• Amnezia VPN restored access to 20 server locations for Premium users
• The provider is also actively issuing compensation to Premium subscribers
• This follows a major update amid suspected state-sponsored DDoS attacks

It has been a gruelling few weeks for the anti-censorship tool Amnezia VPN, but the dust is finally beginning to settle. The provider says it has restored access to all 20 of its international VPN locations for Premium users, signalling a return to normal service after a series of severe disruptions.

The good news does not end there. Alongside restoring its servers, Amnezia VPN has begun rolling out compensation to Premium subscribers affected by the outages.

Finding the best VPN to bypass aggressive government censorship remains a constant cat-and-mouse game. The latest disruption appears to be linked to a broader wave of DDoS attacks on VPN services, with Russia’s internet watchdog, Roskomnadzor, widely accused of being involved.

TechRadar has contacted Amnezia VPN to confirm if the compensation and location restorations are explicitly linked to these recent attacks. We will update this article if we receive more information.

Bouncing back from the blackout

The restoration was quietly announced via the provider's official X account. According to the post, Premium users can once again route their traffic through 20 different global locations, allowing them to unblock restricted content and browse the web privately.

"We’ve restored access to 20 locations, operating normally via AmneziaWG. Russia is temporarily down for optimization, we’ll let you know when it’s back," said Amnezia VPN.

The victory isn't absolute just yet, as the provider's Russia-based servers are still temporarily down. This isn't entirely surprising, given the intense scrutiny and technical roadblocks currently aimed at virtual private networks operating within the country's borders.

In a separate X post published shortly before the restoration update, the company confirmed it was taking steps to make things right with its paying customers by sending out compensation.

"We’ve credited compensation to your accounts (🎁 +1 month for 6-month subs, +2 months for annual subs). Also," Amnezia said, urging users to update the app to v4.8.19.0 to maintain a reliable connection.

In an industry where service outages are often met with silence, proactively compensating users is a strong move to rebuild consumer trust.

A relentless fight against censorship

If you have been following our Amnezia VPN review coverage, you will know that the service is built from the ground up to bypass severe internet restrictions. But even the most resilient tools can take a hit.

A couple of weeks ago, a massive, coordinated attack targeted multiple anti-censorship tools. Experts accused Roskomnadzor of launching active Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) campaigns, a tactic where servers are intentionally overwhelmed with fake traffic until they crash. Amnezia was caught in the crossfire, leading to the frustrating blackouts Premium users recently experienced.

Fortunately, the provider hasn't just been sitting back and waiting for the storm to pass. Last week, AmneziaVPN strengthened its apps with a major update designed to counter these aggressive new blocking methods.

This defensive strategy includes the rollout of the new AmneziaWG 2.0 protocol. By subtly altering the headers of data packets, the protocol obfuscates VPN traffic. This makes it incredibly difficult for Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) systems, the technology governments use to spot and block VPNs, to detect the connection.

While the loss of the Russian server location remains a thorn in the side for some users, the return of 20 global locations and a proactive approach to compensation proves that AmneziaVPN is refusing to back down from the fight.

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!