TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms. It’s quite popular among the young generation and it’s the prime reason why schools, universities, workplaces, and education institutes ban the service on their premises. If inaccessible in your region or area, use the tricks below to unblock TikTok with or without a VPN.
TikTok, a Chinese company, doesn’t have a good relationship with many governments and authorities worldwide. The service has been banned in regions like India and is currently facing heat from regulators in the US. Several reasons can come in the way of you accessing TikTok in your region. Let’s go through some troubleshooting tricks.
1. Check With Your School or Office IT
Before we start, confirm the TikTok ban from your school or office IT. You should contact your organization’s IT department and confirm the ban on the social media app.
The authorities may ban TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitch, and other social media and gaming services. If TikTok is indeed banned or restricted in your school or university, continue reading to unlock the app.
2. Use a VPN or Proxy to Bypass IP Restriction
When TikTok is blocked on your school’s IP address, you need to use a VPN or a proxy server to bypass the restriction. There are hundreds of free proxy servers out there. If you want to hide the IP address, a free proxy server should do the job. However, if you want to hide your browsing activities from prying eyes, make sure to establish a VPN network.
A VPN connection also encrypts the data and offers hundreds of servers to access restricted apps and services.
Use Another Server
When you use a VPN, you have several servers to choose from. If TikTok is inaccessible on a specific server, connect to another server and try accessing the service again.
You should connect to a VPN server where TikTok is completely legal to use.
Don’t Use a Free VPN
Like proxies, there are hundreds of VPNs to choose from. However, you shouldn’t use a free VPN app to access TikTok. Free VPN apps often deliver slow internet speeds and come with limited data.
TikTok consumes a lot of internet data, and you may face issues accessing the service on a free VPN. You should go with top VPN apps like ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, and more.
3. Restart Router
Did you establish a VPN or a proxy server and still face issues with accessing the app? You should reboot the router and try again. If your router’s firmware is outdated, install the latest version.
4. Reset Network Connection
You can also temporarily reset the network connection on your phone and try accessing TikTok at school or university.
You should enable Airplane mode on your phone, wait for some time and turn it off. If network issues persist on your phone, reset network settings. You can check our dedicated guide to learn the implications of resetting network settings on iPhone and Android.
5. Use Mobile Data
When TikTok is unavailable to use on your school or café’s Wi-Fi network, use mobile data. You should disable Wi-Fi on your phone and access the app on mobile data.
6. Avoid Wi-Fi Dead Zones
Your school or university may have several Wi-Fi dead zones. You should check the Wi-Fi network bars at the top and move to a location where Wi-Fi connectivity is better.
7. Check TikTok Servers
If TikTok servers are down, you can’t access the service on your school Wi-Fi. You can’t load your home feed, send or receive messages, or tweak your profile.
You should visit Downdetector and search for TikTok to confirm the problem. You may notice high outage graphs and user comments complaining about the problem. You need to wait for TikTok to resolve the server-side problems and try again after some time.
8. Clear TikTok Cache
TikTok collects app cache in the background to improve app performance. When the app has a corrupt cache, you face issues with using the app. You can clear the app cache and unlock TikTok without a VPN.
Step 1: Open TikTok and go to your profile. Tap the hamburger menu at the top and open Settings & privacy.
Step 2: Scroll to Free up space and clear cache.
You are all set to use TikTok on school Wi-Fi.
9. Update TikTok
An outdated TikTok app can develop incompatibility with your device software. You should update TikTok to the latest version and try using it on your school Wi-Fi.
Swipe Up in Style
TikTok not working on school Wi-Fi can be confounding. A capable VPN or a proxy server should unlock the app on your device. Since we’re on the subject, let us know which VPN app you use in the comments below.
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