Firefox Community Forum

Hi tHello Mozilla Support Team,

I am a user from Iran, and I have been using Firefox's built-in VPN (the 50 GB monthly VPN included with a Mozilla account).

Previously, I was able to use the built-in VPN directly with my Iranian internet connection, without needing any external VPN or proxy.

However, after connecting to an external VPN configuration while using Firefox, the built-in VPN stopped working independently.

Now, whenever I disconnect my external VPN and try to enable Firefox's built-in VPN, I receive the following error message:

"VPN is unavailable due to local laws and restrictions."

Interestingly, the built-in VPN works again whenever my external VPN is connected.

I have already tried restarting Firefox, testing a different internet connection (mobile hotspot), and checking my browser's connection settings. Unfortunately, none of these steps resolved the issue.

I would like to emphasize that I was previously able to use this feature from Iran without an external VPN connection.

Could you please investigate why my access has changed and let me know whether there is a way to restore the previous functionality?

I would really appreciate your help, as I rely on this service and would like to continue using it.

Thank you for your time and support.

Best regards

Hello,

Until about 10-20 hours ago, the Firefox built-in VPN was working fine for me. Suddenly it stopped working and I can no longer enable it.

I have not used up my 50GB monthly limit.

When I try to turn the VPN on, after a few seconds I get this error:

VPN is unavailable Local laws and restrictions limits where you can use VPN

Also, when I check about:config → browser.ipProtection.enabled, I see this response:

{"subscribed":false,"uid":5956457,"maxBytes":"53687091200","limited_bandwidth":true}

Could you please check why the VPN became unavailable even though my data limit is not exhausted?

Thank you.

Dear Firefox VPN Team,

I am an ordinary Iranian user who works online for several hours every day, and I have been using Firefox for more than 20 years. As you know, in recent years, and especially in recent months, access to the open internet has become very difficult for many users in Iran. The introduction of the built-in VPN in Firefox, and especially its fast connection speed, opened a ray of hope for Iranian users, and I am sincerely grateful to you for it.

Today, however, when I tried to use the browser's VPN again, I received a message saying that it is unavailable because of local laws and restrictions. It seems that I can no longer use this feature from Iran.

I respectfully ask you to stand with the people of Iran in these difficult times. We are ordinary people who, far from political noise and regional tensions, are simply dealing with the everyday challenges of making a living.

If this change is the result of a legal requirement, I would be grateful if you could let me know whether there is any way for users in Iran to continue using the feature, or whether it might be restored in the future. If it is a technical error, I kindly ask you to look into it.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Sincerely, Hassan

To the Mozilla Support and Engineering Teams,

I am writing to express profound disappointment regarding the recent decision to implement GeoIP blocking against Iranian users on your VPN infrastructure.

The Mozilla Manifesto explicitly states that the internet is a global public resource that must remain open and accessible, and that individuals' security and privacy are fundamental and must not be treated as optional. By actively blocking connections from a region experiencing some of the most severe internet censorship in the world, Mozilla is directly contradicting its own core principles.

When you implement geographical blocks against Iranian IPs, you are not just managing network traffic or mitigating bandwidth usage. You are actively participating in the isolation of people who rely on secure tools to access the open web. Cutting off access to privacy tools based on geography effectively means you are doing the censors' work for them.

True internet freedom cannot be conditional on a user's country of origin. A genuine commitment to an open, secure web means protecting access for those who need it the most, not locking them out. I urge the leadership and engineering teams to reconsider this policy and actually stand by the open-internet values Mozilla claims to represent.

Subject: Firefox Built-in VPN Suddenly Unavailable in Iran

Hello Mozilla Support Team,

I have been using Firefox's built-in VPN without any issues until yesterday.

Suddenly, when I try to enable it, I receive the following error:

"VPN is unavailable – Local laws and restrictions limit where you can use VPN."

I am using Firefox on Ubuntu Linux.

Interestingly, if I temporarily connect through an HTTP proxy (Every Proxy), the VPN connects successfully. After the connection is established, I can disable the proxy, and the Firefox VPN continues working normally.

This makes me suspect that my direct IP address is being incorrectly classified or that something has recently changed in the geographic availability check.

I understand that I am a resident of Iran. Have you deliberately blocked this service in Iran? In a country where people arguably need this service more than ever?

We need VPN services not only for online security and privacy, but also to access various services that are essential for our everyday activities.

I sincerely ask you to reconsider this restriction and make Firefox VPN accessible to users in Iran again.

People in Iran deserve the same access to online privacy, security, and freedom as everyone else. I truly hope you will reconsider this decision and help us regain access to this valuable service.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,

Hello Mozilla Support,

Firefox’s built-in VPN suddenly stopped working on my computer. It had been working well just a few minutes before the issue started. Websites still load normally when I turn the VPN off, but I can no longer use the VPN successfully. Closing and reopening Firefox did not resolve the issue.

I also wanted to share how much I’ve enjoyed this feature. Ever since the built-in VPN became available to me, I’ve been using Firefox all the time and have been very happy with the experience. It has become one of the main reasons I choose Firefox for my everyday browsing.

Could you please help me troubleshoot this issue and get the built-in VPN working again? I would appreciate any steps or solutions you can suggest.

To clarify, this is Firefox’s built-in VPN, not the separate Mozilla VPN application.

Thank you for your help and for making this feature available.

I was using Firefox’s built-in VPN when it suddenly stopped working. I signed out of my Firefox account and then signed back in. The VPN now displays “Signed in successfully!”, but it remains stuck on “Getting started…” and never finishes connecting. the issue persists. Could you please help me resolve this problem?

hi im reaching to you from Iran, you recently removed our access to your built-in VPN which we, as Iranian people are in dire need of free access to internet so here i am asking you, please reconsider about we using your VPN we are in need of something like this. with high regards.

Hello Mozilla Support Team,

I'm experiencing an issue with Firefox's built-in VPN.

The VPN was working perfectly until a few minutes ago, when it suddenly stopped connecting and displayed the following error:

"Couldn't connect to VPN."

After that, the VPN panel started showing the "Get started" page again. Whenever I click the button and sign in with my Mozilla account, my email is successfully verified, but I'm redirected to the same page.

Here are some details:

Firefox version: 159.0.1

Mozilla account sign-in: Successful

Regular internet connection: Working normally

Enterprise Policies: Inactive

Signing out and signing back in: Didn't solve the issue

Could you please investigate whether this is an account authorization issue or a problem with the VPN service?

Thank you for your help.