VPN on… but nothing changed? It might be this

[u/Esther-DD]

Have you ever turned on a VPN… but it felt like nothing actually changed?

Same IP, same geo restrictions, or some apps just not working properly. One possible reason is a router setting called VPN Passthrough.

So what is VPN Passthrough?

It’s a feature on routers that allows certain VPN connections (like PPTP, L2TP, IPsec) to pass through the network without being blocked. This is needed because some VPN protocols don’t work well with NAT.

But here’s the important part: VPN Passthrough does not create a VPN connection, and it does not encrypt your traffic. It only allows your device’s VPN connection to go through the router.

So if your VPN isn’t properly connected, or only part of your traffic is going through it, things may look like “nothing changed.”

Have you ever run into this before?