How To Fix No TAP Adapter Available Error On OpenVPN

The error of No TAP Adapter Available Error On OpenVPN or All TAP-Windows adapters on this system are currently in use usually happens when the OpenVPN TAP (Network Adapter) has been disabled by you (mistakenly) or by your system.

To resolve this, please follow the steps below, please try the workaround as per below.

All TAP-Windows Adapters On This System Are Currently In Use

First of all, click on the OK button when you see Connecting to (Your VPN) has failed error.

How Do I Enable the TAP Adapter?

At the search box at the bottom left, type in Control Panel and open it.

In the Control Panel menu, click on Network and Internet.

Now, click on Network and Sharing Center

Next, click on Change adapter settings on the left side of your screen.

Find the one that is called ‘Local Area Connection XX or Ethernet XX (XX denoting a number) and that has a description of TAP-Windows Adapter V9.

If it’s disabled, right-click on it and choose Enable and you can now use OpenVPN again.

Adding OpenVPN TAP Adapter Manually

If you don’t see the TAP-Windows Adapter V9, it could have been deleted and you will need to add it back again manually.

To do so, please follow the steps below:

Windows XP, Vista & 7: Go to Start – All Programs – Tap-Windows

Windows 8, 8.1, & 10: Windows + Q, and look for Add a New Tap

Right-click on Add a New Tap Virtual Ethernet Adapter and select Run as Administrator.

If you do not have the Run as Administrator option (Windows 8, 8.1 & 10), select Open File Location, right-click on Add a New Tap Virtual Ethernet Adapter and select Run as Administrator. 

Follow through the instructions and you’ll end up with the following screen:

Now, press any key on your keyboard to continue and give the VPN another try.

Note: If you are still on an older version of the OpenVPN application, you can find the tool in the location below:

Start – All Programs – OpenVPN – Utilities 

Can’t Setup A TAP Network Adapter?

If you can’t find the option to add the OpenVPN TAP adapter or the installation has failed as per the error below, Please re-install OpenVPN to the latest version.

Re-install OpenVPN

We suggest that you download a free application removal tool called Revo Uninstaller. This is a great tool to remove applications, leftover files and broken registry keys.

Once OpenVPN has been removed, please scan for leftover files and registry keys. Remove them and restart your computer.

Finally, download the latest version of OpenVPN from the official website and install it on your computer.

Best VPN Provider

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Conclusion

Adding/re-enabling the OpenVPN TAP adapter should be pretty straight forward but often, VPN providers don’t update the OpenVPN client on their site which can lead to such issues.