Auto-reconnect is helpful on trains; on a broken config it becomes connect → health-check fail → drop → retry forever. Do not tap random cities while the spinner is already looping.
Break the loop
Disable in-app auto-reconnect and Android/iOS Always-on / block-without-VPN toggles. Force-stop the app, wait twenty seconds, manually connect a node that worked earlier today. Five stable minutes means the account is fine and the trigger is wrong; sub-30-second drops mean classic connectivity failure—follow connection fix.
Test on one network only. Elevators and flaky campus Wi‑Fi inject false reconnect events.
Four common drivers
OEM battery freezes: set unrestricted background power. Protocol mismatch: UDP/WireGuard handshake storms on filtered networks—switch TCP/OpenVPN temporarily (protocol field guide). Device kicks: router + TV + phone sharing one plan (device limits). Kill Switch plus a half-dead tunnel: disable Kill Switch while isolating.
Night-only loops
ISP session resets and sleeping gateways show up after midnight. Compare timestamps with WAN drops using the night disconnect advisory. Laptops that sleep may not need aggressive auto-reconnect at all.
When reconnect is safe again
Manual sessions hold 15+ minutes, battery policy is fixed, no mutual kicks, and you truly need seamless Wi‑Fi/cellular handoff. Update from the download page if the build is old; see FAQ and guides for account quirks.