How to access TikTok with a VPN

TikTok is a social media app where users can share short videos of themselves singing, dancing, and lip-syncing. The app allows users to edit and add special effects to their videos. TikTok has become extremely popular with young people, particularly Gen Z. The app has been downloaded over 1 billion times and has over 500 million active users.

While generally, the App is pretty stable and reliable, there might be instances where you may not be able to access the App.

If you are facing this problem especially if you also have a VPN installed, then read on for some troubleshooting.

Why is TikTok not working

There could be several reasons why TikTok might have stopped working for you.

Here are a few things you can try to get TikTok up and running again:

1. Check your internet connection

Make sure you have a strong internet connection. If you’re on WiFi, try moving closer to your router. If you’re on mobile data, try turning off WiFi and see if that helps.

2. Restart the app

Sometimes all you need is a fresh start. Closeout of the TikTok app and then reopen it. This can often fix small glitches and make the app run more smoothly.

3. Update the app

If you’re not running the latest version of TikTok, that could be causing problems. Head to the App Store or Google Play to see if there’s an update available, and install it if there is.

4. Clear your cache

Over time, your app can start to slow down as it fills up with cached data. Clearing your cache can help speed things up again. To do this on TikTok, go to your profile settings and select “Clear Cache.”

5. Uninstall and reinstall the app

If none of the above works, you may need to uninstall and then reinstall the TikTok app. This will delete all your data from the app, so make sure you’ve backed everything up first!

6. While outages are uncommon, checking if TikTok is down might help explain the issue.

How to access TikTok if it is banned in my Country

1. If you are in a country where TikTok is banned, then the app will not work.
2. If that is not the case, then check whether you have updated to the latest release of the App.
3. Check whether your phone is updated with the latest software. This could especially be an issue if a new OS software has been released but you have not updated your mobile.
4. Check whether you can access TikTok from the web. If you can access the App from a web browser such as Chrome or Microsoft Edge, then the problem could be in your mobile.
5. Try to log out from the App and then log in again.
6. Try to uninstall the app and then reinstall it.
7. Do ensure, when uninstalling the App, that you have first logged out of it and then only uninstall it.
8. Install a VPN to bypass TikTok security measures.
9. If your account is from a country where the App is banned/blocked, then even if you use a VPN, then TikTok will know that it is you trying to access the App. In this case, also the App will not work for you.

If the above steps do not seem to be working for you, don’t worry, we still have a few other tricks up our sleeve.

Has your TikTok account been Banned? Check here on how to get it working again.

Why is TikTok not working even when VPN is installed? 

There are a few reasons why TikTok might not work when you’re using a VPN.

You might have installed a VPN and might even be paying a monthly fee for it, only to discover that TikTok is still not working.

Your App might be launching but then as soon as you click on anything, it might freeze up or just crash. 

Or in some cases, users have even reported that the tik tok app just does not launch.

Or you might just get the msg that TikTok is not working in your country.

Even while trying to browse from the web, you might not be able to access TikTok.

What to do now?

Well, let’s try some tricks and see if we can make the app work.

• One possibility is that your VPN is blocking access to the app If it is, you’ll need to contact your VPN provider and ask them to unblock TikTok.
• If your VPN isn’t blocking access to TikTok, the next step is to try connecting to a different server. Some servers are better optimized for TikTok than others, so you might have better luck with a different server.
• You should also try to change the server country. This is because if the server is based in a country where the app is blocked, then obviously the app will not work.
• Another possibility is that TikTok is detecting that you’re using a VPN and preventing you from logging in or accessing content.
• The VPN is not properly set up, so requests are still going through the normal network. This typically happens when you are using a less trustworthy VPN.
• If you are using a free VPN, then the request can be easily backtracked to the original person/device, resulting in the blocking of the app.
• If you’re still having trouble, the last thing you can try is to disable your VPN and try accessing TikTok without it. In some cases, TikTok will work without a VPN, but your connection will be less secure.

If the above steps do not work, we still have one more trick up our sleeve which will enable you to access TikTok.

How to Access TikTok with VPN installed.

• Logout of your account
• Uninstall the App from your phone.
• Clear the cache in case you are using Android mobile.
• Check whether any folders have been created by the App, especially on Android.
• Delete those folders also.
• Install a good and reliable paid VPN such as NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or SurfShark. Any one of these will do. Why we suggest a paid VPN is simply because you will get reliable service and more importantly, it will allow you to choose your server country location. This is highly important as you will find out in the next step. 
• Choose the server country where you know TikTok is working.
• Download the App again.
• If you are downloading from Apple Store, then you might have to create a separate iCloud account. Ensure that you have selected your country of residence as the same that you have selected in the VPN server country.
• If you are downloading from the Google Play Store, then also you will have to create a separate Play Store account with the country of residence being the same as the VPN server country.
• Install the App.
• Create a separate account while ensuring that you mention the place of the country as being the same one that you have selected in the Apple Store/Google Play Store and the VPN server Location.

Voila, your TicTok app will be up and running and you will be able to access the App and all its features.

Unfortunately, by using this method, you will not be able to access your old account with all its data such as followers, posts that you have liked, etc.

Rather you would be starting completely afresh.

Also, do ensure, that whenever you relaunch the App, always and always enable the VPN first, with the server country location set to the same, and then only open the App. 

Now that your TikTok App is up and running once again, do let us know which one of these methods worked for you.

We will try to update this post as and when we come to know of more tricks and tips to keep your account up and running.

Hopefully one of these tips will help get TikTok working again for you. If not, you may need to wait for an update from the app developers. In the meantime, there are plenty of other great video apps out there to explore!