CactusVPN not working? Server limits, P2P servers and blocked networks

We don't test connections ourselves, so below is what CactusVPN says about its own apps and policies. Many problems come down to restrictions that are easy to forget.

A second device knocks the first one offline

CactusVPN allows any number of devices within one household. With PPTP, L2TP, IKEv2 and WireGuard, though, each server accepts only one connection. If your phone and laptop pick the same WireGuard server, one of them will not get a connection. Connect the second device to a different server, or switch it to OpenVPN, SSTP or SoftEther; the service does not list such a restriction for those protocols.

Traffic is unlimited, but the terms state that speed can be restricted if your usage interferes with other users.

Torrents and streaming

Torrents are allowed only on seven P2P servers: Amsterdam, Nuremberg, Zurich, Riga, Iasi, Madrid and Cyberjaya. Downloads will not work on other locations. For video services, CactusVPN offers Smart DNS with support for more than 340 sites, but Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+ and Prime Video are not explicitly named among them.

If your VPN is blocked

On a network where VPN traffic is cut off, enable obfsproxy or the VPN over ICMP and VPN over DNS modes; dedicated obfuscated servers are available for this. The service does not state whether it supports VLESS, Shadowsocks or Trojan, and it has no servers in the Middle East or North Africa. If CactusVPN's obfuscation is not enough for you, check the list of VPNs with obfuscation.

CactusVPN does not say whether it has a server status page, so the easiest way to check for an outage on its side is to contact support: chat and tickets are available around the clock, and there is an article base. Services that publish their server status are collected in the list of VPNs with a status page.