Beside relies on your internet connection to make and receive calls, send texts, and deliver notifications. VPNs and corporate firewalls can interfere with these connections - causing calls to fail, audio to drop, or notifications to stop arriving.
Using Beside with a VPN
VPNs route your internet traffic through an intermediary server, which can increase latency and block the specific ports Beside uses for VoIP calls. Common symptoms when using a VPN:
Calls fail to connect or drop immediately
No audio on one or both sides
Notifications stop arriving
Call forwarding verification fails
What to do
The simplest fix is to disable your VPN while using Beside. If you need to keep the VPN active for other work, check whether your VPN client supports split tunneling - this lets you route specific apps (like Beside) outside the VPN tunnel while keeping other traffic protected.
📌 Split tunneling availability depends on your VPN provider and plan. Check your VPN app's settings or contact your IT team if you're on a corporate VPN.
Using Beside behind a corporate firewall
Corporate firewalls may block VoIP traffic or the specific ports Beside needs to function. If Beside works fine on your personal network but not on your company's Wi-Fi, a firewall restriction is likely the cause.
What to do
Switch to mobile data - this bypasses your company's Wi-Fi and firewall entirely. If Beside works on cellular but not on office Wi-Fi, the issue is confirmed to be network-side
Contact your IT team - ask them to allow Beside's traffic. Beside uses standard VoIP protocols (SIP/RTP) over UDP and TCP. Your IT team can whitelist traffic from Beside's infrastructure to ensure calls and notifications work reliably
FAQ
My calls work fine but notifications stop when I'm on VPN. Why?
My calls work fine but notifications stop when I'm on VPN. Why?
Push notifications use a different delivery path than calls. Some VPNs block or delay push notification traffic even when call audio works. Try disabling the VPN and check if notifications resume - if they do, split tunneling or temporarily disabling the VPN when you need Beside is the best workaround.
I need to use a VPN at all times for security. What are my options?
I need to use a VPN at all times for security. What are my options?
Check if your VPN supports split tunneling, which allows you to exclude specific apps from the VPN tunnel. If split tunneling isn't available, you can use Beside on cellular data instead of Wi-Fi while the VPN is active on your work connection.
Beside works on my phone's data but not on office Wi-Fi. What should I tell IT?
Beside works on my phone's data but not on office Wi-Fi. What should I tell IT?
Let your IT team know that Beside is a VoIP app that requires standard SIP/RTP traffic over UDP and TCP to be unblocked. They'll need to whitelist Beside's servers or allow VoIP traffic through the firewall. If they need specific IP ranges or port information, reach out to our support team via the in-app chat and we can provide the technical details.