Viscosity via NordVPN

Viscosity Support (macOS)
1

Hi,

I’m encountering an issue with connecting to my work VPN using Viscosity when NordVPN is active.

System Details:

  • Operating System: macOS
  • Viscosity Version: 1.11 (1675)

VPN Setup:

  • Primary VPN: NordVPN (standard VPN, UDP)
  • Secondary VPN: Work VPN using OpenVPN (UDP:1194)

Issue:
Previously, I could connect to my work VPN using Viscosity while NordVPN was connected. I achieved this by downloading the .ovpn config files for my work VPN, importing them into Viscosity, and connecting using the default Viscosity settings.

Recently, however, this setup has stopped working. When I connect to NordVPN first and then try to connect to my work VPN through Viscosity, I receive a “Network is unavailable” error.

Troubleshooting Steps Taken:

  1. Re-imported the .ovpn config files for my work VPN into Viscosity.
  2. Attempted to connect to my work VPN through Viscosity after NordVPN was connected.
  3. Checked for updates for Viscosity and macOS, ensuring both are up to date.
  4. Verified that the .ovpn files and settings are correct, as they worked previously.

Despite these steps, I am still unable to connect to my work VPN when NordVPN is active.

Any insights or suggestions on how to resolve this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

2

Update:

I managed to connect to my work VPN using Viscosity while NordVPN is active by disabling the Kill Switch on NordVPN.

I’m curious, was this the only possible solution?

3

Hi Panda,

I’m afraid we have no experience with the NordVPN client. Generally speaking, using multiple VPN clients at the same time usually isn’t a good idea, especially if one or both of them are configured to route all VPN traffic. You can end up with conflicting routes and DNS settings, and run into MTU issues.

Viscosity supports multiple VPN connections at once. You may like to consider importing your NordVPN VPN connection/s into Viscosity. You can find information about using VPN connections simultaneously at:
https://www.sparklabs.com/support/kb/article/using-multiple-vpn-connections-simultaneously/

Cheers,
James