WireGuard not working in Russia: why, and what to replace it with
WireGuard connects but nothing loads, or won't connect at all. Why WireGuard is blocked in Russia, whether AmneziaWG or changing the port helps, and which protocol to switch to.
Quick fix. WireGuard is detected by its signature in Russia; switch to VLESS. Get Surok in Telegram: 3 days free, VLESS Reality and XHTTP.
WireGuard's handshake has a fixed size and structure that ISP filters recognise and block — immediately or after a few seconds. Symptoms: "connected" but nothing loads, the handshake never completes, the link drops after a minute, or it works on one network and not another.
Changing the port rarely helps — blocking is by packet content. AmneziaWG disguises the handshake and works better, but not everywhere — see Amnezia VPN setup. Switch to VLESS Reality (indistinguishable from a popular site) or VLESS XHTTP (can go through a CDN, helpful on mobile allow-lists). See which protocol is best and VLESS Reality and XHTTP explained.