Quick answer: If ExpressVPN is stuck on “Connecting” for the USA – St. Louis server, go to Menu → VPN Protocol and manually switch from Automatic to Lightway – UDP. That single change is what got us connected in under 10 seconds after being stuck for over a minute on Automatic.
ExpressVPN St Louis Server Not Connecting Below is exactly what we saw, what we tried, and why the fix works — with our own screenshots, not stock images.
The Problem We Ran Into
ExpressVPN St Louis Server Not Connecting: We selected USA – St. Louis as our location and tapped connect. Instead of the usual quick handshake, the app sat on a spinning grey icon that said “Connecting”, with a status message underneath:
Still trying to connect.
Time Protected for the week was still at 0h, and there was no VPN IP assigned yet — a clear sign the tunnel wasn’t establishing, not just loading slowly.
What We Tested On
Being upfront about the test conditions matters, because your results depend on similar factors:
- App: ExpressVPN Android app, connecting over a mobile LTE connection with intermittent Wi-Fi
- Server: USA – St. Louis
- Starting protocol: Automatic (recommended) — ExpressVPN’s own default
- Wait time before troubleshooting: just over 60 seconds of “Still trying to connect” before we intervened
We didn’t force-close the app or restart the phone first. The first thing we checked was the protocol setting, because a stalled handshake on a specific server is most often a protocol mismatch, not a dead server.
The Fix, Step by Step
- Open the ExpressVPN app and tap the menu icon (top left).
- Go to VPN Protocol.
- Under Select Protocol, switch from Automatic to Lightway – UDP.
- Under Select Lightway encryption, leave it on Automatic (recommended).
- Go back and reconnect to USA – St. Louis.
Within about 10 seconds of reconnecting, the app switched to a green Protected screen with a live VPN IP for St. Louis:
No app restart, no phone reboot, no server switch — just the protocol change.
Why This Actually Fixes It
ExpressVPN St Louis Server Not Connecting to ExpressVPN’s Automatic setting picks a protocol based on what it thinks your network prefers, but it doesn’t always get it right — especially on mobile carriers or networks that quietly restrict certain VPN ports. Lightway is ExpressVPN’s own protocol, built for a lighter, faster handshake, and the UDP variant in particular tends to get through restrictive networks better than TCP because it doesn’t wait on the same connection setup process.
In short: Automatic guessed wrong for our network, and manually forcing Lightway – UDP skipped the guesswork entirely.
If Lightway – UDP Doesn’t Fix It For You
Protocol mismatch is the most common cause, but it’s not the only one. If switching to Lightway – UDP doesn’t connect:
- Try Lightway – TCP — slower, but it gets through networks that block UDP outright.
- Switch networks briefly (Wi-Fi ↔ mobile data) to rule out a local network block.
- Try a different server to confirm it’s not a St. Louis-specific outage.
- Update the app if you haven’t recently — protocol handling improves with each release.
- Contact ExpressVPN support if the same server fails across every protocol; it may genuinely be down on their end.
Quick Answers
Why is ExpressVPN stuck on “Connecting” for St. Louis specifically? In our test, it wasn’t the server — it was the Automatic protocol setting failing to complete a handshake on our network. Manually setting Lightway – UDP fixed it immediately.
What protocol should I use if Automatic isn’t connecting? Start with Lightway – UDP. If that fails, try Lightway – TCP, which is more likely to get through stricter networks at the cost of some speed.
Does switching protocols slow down my connection? No — Lightway – UDP is generally ExpressVPN’s fastest protocol, so manually selecting it usually helps rather than hurts.
Will this same fix work for other ExpressVPN servers, not just St. Louis? Yes. This isn’t specific to St. Louis — any server can stall under Automatic protocol, and manually setting Lightway (UDP first, then TCP) is the standard fix across locations.
Is it safe to turn off Lightway NAT heartbeats? Yes. It only affects how fast some apps get push notifications while connected, and turning it off saves battery without affecting your ability to connect.
Related:ExpressVPN Santa Monica Ping Test: What 452ms Latency Actually Means
Tested manually on the ExpressVPN Android app in 2026. Screenshots are from our own device, not stock images. Your results can vary based on network, carrier, and app version — if Lightway – UDP doesn’t resolve it right away, work through the additional fixes above before contacting support.
