Having trouble connecting to my VPN

Since I’m a bit of a novice when it comes to this kind of thing, I’ll try my best to explain the situation clearly.
Essentially, I need to access a handful of websites that are geo-blocked—specifically sites based here in the US—so I’ve been searching for software that can simulate an American IP address. After looking around, I found some recommendations for a few different VPN services, specifically NordVPN, Norton, and ExpressVPN. I started by installing the first one, and everything worked perfectly for a few days, but then out of nowhere, I just couldn't connect anymore. It isn't just the US servers; I can't connect to any of them at all. The connection icon just spins endlessly without ever actually establishing anything. I tried a full reinstallation of the software, but that didn't fix a thing. Then I moved on to Norton, which also worked fine initially until the exact same thing happened—I click connect, wait a few seconds, and then get an error message saying it's impossible to establish a connection. Needless to say, I ran into the identical issue with the third option as well.
To be clear, I haven't installed any other new software or messed with any of my network settings during this time.
If anyone has an idea of what might be causing this sudden breakdown, I would truly appreciate it. Being able to reach those specific sites is quite important for me right now.
Thank you.

Maybe they just don't want people using a VPN.
Netflix is one of those, I guess.

Are you running on the free version or did you actually pay for it? If you're sticking to the free stuff, maybe you just hit a data cap or something...

Nicholas Edwards2 said:Since I’m a bit of a novice when it comes to this kind of thing, I’ll try my best to explain the situation clearly.
Essentially, I need to access a handful of websites that are geo-blocked—specifically sites based here in the US—so I’ve been searching for software that can simulate an American IP address. After looking around, I found some recommendations for a few different VPN services, specifically NordVPN, Norton, and ExpressVPN. I started by installing the first one, and everything worked perfectly for a few days, but then out of nowhere, I just couldn't connect anymore. It isn't just the US servers; I can't connect to any of them at all. The connection icon just spins endlessly without ever actually establishing anything. I tried a full reinstallation of the software, but that didn't fix a thing. Then I moved on to Norton, which also worked fine initially until the exact same thing happened—I click connect, wait a few seconds, and then get an error message saying it's impossible to establish a connection. Needless to say, I ran into the identical issue with the third option as well.
To be clear, I haven't installed any other new software or messed with any of my network settings during this time.
If anyone has an idea of what might be causing this sudden breakdown, I would truly appreciate it. Being able to reach those specific sites is quite important for me right now.
Thank you.

I just finished installing Betternet, but from what I can see, there doesn't seem to be an option to change my location? It keeps defaulting to a Swiss server, but I really need a US one.

Nicholas Edwards2 said:I just finished installing Betternet, but from what I can see, there doesn't seem to be an option to change my location? It keeps defaulting to a Swiss server, but I really need a US one.

Private Internet Access (PIA) has servers everywhere, including plenty of exits in the USA.
That said, nobody can promise you that those specific sites you're trying to hit haven't already blacklisted their IP addresses.

PIA operates in over 70 countries, and they have about 15 different exit points right here in the US.
But like I said, I've no clue if the services you're looking for have blocked them or not.

Just one thing I gotta ask... Are you having trouble getting the VPN to actually connect at all, or does it connect just fine but then won't let you reach the specific site you're looking for?

Honestly, maybe grabbing a paid VPN would be the move... they usually put way more effort into it, constantly updating stuff and swapping out servers...

goldenmason8 said:Just one thing I gotta ask... Are you having trouble getting the VPN to actually connect at all, or does it connect just fine but then won't let you reach the specific site you're looking for?

Honestly, maybe grabbing a paid VPN would be the move... they usually put way more effort into it, constantly updating stuff and swapping out servers...

Look, I didn't see anything about this being free. They just mentioned it's for use over in America.
If we're talking freebies, then PIA is obviously off the table.
It would be nice if they'd just come out and say what they actually want.