Before you connect
- Record your baseline public IP.
- Note ISP/ASN shown for your regular network.
- Close tabs that may cache old geo/IP results.
After you connect VPN
- Confirm public IP changed.
- Confirm ISP/ASN changed from baseline.
- Confirm approximate location matches selected server region.
- Retest once after reconnecting to another VPN server.
Leak sanity checks
- Run a WebRTC exposure check and compare off/on results.
- Verify split tunneling is disabled for your browser during testing.
- If available, enable kill switch and DNS leak protection.
Decision rule
If your public IP and network identity changed consistently, your VPN is likely working as intended. "VPN not detected" labels on third-party sites are secondary and often unreliable.
Run the comparison here: VPN Status Check
Related: Is my VPN working? · VPN connected but not working