To prevent the creation of accounts by spam bots, Proton VPN uses two different human verification methods. When you first sign up, you will be asked to choose how you will receive your human verification code, either via email or SMS. If you enter an email that is used for human verification in another account, it will be blocked. In rare cases, the SMS option may also be blocked. If this happens, please contact our Support team. They will ask you a few questions and then send you a link to help create your account.

DO NOT close the human verification page. This will void your recovery code and you will need to repeat the sign-up process.

Once your account is set up, if our system has trouble identifying you as a human when you log in, you may be asked to enter the verification code we send to you via your chosen method. We have an algorithm that determines when our users need to complete a verification method that considers many different factors.

Generally speaking, if you attempt to create multiple Proton VPN accounts, you may trigger a verification challenge. However, this is not the only factor that can lead to a human verification request. If you use certain Tor exit IPs, you may be asked to verify that you are a human, especially if those exit IPs are frequently abused by spammers or attackers attempting to brute force user accounts.

If you are only given the option of verifying your account via email or SMS and would like to avoid using these verification methods, you can upgrade to a premium account using PayPal or Bitcoin. For more information, please contact us using our support form. 

When you share your email or phone number to receive a verification code, we only keep a cryptographic hash of it. This hash is not permanently associated with the account that you create. Because hash functions are one-way functions, it is impossible for us to derive your phone number or email from that hash. However, if the phone number matches the phone number you originally shared with us when you signed up, it will result in the same cryptographic hash. By comparing hashes, we can detect the re-use of phone number or email addresses on other accounts.

If you encounter any issues with the human verification process, please contact our support team.

The post Proton VPN Human Verification appeared first on Proton VPN Support.

We may apply a coupon to your account, or you can apply one toward a paid subscription when you check out.

But beware that there are many scam websites offering fake Proton VPN coupons. Such websites are often phishing websites attempting to steal your login credentials.

If you see a Proton VPN coupon on a website that is not protonvpn.com, it’s a fake coupon. Please report it to our Customer Support team.

In general, please avoid third-party sites claiming to offer Proton VPN coupons as they may be malicious.

The post Proton VPN coupons appeared first on Proton VPN Support.

This means that even if an attacker gets a hold of your password, they cannot log in to your account unless they also have access to your mobile phone. We recommend enabling 2FA on your account to keep your account secure.

Here are some authenticator apps you can download on your mobile device:

Android

• Authy
• Google Authenticator
• Aegis Authenticator

iOS

• Authy
• Google Authenticator
• 2FA Authenticator

You can now also generate 2FA codes using Proton Pass.

How to set up 2FA

To set up 2FA in your Proton VPN account:

1. Log in to your Proton VPN account at account.protonvpn.com.

2. Go to Account → and toggle the Two-factor authentication switch on. You’ll be asked to provide password authentication.

3. Click Next to start your 2FA setup.

4. Open your authenticator app on your mobile device, and scan the QR code with your device’s camera.

Note: Do not scan the demo image shown below. Scan the image shown in your account settings.

If you prefer, you can enter the authentication key manually by selecting Enter key manually instead. Use this method for 2FA using the Proton Pass browser extension.

Once you have successfully added your Proton VPN account to your authenticator app, click Next.

5. Enter The one-time 6-digit code generated by your authenticator app, and click Submit.

6. You’ll also receive several one-time recovery codes. Please save these codes in a secure location. If you lose your authentication device, you can enter a recovery code instead of a one-time code generated by your authenticator app. You can only use each recovery code once.

Your 2FA setup is now complete. You can now use the authenticator app on your mobile device to create 6-digit verification codes to access your account.

How to use 2FA with multiple devices

If you wish to receive your 6-digit verification codes on multiple devices — for example, your phone and your tablet — you must install an authentication app on each device.

If you’ve already enabled two-factor authentication, you’ll need to disable it first.

1. Log in to your Proton VPN account at account.protonvpn.com.

2. Go to Account → and toggle the Two-factor authentication switch off. Click Disable and provide password authentication.

3. Toggle the Two-factor authentication switch back on and configure 2FA as described above. At step 4, all devices you want to use to authenticate 2FA must be configured at the same time and using the same QR code or manual authentication key.

The post Two-factor authentication on Proton VPN appeared first on Proton VPN Support.

There are many ways to log into Proton VPN. To access your account details to view your current plan, payment information, account details, and download OpenVPN config files, you need to visit account.protonvpn.com and sign in using your Proton Account username and password (if you are a Proton Mail user, this is the same as your Proton Mail login).

If you’re having trouble logging into your Proton VPN account, you can find solutions in the next section of this article.

If you are logging into our Windows VPN application, you need to also use your Proton Username and Password.

If you have trouble logging into the Windows VPN application, please visit this page.

If you are connecting to Proton VPN using a third party OpenVPN application, you’ll need to use your OpenVPN username and password. This can be found by signing in to account.protonvpn.com and going to the Account tab.

If you have trouble logging in with an OpenVPN application, please visit this page.

Common Proton VPN Account sign in problems

To sign in to your Proton VPN account to download configurations, manage your subscription or change your account details, go to account.protonvpn.com and sign in with the Proton username and password which you chose when signing up for Proton VPN.

Existing Proton Mail users can use their Proton Mail username and password to sign in directly, as your Proton VPN and Proton Mail accounts share the same login credentials. If you have trouble logging in, please try the following:

Disable Private Mode (Safari)

Safari – Ensure your browser is not set to “Private” mode. This is the default mode on some devices. Proton VPN does not work with Safari’s Private Mode because certain browser technologies we require are disabled by Safari in private mode.

Try Another Browser

If you are having trouble with your current web browser, please make sure it is updated to the latest version. If it is the latest version, please try logging in on a different browser to see if that fixes the login problem. If this solves the login problem for you, please let us know by reporting a bug so we can make Proton VPN compatible with your original browser.

Clear Browser Cache and Restart Browser

Sometimes, problems are caused by corrupted browser cache. To fix this, try clearing your browser cache and then restarting the browser. Instructions for how to clear your cache can be found here.

Disable Browser Extensions

If you are still having trouble logging in, please try logging in through the “Private” or “Incognito” mode of your browser (Safari excluded) or deactivating all extensions. If this step allows you to login, please try deactivating each extension one at a time and then test logging in to identify which extension is causing the problem. You can report problematic extensions to us here.

Make sure Javascript, Session Storage, and Cookies are enabled

To access your Proton VPN account in your browser, our website will not work unless Javascript, Session Storage, and Cookies are enabled. Sometimes, plugins may disable some of these features. Learn now to enable them here.

Reset Your Password

If you have a recovery email address linked to your account, you can also try resetting your password. The recovery email address is the email address you provided when you signed up for Proton VPN.

The following instructions apply if you used your Proton Mail account to get Proton VPN:

You can reset your Proton VPN account by password by resetting your Proton Mail login password, since the two accounts share credentials. If is also possible to reset your mailbox password if you are still using two-password mode in Proton Mail. Keep in mind that resetting your login or mailbox password will make all of the previous messages in your Proton Mail inbox unreadable.

Two Factor Authentication (2FA) Issue

Existing Proton Mail users have the ability to secure their account with 2FA. If you have two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled, it could also be a problem with your 2FA code generating device. Try to log in using one of the emergency recovery codes that we provided when you set up 2FA. Also, if the clock of your phone is off by more than 2 minutes, 2FA may not work properly, so you want to make sure the time is set properly on your phone (or sync the time with the network automatically).

Contact Us or Report a Bug

If none of the above methods work for you, please contact us so we can look into the issue further. We are also interested in hearing from you if any of the above methods fixes your login problem so that we can find the root cause and fix the problem.

Related articles

• How to download Proton VPN?
• Does Proton VPN store user data?
• How do I check for updates?

The post Solutions to Proton VPN Login Problems appeared first on Proton VPN Support.

Important note: If you reset your password, you won’t be able to read all your existing emails, contacts, and other files due to the encryption we use to protect your data (read on to see how to recover your existing data).

So if you know your password and simply want to change it, see how to change your Proton password instead of resetting it.

In this article, we explain:

• Ways to reset your password and recover your emails and other encrypted data
• How to reset your password using your recovery email address
• How to reset your password using your recovery phone number
• How to reset your password using your recovery phrase

Note if you’re using two-password mode

The default password setting in Proton is one-password mode. If you use two-password mode with one password to sign in to your Proton Mail account and a second password to decrypt your mailbox, resetting either of these passwords will revert your account to one-password mode. It will make your existing emails and other encrypted data unreadable.

As with one-password mode, you can follow these steps to recover your data if you know your mailbox password or have set a data recovery method.

Ways to reset your password and recover your emails and other encrypted data

If you forget your password, you’ll need to take the following two steps to fully recover your Proton Account and encrypted data:

Step 1. Account recovery: Reset your password using one of the following three options:

• Recovery email: If you’ve provided an email address, we can send a message to that address so you can reset your password.
• Recovery phone number: If you’ve given us a mobile phone number, we can send you a text to reset your password.
• Recovery phrase: If you’ve enabled your recovery phrase, you’ll be able to enter your 12-word phrase to reset your password.

Step 2. Data recovery: Recover your emails and other encrypted files using one of the following two options:

• Recovery phrase: If you’ve enabled your recovery phrase, you can use it to restore your emails and other encrypted data.
• Recovery file: If you’ve downloaded a recovery file, you can upload it to restore your emails and data.

Note that the recovery phrase can be used for both account recovery and data recovery.

In this article, we’ll look at the different ways you can reset your password (Step 1).

How to reset your password using your recovery email address

1. If you’ve forgotten your password, go to Sign in at account.protonvpn.com in a browser and select the Forgot password link.

2. Enter your Proton Mail email address or username and click Next.

3. Select Email, enter your recovery email address, and click Send code.

4. Enter the code that was sent to your recovery email address and click Reset password.

5. Read the warning. If you’re sure you want to go ahead, click Reset password.

6. Enter a new password in the New password and Confirm password fields and click Confirm to change your password.

After resetting your password by email or phone, you’ll need to recover your Proton Mail emails and other encrypted files. 

Learn how to recover your messages and other encrypted files after a password reset.

How to reset your password using your recovery phone number

1. If you’ve forgotten your password, go to Sign in at account.protonvpn.com in a browser and select the Forgot password link.

2. Enter your Proton Mail email address or username and click Next.

3.  Click on the Phone number tab. Enter your recovery phone number and select Send code.

4. Enter the code that was sent to your recovery phone number and click Reset password.

5. Read the warning. If you’re sure you want to go ahead, click Reset password.

6. Enter a new password in the New password and Confirm password fields and click Confirm to change your password.

After resetting your password by phone or email, you’ll need to recover your Proton Mail emails and other encrypted files. 

Learn how to recover your messages and other encrypted files after a password reset.

How to reset your password using your recovery phrase

If you’ve forgotten your password, you can reset it and restore access to all your messages and other encrypted data using a recovery phrase:

1. If you’ve forgotten your password, go to Sign in at account.protonvpn.com in a browser and select the Forgot password link.

2. Enter your Proton Mail email address or username and click Next.

3. Enter your recovery phrase in the space provided. You must enter the 12 words that make up your recovery phrase in the same order they were given to you. Click Reset password.

4. Read the warning, and if you’re sure you want to go ahead, click Reset password.

5. Enter a new password in the New password and Confirm password fields and click Confirm to change your password.

Resetting your password by recovery phrase should also give you access to your existing messages and other encrypted files, so your account should now be fully restored.

Related articles

How to create a free VPN account?

Do you offer a free trial?

Proton VPN application for Windows

Proton VPN MacOS application

Proton VPN Android application

How to use Proton VPN on iOS

Proton VPN Linux tool

The post How to reset the Proton VPN account password appeared first on Proton VPN Support.

Create a free VPN account

1. In your web browser, go to protonvpn.com/free-vpn and click the Get Proton VPN Free button. Or, you can click on the Create account button on our homepage.

2. If you use the URL above, once you click the Get Proton VPN Free button, you’ll be taken to the Create your Proton Account page. If you came from our homepage, you’ll need to click the Get Proton Free button on our signup page.

3. Enter a recovery email address. This is used in case you lose your password, so you can easily reset it and regain access to your account.

Click Start using Proton VPN when you’re ready. 

4. Set your password. To accept the password we randomly generate for you, simply click Continue with this password. 

Or you can click Choose my own password, enter your password of choice, confirm it, and click Set new password. 

You’re now ready to use your Proton VPN Free plan. You’ll be automatically taken to our Downloads page, where you can download the Proton VPN client for your platform.

With the Proton VPN Free plan, you can access Proton VPN servers in five countries: the Netherlands, Japan, Romania, Poland and the US. Free users can only connect one device at a time. 

If you like the Proton VPN Free plan, please consider upgrading to one of our paid plans. With a Proton VPN Plus or Proton VPN Unlimited plan, you can try our premium service risk-free for 30 days. If you find it’s not for you, just let us know within 30 days, and we’ll give you your money back. See our Terms and Conditions for full details.

See our Pricing page to compare our VPN plans. 

The post How to create a free VPN account appeared first on Proton VPN Support.