Using ChatGPT in China: Why It Fails and What Matters

The first is the network. From a network in mainland China the service’s servers are unreachable: pages spin forever, connections time out, the app reports a network error. Google failing to load belongs to this layer too.

The second is the service’s own regional restriction. Services like ChatGPT are offered in a limited set of countries and regions, and they look at where each request comes from. A request from an unsupported region is turned away even when the network path is fine. The supported list is the service’s decision and it changes, so its own website is the reference.

Judge the two separately. The first goes away once a working route is connected; the second depends on where that route exits. Most cases of “the VPN is on and it still does not work” are stuck on the second.

On LeoTun a region is served by several machines, so two connections to the same region may show different IP addresses. That is normal; what you keep fixed is the region, not one address. For choosing by carrier, see Which Region Is Fastest from Inside China: narrow the list to regions the service supports, then take the fastest of those.

• An exit in a supported region: pick a specific overseas region in the client or on the router’s admin page. Whether that region is supported is for the service’s published list to say.
• The same region every time: services notice where an account signs in from. One country today and another tomorrow invites re-verification and sometimes restrictions. Choose one and stay with it.
• No country changes mid-session: switching region halfway through a conversation usually invalidates the session and you have to sign in again.
• The cost of a shared exit: any exit shared by many people — a VPN, a proxy, an office network — meets human-verification prompts and temporary limits more often than a home line does. That comes with shared addresses. When it happens, move to another supported region and then stay there.

When a site like Google Search does not open, the cause is the network layer alone. No regional support question is involved, so the checks are shorter. Confirm the route is connected, then go through these.

• Inside China with split routing on: switch to Global once. If Global works and split does not, the address is missing from the split list; send it to support.
• Another proxy extension is installed in the browser: disable it first. Two extensions compete for the proxy setting.
• You are on the web proxy: check that the extension in this browser is in a proxy profile and not set to Direct.
• Other overseas sites fail as well: the route itself is the problem. Work through Cannot Connect, Slow, or Dropping: What to Check.

• The page spins, times out or never opens: the network layer is not through. Either the route is not connected, or split routing is on and one of the service’s domains is going direct.
• A message that your country or region is not supported: the network is fine and the exit region is outside what the service supports. Change to a supported region.
• Access denied, too many requests, or verification prompts again and again: the service distrusts that exit address, which is typical of shared exits. Wait a while, or change to another supported region.
• The home page opens but sign-in fails: two cases. If the sign-in page will not load or the button does nothing, a second domain used for sign-in is probably going direct. If the message is about the account, the password, or verifying an email or phone number, it is an account matter.
• The website works but the app does not: apps ignore the browser’s proxy settings and need a whole-device method. If the app cannot be found on an iPhone, that is the App Store’s regional split; see What to Do When iOS Cannot Install an App.
• It worked yesterday and not today: check the route first (account expiry, another region), then check whether the service itself is having an outage. Its status page normally says so.

1. Confirm the route works: open a different overseas site. If that fails too, it is a route problem; follow Cannot Connect, Slow, or Dropping: What to Check.
2. Check the exit region: open an IP-lookup page and confirm it shows the region you chose.
3. Inside China with split routing on, switch to Global and retry. If Global works and split does not, the service’s domains are not on the list yet; send the address to support.
4. Retry in a private browser window to rule out an old session and interference from other extensions.
5. Try one other supported region. If that works, make it your fixed region from now on.
6. If none of that helps and the message points at the account — verification, suspension, payment — it is on the service’s side. Go to its help centre.

• Browser on a computer only: the web proxy is the least effort. One browser extension, no administrator rights, suitable for a work laptop.
• Desktop app or phone app: a whole-device method — Cisco, Hiddify or the private network. Which suits which network is in Which connection method fits which scenario.
• A whole household or office: a router. The region is chosen once on the router and every device leaves through the same exit, which is exactly what “the same region every time” asks for.

Which email addresses and phone numbers are accepted at sign-up, which cards are accepted for payment, why an account was suspended — these are between you and the service. It sets the rules and only it can act on them. A route does one job: it carries your requests out through a stable exit.

Stay away from shared accounts passed around online or sold cheaply. Everything you type is visible to the other people using the account, and it can be taken back at any time. A verification code that never arrives is a separate problem; see No Verification Code for an Overseas App?.