NordVPN’s Obfuscated Servers Greyed Out, Not Working, or Missing? – Here’s How to Re-Enable Specialty Servers!

As noted in our NordVPN review, this VPN offers a whole arsenal of advanced tools to help you preserve your online privacy. Among those, NordVPN’s obfuscated servers come as a solution to bypassing strong and aggressive anti-VPN measures. With that said, we’ll dedicate this article to showing you possible solutions when NordVPN’s obfuscated servers are greyed out, not working, or missing altogether. 

Before we proceed, know that NordVPN offers obfuscated servers on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS/iPadOS, and Linux. So, first, make sure to use one of the supported platforms. And now, here are 5 things to try to re-enable NordVPN’s obfuscated servers if they’re greyed out, not working, or missing from your local NordVPN client app. 

1. Switch to the OpenVPN Protocol

Know that NordVPN’s specialty servers (including obfuscated servers as well) are available only when using the OpenVPN protocol. With that said, we first recommend checking if your NordVPN app is set to use this protocol (and switch if you see some other protocol active). 

We already have a dedicated guide on how to switch to NordVPN’s OpenVPN protocol (to activate obfuscated servers), covering Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. So, make sure to use the provided link to learn more. 

2. Enable Obfuscated Servers Manually

Once you switch to the OpenVPN protocol (as explained in the previous step), NordVPN’s obfuscated servers should appear in its interface. However, some platforms allow you to enable and disable NordVPN’s servers manually, and those platforms are Windows and Linux.

Depending on which platform you use, click on the dropdown menu found just below to reveal our step-by-step guides.

3. Use OpenVPN-Enabled NordVPN (macOS Only)

If NordVPN’s obfuscated servers are greyed out, not working, or missing on your macOS computer, you need to make sure that you use the correct version of NordVPN. In other words, try to remember from where did your download NordVPN’s installation file and how did you install it on your Mac?

In case you’ve used the Mac App Store to download NordVPN, you’re currently using the version that’s powered by the IKEv2 protocol. Due to security restrictions of the Mac App Store, that version of NordVPN comes without the OpenVPN protocol, which is why you won’t find obfuscated servers in NordVPN’s interface. 

Differently said, to access NordVPN’s obfuscated servers, you need to download NordVPN from its official website (not from the Mac App Store). Install the app manually, and you'll get a whole slate of protocols, including OpenVPN. This will also get you access to NordVPN’s obfuscated servers, which will appear on the VPN’s home screen (just under the list of countries you’ll see on the left). 

4. Restart NordVPN’s Service (Windows Only)

Just like any other type of software, VPN apps can encounter technical issues. With that said, as a way to fix the problem of NordVPN’s obfuscated servers being greyed out, not working, or missing, we recommend restarting NordVPN’s service in the following way: 

1. If NordVPN is active on your Windows computer, quit the software. 
2. Press the 'Win' key on your keyboard and type in 'Services.'
3. Now, select the Services app using Windows' Start menu. 
4. Locate 'nordvpn-service' using the Services app interface. 
5. Right-click on the service and select 'Properties.'
6. Set the 'Startup Type' to 'Automatic.'
7. Close the 'Properties' window.
8. While 'nordvpn-service' is highlighted, pick 'Restart the Service' on the left. 
9. Close the 'Services' window and re-launch NordVPN. 
10. Make sure to use the OpenVPN protocol and try finding obfuscated servers. 

5. Update NordVPN’s Software

If NordVPN’s obfuscated servers are still greyed out, not working, or missing, we recommend updating the VPN app. Or even better, remove NordVPN from your computer and then install the app from scratch. That way, any technical glitches that were previously present should not transfer to the latest version of NordVPN once you install it on your computer. 

To update to reinstall NordVPN on your computer, do the following: 

1. Access Nord Account’s website using any Web browser. 
2. Provide your credentials and log in to your Nord account. 
3. Once you access your dashboard, pick ‘Downloads’ on the left. 
4. Download the NordVPN app for your device’s operating system. 
5. Install the app just like you would install any other software. That’s it!

That would be all on how to fix problems with NordVPN’s obfuscated servers and re-enable them. If you have any questions for us, post them via the comments section below. And lastly, thank you for reading!