-Windows 10 Pro 22H2
-NordVPN 7.10.4.0 (latest)
-AdGuard Ad Blocker 7.13.2 (latest)
-Windows Security (default antivirus)
AdGuard errors when using it side by side with NordVPN:
Error #1: “Connection error! An error occurred while using the AdGuard service. If the error persists, please contact technical support.”
Error #2: “Failed to start DNS protection. An external app might be affecting your network configuration. Try turning if off and restart DNS protection.”
Greetings. After testing both pieces of software for 3 months now, I noticed that AdGuard is a better Adblocker. NordVPN is way too aggressive when blocking Ads, to the point where entire websites get blocked. I’m very happy with Nord’s protection and speed though, so I want to keep both. Right now if I run both apps side by side, I get AdGuard connection errors.
I’m not using any other Antivirus, VPN service, or Ad Blockers, just NordVPN and AdGuard. Both programs work perfectly fine if used individually, which rules out all the answers Tech Support; for both of these programs, are requesting of me. I’ve already explained to them that both programs work fine when used individually, so why are they asking me to make changes to my Antivirus? Or provide who my ISP is? I feel like it’s an automated email they sent me, and it’s not an actual person who’s trying to help me.
I’ve read some things online about changing the proxy/server, Obfuscated servers and stuff like that but networking is not my thing. Has anybody here dealt with these kind of issues? Is there anything I can do to get NordVPN and AdGuard Ad Blocker to play nice when used side by side? Thanks.
See if you can manually set NordVPN to use adguard dns servers
I host adguard in docker on windows 10 and use Nord VPN meshnet to link them together with my Android phones, tablets and other PCs. I use my Nord Meshnet ip address in the Nord app settings “custom dns”.
Have you taken a look at this already?
If you don’t have a home server and AdGuard is only installed locally just treat it the same and see what the results are
I think the problem lies in that AdGuard uses it’s own VPN to block ads and it is conflicting with NordVPN. I pay for Nord, and I downloaded AdGuard, but I didn’t want to use it’s VPN, but I didn’t see an option to turn it off, so I ended up uninstalling it.
Thank you! I’ll give that a shot.
Are there any adblockers for firestick apps, even paid ones like Peacock, Discovery+, etc? I have NordVPN, and it does nothing to stop commercials in those paid apps, and when I use third party apps like Cinema and Film Plus, I still got those annoying ads that pop up immediately that you can’t back out from. I always have to hit the home button and reload the app, and it’s usually fine the second time.
The only thing I did figure out with Nord is that if I want to watch YouTube 100% ad free, i just need to change the country to Mongolia, Albania, Myanmar and Moldova, all of whwhich have youtube dont allow ads. Everything in account stays the same, the language stays the same, etc. I just switch it back to the U.S. when I’m done watching YouTube…
But anyway, I just hear a lot about adblockers on firestick working in browsers, and I want to avoid browsers as much as possible on my firestick because of the annoyance of typing on them. Are there any in-app adblockers that work that don’t involve running things in like the silk broweser, etc., but rather the actual app itself?
I’ll look it up. Let’s see if I can find a good guide. Thanks.
I use the AdGuard Ad Blocker app/software on my Pixel, Galaxy Tab, and Windows PC. There isn’t much use for it on my PC; however, on my smartphone and tablet I can quickly disable protection for specific apps that detect adblocking and won’t work with it. Thanks for the specifics. I’m definitely trying that. Thanks.
Thanks for the suggestion. Adding AdGuard’s DNS settings in the “custom dns” meets my needs for now. Nord’s ad blocking is not bad, but it’s a little bit over the top for me. After not getting a straight answer from tech support on how to bypass this issue, I’m glad there’s a few choices out there to choose from. Thank you.
That seems to be the ultimate ad blocking hub; however, I want the most simple option out there right now Lol. I’m sure as I get into this VPN/Ad Blocking stuff, I’ll try something different down the line. For now, I just wanted to hide my IP address (warnings from my ISP Lol) and block ads without blocking full sites like what Nord was doing some times. Thanks a lot.
I have a license to both Nord and AdGuard, and AdGuard customer service told me to disable split-tunneling in Nord if I wanted both programs to work simultaneously; apparently it has always been an issue. I’m using both just fine, but I have to disable Nord when casting my PC to my living room for gaming; Nord blocks my connection otherwise. I liked split-tunneling, but I only use it when gaming. I would rather have AdGuard’s ad blocking capabilities.
I’ve been trying different settings since yesterday, and this is how I got NordVPN to start blocking ads on “my” Firestick: Activate it > Settings > Auto-connect > turn on When using Wi-Fi (so you don’t forget to turn it on). Settings > DNS > Custom > 94.140.14.14 > Custom > Add another DNS server > 94.140.15.15 (that way you can use AdGuard’s ad blocking without actually installing the AdGuard app). I removed AdGuard from my Firestick and tried using NordVPN by itself, and I was still getting ads. Needless to say, NordVPN is great at hiding IP addresses but when it comes to blocking ads, AdGuard is better. At least for third party applications like Film Plus; which you mentioned, ad blocking seems to be working for me using NordVPN with AdGuard’s DNS servers as of the moment I’m typing this comment.
I also hate browsers so I try to use apps as much as I can, and as I said before, I only use AdGuard on my Firestick 4k Max (without NordVPN). Using the SmartTube app instead of the YouTube app also saves me the trouble of dealing with ads, and it’s free. An alternative to AdGuard is an app called Blokada which pretty much does the same thing as AdGuard and it’s also free.
I decided to try that Film Plus app you mentioned since it’s a third party one, and the first 2 photos in my link are with AdGuard turned off on my Firestick, and the last 2 with AdGuard turned on. It does seem to be blocking ads at the very least (I don’t know about commercials).
https://imgur.com/a/2TmgVKM
You’re welcome. Still a chance it won’t work, but worth a shot.
Well, contrary to others, I’d suggest using your NordVPN public IP for the AdBlocker DNS. Have you already tried this?
Do you know if adguard really blocks ads on firestick? Like on the 3rd party jailbreak apps and even the paid ones like Peacock, Discovery+, etc. I’m so sick of paying for apps and being forced to watch commercials.
But thanks for the info on split-tunneling on Nord. Where do I find that option? And if you or anyone else didn’t know, if you have a VPN, if you want to watch YouTube (anywhere…firestick, phone, computer) with no ads ever, before you go to YouTube, go to your VPN and set the country to Albania, Moldova, or Myanmar. I know that might sound sketchy because other than Albania, I haven’t heard of the other two countries, but if you have a trusted VPN like Nord, you are fine. Thoae countries allow youtube, but none of them allow youtube ads. So, change the country to one of them and go to YouTube. Everything is exactly the same. Language stays the same. Search and videos are the same, but not one ad will ever run. Just remember when you are done to switch the country back to what you would normally use because I have forgotten and tried to go onto Discovery+, or whatever, and it says, “We aren’t available in your area yet.” It’s not a big deal. You just go back and change it, but if you can remember, it saves an extra step later on.
I saw you posted this earlier, and I tried it, and so far, so good! It even blocked ads on my paid Peacock app, which has been the bane of my existence because it’s one thing to complain about seeing ads on free apps, but when you have to sit through commercials on streaming services you pay for, that really annoys me. So THANK YOU for this!!!
Yeah, “Thread Protection Lite” as well as the “Web Protection” tab caused the same issues for me; as far as the DNS settings defaulting to Nord’s. People reading what the app says might miss one of those 2 settings since only the “Thread Protection Lite” tab mentions anything about the DNS settings.
Everything is working fine with: 94.140.14.14 & 94.140.15.15 as the Custom DNS for NordVPN. Ads being blocked online just fine, VPN working, sites not being flat out blocked by Nord as of now. Thank you so much.
You mean using Nord’s server settings on the AdGuard app settings instead?