPN. Private addresses such as 192.168.1.20 or 10.0.0.5, and random strings ending in .local, are internal to your network and don’t count as a leak. Fail: your real public IP address appears.

If you fail, check your browser’s privacy settings for an option to limit WebRTC, or use a reputable extension that blocks it, though that may break in-browser calls.

4. Check for IPv6 leaks

IPv6 is the newer, longer IP address format (for example, 2001:db8::1). Many ISPs and mobile carriers now give devices an IPv6 address alongside the older IPv4 one. If your VPN only routes IPv4 traffic, IPv6 traffic can travel outside the tunnel and reveal your real IPv6 address.

1. With the VPN off, check whether your IP results show an IPv6 address. If none appears, your current network probably doesn’t use IPv6, and you can skip this test on it.
2. Connect the VPN and check again, or search for “IPv6 leak test”.

Pass: no IPv6 address appears, or the one shown belongs to your VPN. Fail: the IPv6 address you noted with the VPN off still shows up.

To fix it, look for an IPv6 option in your VPN app’s settings, update the app or ask the provider whether it supports IPv6. As a last resort, you can turn off IPv6 in your device’s network settings, but some networks depend on it, so undo the change if your connection stops working.

5. See what happens when the connection drops

VPN connections drop now and then: when you switch networks, when your device wakes from sleep or when Wi-Fi cuts out for a moment. While the app reconnects, your device may send traffic over your regular connection, exposing your real IP address.

Some VPN apps offer a kill switch, a setting that blocks internet traffic whenever the tunnel is down. Android also has a system-level option called Block connections without VPN in its VPN settings. To test your setup:

1. Connect the VPN and open an IP-checking page.
2. Simulate a drop by switching networks, for example from Wi-Fi to your phone’s hotspot, or by turning Wi-Fi off and back on.
3. As soon as the connection returns, refresh the IP page repeatedly while the VPN app reconnects.

Pass: pages don’t load until the VPN is back, then show the VPN’s IP address. Fail: your real IP address appears, even briefly. If your app has a kill switch or a similar setting, turn it on and test again. If it doesn’t, wait for the app to show it’s connected before resuming anything sensitive.

Bonus: check your VPN speed

A VPN that works but crawls isn’t much use. Speeds vary from minute to minute, so compare several runs:

1. Disconnect the VPN, search for “internet speed test” and run it three times. Note the download speed, upload speed and ping (the delay, in milliseconds).
2. Connect the VPN and run the same test three more times.
3. Compare the averages.

Some slowdown is normal, because encryption adds overhead and your data travels farther. A big drop usually points to a distant or busy server or an older protocol, so try a closer location first. Our guide to whether a VPN slows down your internet covers more fixes.

Your VPN test results at a glance

What to do if your VPN fails a test

Work through these fixes in order, re-running the failed test after each one:

1. Disconnect, reconnect and restart your device.
2. Update the VPN app, your browser and your operating system.
3. Switch to a different server or protocol in the app’s settings.
4. Turn off other VPNs, proxies and security tools that might be routing traffic.
5. Use the VPN’s device app rather than a browser extension, which only protects browser traffic.
6. Contact the provider’s support team and share your test results.

If leaks persist after all that, consider switching services. Our checklist for spotting a trustworthy free VPN explains what to look for.

How often should you test your VPN?

You don’t need to test every day, but re-run the checklist whenever something changes:

• After you install or update your VPN app, browser or operating system.
• When you join a new network, like hotel, office or airport Wi-Fi.
• When you travel; see our travel cybersecurity tips for other precautions abroad.
• When you add browser extensions or switch browsers.
• When you set up a VPN on a new device; our VPN setup guide covers every major platform.

A quick IP check takes less than a minute, so make checking your VPN connection a habit whenever you join a new network.

The bottom line

Checking your VPN takes about ten minutes: confirm your IP address changes, make sure DNS lookups and your browser aren’t leaking, check IPv6, and see what happens when the connection drops. If everything passes, your VPN is doing its job. If something fails, the fix is usually a setting, an update or a different server.

The same tests work for any VPN, including OqusFreeVPN, which routes your traffic through an encrypted tunnel so websites see the VPN location’s IP address instead of yours. Its free apps for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and Linux are rolling out in Early Access, and you can follow along on the download page.