Since about 5/1/25, some users have reported that Monitor Dot is displaying the message “There was an error checking for an update“.

After investigating, it seems that when Surfshark is connected to certain VPN locations (not all locations), it will block access to this website (MonitorDot.com).

This causes several issues for users:

• Trying to download the app via the Troypoint Toolbox will fail when this site is blocked.
• The app performs periodic new version checks, which will display an error if blocked.
• When the Monitor Dot app starts, it displays a lightweight home screen (a page hosted on my site) that is used for updates and messages to users — but when the site is blocked, that screen fails to load, so I can’t even notify users of this issue.

I contacted Surfshark support and they had me go through all the standard troubleshooting steps (protocol changes, DNS tweaks, etc.) with no success. Eventually, I asked the support agent to test it themselves — and they confirmed that they could not access our site when using the New York VPN location.

Unfortunately, even after they verified the problem, Surfshark told me there is no ETA for a fix and no guarantee of follow-up.

Even if switching to another VPN location helps to fix the issue, the average user has no way of knowing this — to them, the app simply doesn’t work.

Hopefully, with a bit more visibility and more users reporting the problem to Surfshark, this can be resolved on Surfshark’s end sooner rather than later.

6/17/25 UPDATE:

Please try this work-around fix…

Depending on the version of Surfshark you have, one of these settings might help with this issue:

1. Use the “Bypass VPN” setting and add the “Monitor Dot” app to the app list so that Monitor Dot can bypass the VPN and hopefully connect to our website successfully.

2. Use the “Bypass List” setting to add our website “MonitorDot.com” to the “Bypass” list so hopefully the VPN won’t block Monitor Dot from connecting to our website anymore.

Please Contact Us if the above work-around does not work.