Split tunnelling stopped working after upgrading older Windows client to newest
Dear All,
Background:
OK so I'm a paying ExpressVPN customer running Windows 10. I had been using the older ExpressVPN client for Windows without any issue. I believe it was version 12.104.0.128, and I'm not sure if that counts as being the 'legacy version' or not? Or was only those versions circa 10 the legacy version? It didn't stop working on 31 March 2026 (and was still working fine today) so I'm not sure if that means perhaps it isn't the legacy version?
Regardless, I happened to discover today that the latest version of the Windows client (14 onwards) offered a kill switch option that wasn't available on the older client. On the older client, there was no option to have the kill switch active when the VPN was not connected, as in when it was deliberately not connected through being turned off with the big 'Power' button in the client. Whereas on the newest client, this option does exist and is called 'Enable at all times'.
Current issue:
So anyway, I upgraded today from the older client to the newer client purely in order to get this specific feature, and this feature now works as it should 👍
However, split tunnelling has now completely stopped working for me after this client upgrade ☹️
My split tunnelling setup both pre and post-upgrade was for the VPN set to protect absolutely everything (including my regularly installed version of Chrome) except for two specified exceptions, these being a second portable version of Chrome and a normally installed version of Firefox. Thus I could use my regularly installed version of Chrome for regular web browsing, and use those two other browsers specifically (and only) for non-VPN traffic on sites that explicitly blocked VPNs. This had all functioned perfectly fine pre-upgrade, but now post-upgrade both Chrome portable and Firefox totally refuse to connect to the internet when the VPN is running, with the connection always just eventually timing out.
I've tried restarting both those browsers and the ExpressVPN client with no luck either. It's worth noting that changing the ExpressVPN split tunnelling app selection switch for those apps from 'Bypass VPN' to 'Only VPN' makes them instantly work again, but that's only with them working through the VPN and not actually excluded from the VPN as desired. But this does show that the client is correctly identifying the two specific programs in question for the purposes of split tunnelling.
I notice that in the new client there is a banner saying "The legacy ExpressVPN client uninstallation has failed" although I'm not sure whether that would be having any bearing on this specific issue, seeing as it clearly the newer version of the client running now, and the remains of the older version of the client presumably not having any confounding influence over something as specific as this.
Many thanks in advance for any suggestions. I'll obviously contact support directly about this as well, but figured it was worth posting here too in case any other users can provide input.
LH