Every couple of days Gluetun will fail to launch because Nord is saying AuthFail. My credentials haven't changed and are only about a week old. It sometimes resolves itself after awhlie. TomAI and Nord's chat bot were trying to sort the issue out but TomAI doesn't quite understand how Nord is wanting to upload a configuration file. My question: Nord's reply to your questions: The OpenVPN configuration files provided by NordVPN use standard OpenVPN settings and AES-256-GCM encryption, which are compatible with most OpenVPN clients, including Gluetun in SparkBox. Yes, you'll need to load the NordVPN configuration file as a custom OpenVPN config in Gluetun. Make sure you use the updated config file from the NordVPN manual setup page, and enter your NordVPN service credentials (not your account credentials) when prompted. SparkBox AI replied: Nord confirms the file is compatible with Gluetun in general, but that doesn’t tell us how SparkBox expects a custom config to be loaded. I don’t have that SparkBox workflow documented, so I won’t guess at a folder or upload method. One useful update: I ran SparkBox’s doctor, and it now reports the VPN Tunnel and VPN Server Selection checks passing. So the VPN is connected right now; that doesn’t establish whether the intermittent drop is fixed. Don’t upload the .ovpn file into a random NAS folder or replace SparkBox-managed files. Use Share to demox so Tom can confirm the supported custom-config method for this box. What I still need help with: (describe what didn't work or what's still broken)
9 replies
Chris wrote:
I can see why this is confusing: the doctor passing now only confirms the tunnel is connected at the moment, not that the recurring AuthFail is fixed. The SparkBox setup differs depending on whether you selected NordVPN as the provider or Custom OpenVPN, so I don't want to guess at an upload folder or have you replace SparkBox-managed files. Which VPN option did you select in SparkBox, and what SparkBox version is installed? Please don't post credentials or the .ovpn file here.
leftskidlow wrote:
I don't recall what options I selected at setup, but according to my VPN tunnel settings I have Nordvpn as the provider and openvpn as the protocol. Sparkbox version v1.6.848.
Chris wrote:
Thanks, that confirms you selected NordVPN as the provider with OpenVPN on SparkBox 1.6.848, so the custom-config instructions in the quoted AI answer do not apply here. The tunnel passing now only tells us it is connected at this moment; it does not explain the recurring AuthFail. When it happens again, could you share the few Gluetun log lines around the AuthFail and say whether the VPN tunnel is shown as disconnected? Please redact any credentials or keys, and do not post a config file.
leftskidlow wrote:
2026-10-04T00:34:26.154499941Z 2026-10-03T18:34:26-06:00 INFO [openvpn] SIGUSR1[soft,auth-failure] received, process restarting 2026-10-04T00:34:36.155206011Z 2026-10-03T18:34:36-06:00 INFO [openvpn] TCP/UDP: Preserving recently used remote address: [AFINET]169.150.203.143:1194 2026-10-04T00:34:36.155272935Z 2026-10-03T18:34:36-06:00 INFO [openvpn] UDPv4 link local: (not bound) 2026-10-04T00:34:36.155285871Z 2026-10-03T18:34:36-06:00 INFO [openvpn] UDPv4 link remote: [AFINET]169.150.203.143:1194 2026-10-04T00:34:36.271676058Z 2026-10-03T18:34:36-06:00 INFO [openvpn] [us10261.nordvpn.com] Peer Connection Initiated with [AFINET]169.150.203.143:1194 2026-10-04T00:34:37.408931303Z 2026-10-03T18:34:37-06:00 ERROR [openvpn] AUTH: Received control message: AUTHFAILED 2026-10-04T00:34:37.409034173Z 2026-10-04T00:34:37.409048400Z Your credentials might be wrong 🤨 2026-10-04T00:34:37.409058905Z 2026-10-04T00:34:37.409066718Z
Chris wrote:
Thanks for sharing those lines. They confirm that OpenVPN reached the Nord server and received AUTHFAILED at that time, but they don't tell us why the server rejected authentication. When this happens, does the VPN Tunnel check in SparkBox's doctor also show a failure, or does it still pass? Please don't post credentials or a config file.
leftskidlow wrote:
The VPN tunnel states that it is down
Chris wrote:
That confirms the tunnel is down while NordVPN rejects OpenVPN authentication; it does not point to an upload or network-connectivity problem. NordVPN OpenVPN uses its separate service credentials, not the account sign-in (SparkBox's guide: https://tomsparkbox.com/guides/media-server.html). Could you check whether the username saved in SparkBox is the service username from Nord's manual-configuration page? Please don't post the username, password, or config here.
leftskidlow wrote:
The username and password are copied and pasted from the generated service credentials, not my account log in. It works for several days and then pops up with this despite not having changed anything.
Chris wrote:
Thanks—that’s an important distinction, and I’m sorry I sent you back to recheck credentials you’d already confirmed. The log shows the connection reaches Nord’s server before the server returns AUTHFAILED; it doesn’t establish why Nord rejected it, and there’s no evidence here of a custom-config upload problem. Please contact NordVPN support with the failure time and the server name from your own log, and ask them to check why that authentication was rejected despite your service credentials remaining unchanged. Don’t post your credentials or config here. If Nord confirms the credentials/account are still valid, let us know that result and we can continue checking the SparkBox side.