Issue: I can’t connect to Hotspot Shield on my Android device. I click CONNECT, and it just spins. Or, it connects briefly and then disconnects.
How to fix connection issues on an Android
If you notice the connection being unstable on your Android device when connected to our VPN, first, please make sure you are running the latest version for Android in the Google Play Store.
Second, check if your Android is rooted or not.
To help determine what's causing our app to disconnect, here is what you should try :
Turn off any apps that might interfere.
To isolate the cause, temporarily disable any third-party app that may interfere with your connection. For example, a firewall with strict settings, another VPN application, or antivirus. Then restart the device to see if the connection improves.
Turn off battery-saving mode.
The phone's battery-saving mode turns off a lot of features, including some networking functionality. Try turning off Battery Saver or any similar feature if it is on.
Clear Hotspot Shield’s app cache.
Next, many common problems like this can be fixed by clearing Hotspot’s Shield cache and data. Please follow the steps below, or you can visit the support page on Google here.
How to clear Hotspot Shield’s app cache
- Open your Android Settings
- Find the Applications & Notifications area
- Select Hotspot Shield
- Tap Storage
- Select both Clear Cache as well as Clear Data
- Reboot your device and launch Hotspot Shield again
Note: Clearing the app's data will remove all your settings, and you will need to log back in again, so make sure you have access to your username and password.
Restart your Android device.
This may appear to be a simple procedure, but it will reset your network and give you a fresh start.
Try other locations.
To change the location, click the Auto option (refer to the image), where you'll find a complete list of our different virtual locations. Try at least a few different servers to see whether the problem persists.
Switch to a different network.
Finally, if you are still having trouble connecting, connectivity issues may be present. This is common when an Internet provider places limits on its network. To see if this is the case, try connecting to a different network and see if the connectivity issues remain.
On your Android, you may simply do this by switching from Wi-Fi to a mobile data network or vice versa.
How to turn off the Smart Network switch on Android
- Go to Settings > Wi-Fi > Advanced
- Uncheck Avoid Poor Connection
- Go back to Settings > Wi-Fi
-
Uncheck Smart Network Switch.
For more information, please see: