Valet: Running Valet with ExpressVPN

[johnnymatthews]

Hi all,

I'm running Laravel Valet 2.0.7 on macOS High Sierra (10.13.3) with ExpressVPN. When I have the VPN client running, none of my Laravel sites work (I get a This site can't be reached error). When I turn my VPN off, the Laravel sites work fine.

Has anyone else encountered this issue? Obviously the workaround is to not use my VPN while coding, but if I'm working while out and about, I'd rather have a secure connection I can trust.

[drbyte]

I'm guessing there's some conflict between how your VPN software works vs how dnsmasq works.

When I use NetShade VPN I can still access all my valet sites.

Might be worth testing some edits to your dnsmasq.conf settings. I posted mine here awhile back: https://github.com/laravel/valet/issues/115#issuecomment-241275816

[atmediauk]

Having the same issue as well. Tried editing dnsmasq.conf as suggested above but unfortunately still no luck :(

Laravel Valet 2.0.12
MacOS High Sierra (10.13.6)

[drbyte]

It sounds like the VPN client is overriding the DNS provided by dnsmasq.
You should be able to fix this by changing the sort-order of dns providers in your network DNS settings.

[aerni]

Having the same problem with ExpressVPN and Laravel Valet. Anyone found a solution?

[johnnymatthews]

I wasn't able to find a solution @aerni90. I emailed ExpressVPN when this whole thing happened months ago, but they weren't able to figure anything else. I've now moved VPN provider (ProtonVPN) and no longer get this problem.

[paihz]

Having the same problem with ExpressVPN and Laravel Valet. Anyone found a solution?

I connect using PPTP,problem solve.

[drbyte]

I think the title of this issue should reflect that the problem is with ExpressVPN.
And probably close the issue.

[markvdputten]

I had this same issue, but there seems to be a quite simple solution for this, when you open the preferences of ExpressVPN and go to Advanced, you can de-select the option "DNS: Only use ExpressVPN DNS servers while connected".

I did this, after which Valet is working as expected again, also I ran the dns leakage test on the ExpressVPN website and all still seems to be just fine...

[aerni]

@markvdputten Thanks for this solution. Works great!

[danny-freeman]

@markvdputten Absolute life saver been messing around with all the settings for a few days now. Lost so much work time. Thank you!