If Tor Browser fails to connect, most guides will give you a list of steps and ask you to go through them, such as restarting the program, reinstalling, trying a bridge, switching off your antivirus, and just praying. You might end up wasting an entire evening in that manner. The better method is to consider the one piece of information that Tor provides free of charge, which is the point at which the progress bar stops.
Getting connected to Tor isn’t a single step. It’s a series of steps. You first reach a relay, then prove your identity to it, download the list of all the relays in the network, and finally put together a circuit. Failures generally occur at a stage that can be predicted. When the clock is wrong, you usually get as far as a certain point before the process stops. If the network is censored, it usually fails at the very first step. A faulty proxy setting causes the connection to fail almost at once. Once you know where it stopped, you are often able to jump directly to the correct solution.
The structure of this guide reflects how a support volunteer would approach the issue. It starts with a brief table that shows each symptom and the most probable cause. After that there are nine solutions, arranged according to where the problem is located, whether on your own computer, on the network you’re using, or in the Tor Browser installation. Each of the fixes describes what happens when it is indeed the cause, so that you know when to stop and move on.
What follows refers to the current stable version, Tor Browser 15.0.25, which was released on 12 October 2026. If you are using an older version, go to fix 7 first. If any of the terms below are unfamiliar to you (such as guard, consensus, bridge or pluggable transport), our Tor glossary gives each one a simple English explanation.
First decide where it stops#
The progress bar in Tor Browser gives a simplified picture of the process. For the full details you should look at the Tor log (fix 9 explains how to open it), where each stage is shown as a line beginning with “Bootstrapped” followed by a percentage. The exact phrasing varies slightly from version to version, so it is better to look at the name of the stage rather than focusing on the number.
| What you see | Where it stopped | Most likely cause | Try first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fails within a second or two, nothing in between | Before reaching any relay | Proxy setting pointing at nothing, or a firewall blocking Tor outright | Fix 3, then fix 2 |
| Stuck very early, around “Connecting to a relay” or “Finishing handshake” | Can’t reach the first relay | Network or country blocks Tor, or a misconfigured proxy | Fix 4, then fix 5 |
| Gets to a relay, then stalls on “Loading relay information” or directory steps | Downloading the consensus | Wrong system clock or time zone | Fix 1 |
| Log says “Clock skew” or “please check your time, timezone, and date settings” | Same | System clock is wrong, full stop | Fix 1 |
| Worked yesterday, now stuck early with a bridge | First hop | Your bridge has been blocked or gone offline | Fix 6, then fix 5 |
| Reaches the end, then “Tor exited unexpectedly” or a crash | After startup | Antivirus quarantined a file, or corrupted Tor data | Fix 2, then fix 8 |
| Connects, but every website times out | After connecting | Usually not a connection problem but a security level, a single blocked site, or a captive portal on public Wi-Fi | See the last section |
| Nothing makes sense | Anywhere | Old or tampered install | Fix 7, then fix 9 |
Before you begin, remember to alter just one thing at a time and try again after each change. If you turn on a bridge, change your clock and switch off your antivirus all together, you won’t know which of these actions made the difference, and you will have weakened your system for nothing.
Problems on your own computer (fixes 1–3)#
Start here even if you suspect censorship. These three checks are free, take about two minutes, and cause a surprising number of failures even in places where Tor is not blocked at all.
Fix 1. Correct your clock, date and time zone#
This is the most frequent reason why Tor fails to establish a connection, as the Tor Project’s own support pages state. The explanation is straightforward. Every hour the network issues a signed list of relays known as the consensus, and each version of this list is only valid for a short period. If your computer believes it is a different day, a consensus that is otherwise perfectly valid will appear to have expired or to not yet be valid, and Tor will refuse to use it.
What it looks like. Tor reaches a relay and then hangs while “Loading relay information” is displayed. In the log you will see a warning about clock skew, for example stating that your clock is behind or ahead by “2 days, 0 hours” or something similar, followed by a request to verify your time, timezone and date settings.
How to fix it.
- On Windows, go to Settings, select Time & language, and then choose Date & time. Make sure that “Set time automatically” and “Set time zone automatically” are turned on before clicking “Sync now”.
- On macOS, go to System Settings, then General, and choose Date & Time. Make sure that “Set time and date automatically” is turned on and that the time zone matches the place where you actually are.
- On Linux, run
timedatectlin a terminal. If “System clock synchronized” says no, turn on NTP by enteringsudo timedatectl set-ntp true. - On Android, go to Settings, then System, then Date and time, and turn on “Set time automatically”.
A sneakier version of this issue is a clock which displays the correct local time but is set to the wrong time zone. Your screen shows 14:00, which is the correct time for you, but the computer thinks it is in a time zone five hours away and so has a five-hour error in universal time. Since Tor operates on universal time, it detects this discrepancy. Always verify the time zone, not just the position of the clock’s hands.
This problem can also occur with a dual-boot setup of Windows and Linux, since the two operating systems disagree on whether the hardware clock stores local time or UTC. If your clock is wrong by exactly your UTC offset each time you switch between systems, this is the reason.
More recent versions of Tor tolerate small clock errors considerably better than in the past. However, obfs4 bridges are still more sensitive than a direct connection, so a drift of one or two hours can be enough to break them.
Fix 2. Let your antivirus and firewall allow Tor#
Security software at times regards Tor with suspicion, since it is a program that opens encrypted connections to thousands of strangers, just as malware does. In some cases the connection is blocked without any notice, while in others one of the files required by Tor Browser is quarantined, causing the browser to fail in strange ways.
What it looks like. Tor either fails right away or very early on a network where Tor is not censored, or it works at first and then starts to crash with the message “Tor exited unexpectedly”. Your antivirus history might list a file from the Tor Browser folder that has been blocked or quarantined.
How to fix it. Open your antivirus or firewall and create an exception for the Tor Browser folder, which on Windows means adding firefox.exe and tor.exe. Restore any files from that folder that have been put in quarantine. If you want to confirm the diagnosis, temporarily pause the antivirus, make one attempt to connect, then re-enable it and add the exception properly. Don’t leave the antivirus off.
Two habits help here. First, don’t move the Tor Browser folder after you’ve installed it, since some security tools will then treat the moved copy as a new and unknown program. Second, if you’re using a computer at work or school, the block could be a company policy which you can’t change. In that situation the only reasonable solution is to use your own device.
Fix 3. Remove (or correctly set) a proxy#
Tor Browser can use a local proxy if your network requires one. Many people turn this feature on while experimenting, forget about it, and later wonder why nothing is working. If the proxy address points at nothing, Tor fails almost immediately.
What it looks like. An immediate failure, or the log shows a proxy connection failure while stuck at the handshake stage.
How to fix it. Open the menu (≡), select Settings and then Connection, scroll down to the Advanced section and check the setting for how Tor Browser connects to the internet. If you don’t know of a proxy on your network, there shouldn’t be one here either. Just remove it and reconnect.
There is also the opposite situation. In some offices, universities and hotels it is only possible to reach the web through a proxy. If a normal browser on that network has proxy settings configured, enter the same address, port and type (HTTP/HTTPS, SOCKS4 or SOCKS5) into Tor Browser. Bear in mind that a network which forces you through its proxy can see that you’re using Tor. You can avoid this by also using a bridge with a pluggable transport (see fix 5).
A running VPN or a “privacy” app that intercepts system traffic can cause the same problems, so pause it while you’re testing. You don’t need a VPN for Tor to work, and our guide on Tor Browser vs VPN explains when it makes sense to use both.
Problems with the network you’re on (fixes 4–6)#
If your clock is set correctly, your antivirus is not blocking anything and there is no stray proxy, but Tor is still unable to reach its first relay, the network is likely stopping it. This could be a national censor, your ISP, or simply the Wi-Fi at a strict school or hotel. The tools below are designed for exactly this situation and are already built into Tor Browser. If you’re in a censored country, our list of BBC and DW onion sites in your language is a useful first stop once you’re connected.
Fix 4. Let Connection Assist try first#
If a direct connection fails, Tor Browser will offer to diagnose the problem for you. This feature, known as Connection Assist, estimates your general location and then selects a bridge or Snowflake configuration which is likely to work in that area. As the Tor Project’s own instructions state, when Tor is blocked in your area, Connection Assist will automatically attempt to connect using a bridge or Snowflake.
What it looks like when it works. The first attempt fails, you select the suggested option, and the second attempt succeeds. That’s it.
When to move on. If Connection Assist itself can’t make the connection, or the option it picked last week has stopped working, set up a transport manually (fix 5). Connection Assist is a reasonable first step, but it is not the most reliable option in the countries where censorship is most severe.
If you’re concerned about the country it guesses, you can tell it which country you’re in instead of letting it detect one.
Fix 5. Switch to a different bridge type#
A bridge is an unlisted entry point into Tor, and a pluggable transport disguises the traffic going to it. Tor Browser includes four types, all of which are run by a single helper program known as Lyrebird. Since censors do not block all of them to the same extent, switching the type is often the solution that finally works.
To choose one, open the menu (≡), then Settings, Connection and Bridges, and pick one of the built-in bridges.
| Transport | Disguise | Try it when | Weak spot |
|---|---|---|---|
| obfs4 | Looks like random noise | First choice on most networks | Censors that block “unrecognisable” traffic catch it |
| WebTunnel | Looks like an ordinary HTTPS website | Networks that only allow web traffic on port 443 and inspect packets | Fewer bridges exist, so built-ins get blocked faster |
| Snowflake | Looks like a video call, via volunteer proxies | Heavy censorship, and it needs no bridge address | Speed varies with whichever proxy you get |
| meek | Looks like visiting a big cloud service | Almost everything else is blocked | Slow, so use it to get on and then switch |
For a first attempt, the Tor Project recommends working through obfs4, WebTunnel, Snowflake and meek one at a time. Some regions have their own quirks. In Turkmenistan, for instance, the support pages say that Snowflake works most reliably when configured to use the AMP cache. Our complete guide to bridges, Snowflake and WebTunnel goes through it country by country.
There are two points to note. Bridges are slower than direct connections, so a page that takes a few extra seconds doesn’t mean there’s been a failure. Also, a transport which works on your home internet might not work on your phone’s mobile data, since ISPs in the same country don’t always block the same things. And if you live somewhere uncensored, you can return the favour by running a Snowflake proxy, as explained in how to help the Tor network.
Fix 6. Get fresh bridges from the Tor Project#
Anyone who downloads Tor Browser knows about the built-in bridges, and that includes censors. In countries such as Russia and Iran they are frequently blocked within a few days. If the built-in bridges stop working, request private ones. There are four official methods.
- In Tor Browser, go to Settings → Connection → Bridges, click “Find more bridges” and then request bridges. After you have solved the CAPTCHA, the bridges are added automatically.
- Go to bridges.torproject.org and copy the bridge lines. In the advanced options you can select a transport.
- On Telegram, message @GetBridgesBot and then enter either
/obfs4or/webtunnel. This is usually the simplest option when the bridges website is blocked. - Send an email to [email protected] from a Gmail or Riseup address.
To use the bridges you have received, select Settings → Connection → Bridges → “Add new bridges” and paste each bridge line on a separate line.
Here are three tips that will save you a great deal of frustration. If obfs4 keeps failing, ask for WebTunnel. Never post your bridge lines in public or in large group chats, since shared bridges get discovered and blocked. And if all else fails, write to the Tor Project’s human support desk at [email protected] or to @TorProjectSupportBot on Telegram. They respond in several languages and can send bridges which are not distributed automatically. A Russian user on the Tor forum recently said that after testing about 200 bridges from public channels, only a small number were stable, so asking a person is not overkill.
Problems with Tor Browser itself (fixes 7–9)#
Once you’ve ruled out your computer and your network, the installation itself is the last suspect. These remedies take a bit longer, but they do account for the odd, inconsistent failures that the earlier ones fail to explain.
Fix 7. Update, or reinstall cleanly from the official site#
Older versions of Tor Browser may fail to connect for reasons that have nothing to do with you, such as outdated bridge lists, expired certificates, or Tor code that newer relays no longer get along with. September and October 2026 were also particularly busy. During that period the core Tor software received a number of urgent security updates, and Tor Browser in turn released versions 15.0.22, 15.0.23, 15.0.24 and now 15.0.25, which includes Tor 0.4.9.14. Being two or three releases behind right now is both a connection risk and a security risk. Details of the changes are in our Tor Browser 15.0.25 release notes and the Tor Project’s announcement.
How to fix it. If Tor Browser opens at all, select the menu (≡), then Help, then About Tor Browser, which checks for updates. If it fails to update or is behaving oddly, carry out a clean reinstall.
- Only get a fresh copy from the official download page, since fake Tor Browser installers are a well-known scam and a modified version may fail to connect or may connect somewhere you do not want.
- Install it into a new folder rather than over the existing one. The Tor Project specifically advises this so that leftover files from a previous installation don’t cause problems.
- If you can, check the signature of the download before you run it. Our guide on how to install Tor Browser safely goes through the process step by step.
If torproject.org is blocked where you are, you can use GetTor, the Tor Project’s official alternative download service. You can reach it by emailing [email protected] or by messaging @gettor_bot on Telegram, and it replies with links to the official mirrors. Never download Tor Browser from a random file-sharing site just because the official one is blocked.
Fix 8. Reset Tor’s saved data#
Tor keeps a small amount of state from one session to the next, namely the relay list it downloaded last time, the guard it selected, and your connection settings. Sometimes this data becomes corrupted, most often after a crash, a power cut, or an antivirus scan that interrupts a write. The outcome is a Tor Browser that fails in ways that vary from one launch to the next.
What it looks like. “Tor exited unexpectedly”, errors when reading a file, or a connection failing even though a fresh installation on the same machine succeeds.
How to fix it. Close Tor Browser, then open its Tor data folder.
- On Windows and Linux, it’s inside the Tor Browser folder, under
Browser/TorBrowser/Data/Tor. - On macOS, it’s at
~/Library/Application Support/TorBrowser-Data/Tor.
Move the file called state and all the files beginning with cached- into a backup folder, then restart Tor Browser. It will download a new relay list and rebuild its state. If this still doesn’t work, a clean reinstall (fix 7) is faster than continuing to hunt for other causes.
There is a small trade-off worth being aware of. When state is deleted, Tor picks a new guard relay. Tor intentionally keeps the same guard for months, since each new pick is another chance of choosing a bad relay. One reset is fine, but doing it every week would defeat the purpose.
Fix 9. Read the Tor log#
The log is the most useful troubleshooting tool in Tor Browser, yet very few people open it. It shows each stage of the connection, the exact error, and often the cause in plain words.
How to open it. You can open it from the connection screen, or by going to the menu (≡) → Settings → Connection, scrolling down to the Advanced section and selecting the option to view the Tor logs. Copy the logs and paste them somewhere. On Linux you can also launch Tor Browser from a terminal with ./start-tor-browser.desktop --verbose to watch the log in real time.
What the common lines mean
| If the log says something like… | It means | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| “Clock skew” or “please check your time, timezone, and date settings” | Your system clock is wrong | Fix 1 |
| A proxy connection failure while stuck at the handshake | A proxy setting is wrong or missing | Fix 3 |
| “Connection refused”, “No route to host” or repeated timeouts to the same relay | The network is blocking Tor’s first hop | Fixes 4–6 |
| Bridge handshake errors, or a bridge that “is not usable” | That bridge has been blocked or is offline | Fix 6 |
| A managed proxy or pluggable transport “exited” | Something killed the transport helper, often antivirus | Fix 2 |
| “Bootstrapped 100%: Done” | Tor connected, so the problem is elsewhere | Last section below |
If you post a log on a forum to ask for help, remove your bridge lines and any IP addresses first. A public bridge line will be blocked soon after a censor reads it, and your IP is the one thing Tor exists to protect.
Still stuck? Check whether it’s really a connection problem#
Many of the cases where people say that Tor won’t connect actually come down to something else. When the log shows that Tor has bootstrapped to 100%, Tor is connected, and the issue lies beyond that point.
Public Wi-Fi with a login page. Cafés, airports and hotels often make all traffic wait until you agree to their terms on a “captive portal”. Tor Browser can’t display that page through Tor. So first open a normal browser, agree to the terms and then start Tor Browser.
One site fails while the rest load. Some websites block or challenge visitors who arrive through Tor exit relays. To get a different exit, open the menu (≡) and choose “New Tor circuit for this site”. If an .onion site fails to load, carefully check all 56 characters of the address, since a single wrong character will take you to a different site or to none at all. Our guide on how to verify an onion address is useful here, our official onion mirrors directory lists checked addresses, and our mirror status report shows which official onion sites are currently offline.
Pages load but look broken. This is most often caused by the Safest security level in Tor Browser switching off JavaScript, not by a connection problem. Read Tor Browser security levels explained before you lower your security level, or see the Tor Browser manual for what each level changes.
On a phone. Tor Browser for Android has the same Connection settings, bridges and Connection Assist as the desktop version, so fixes 1 and 4 to 6 still apply as written. For iPhone users, the Tor Project suggests Onion Browser. Our article on using Tor on Android and iOS covers both platforms. If you need Tor for other apps as well, the Tor Project’s Tor VPN beta for Android includes obfs4 and Snowflake, although it is still in beta and not intended for high-risk use.
In Tails. Tails assumes that your computer’s hardware clock is set to UTC. On a machine that normally runs Windows, which stores local time, this can put the clock off by several hours and particularly affects obfs4 bridges (see fix 1). Tails 7.15, released on 13 October 2026, includes Tor Browser 15.0.25. For more information, see our Tails guide.
Where to ask for help#
If you’ve gone through all nine fixes, you’ve done more troubleshooting than most support requests contain. Take that to the people who can see the full picture.
- Tor Project support. Contact [email protected] or message @TorProjectSupportBot on Telegram. Humans reply, in several languages.
- The Tor Project forum. Search first, since somebody in your country has most likely hit the same block this month. Remove any bridge lines and IPs before you paste a log.
- The official support pages. They give country-specific advice on getting around censorship and keep it up to date as censors change their methods.
Using Tor is legal in most countries, but not in all of them. If you’re somewhere it is actively punished, please read our note on the legal and ethical use of Tor before you start experimenting with bridges.
One final point. Once you’re connected, check the address bar each time you visit an onion site. Getting Tor working is the easy part. Not handing your login details to a fake mirror is what actually keeps you safe, and our guide to hidden wiki scams shows the tricks to watch for.
Sources#
- Connecting to Tor, Tor Project support (clock skew, proxy errors, antivirus, reinstalling in a new folder)
- What to do if access to Tor is blocked, Tor Project support
- Connecting to Tor from censored regions, Tor Project support
- Where to find Tor bridges, Tor Project support
- New Release Tor Browser 15.0.25, Tor Project blog (12 October 2026)
- Bridges and support in Russia, Tor Project forum
- Tails 7.15 released, Linuxcompatible (13 October 2026)