qBittorrent + Gluetun + Proton VPN Plus — VPN connects but nothing downloads

Hello everyone,

I’m trying to use qBittorrent inside Docker with Gluetun connected to Proton VPN (Plus plan), but even though everything seems to work correctly, nothing downloads.

I’m asking for help because I’ve already checked almost everything.

My setup:

• NAS (Docker)
• qBittorrent running with network_mode: container:gluetun
• Gluetun using Proton VPN
• External IP changes correctly
• Port forwarding enabled
• DHT enabled
• PeX enabled
• LSD enabled

What I have already verified:

✔ The VPN connects successfully
✔ The public IP changes (verified with curl inside the container)
✔ Ping works inside the container
✔ DNS works
✔ Gluetun shows "Initialization Sequence Completed"
✔ Port forwarding automatically assigns a port
✔ That port matches the one configured in qBittorrent
✔ No errors in the logs after startup

The problem:

Torrents stay in:

• “Downloading metadata” or
• “Errored”

DHT shows nodes but never connects to real peers
Seeds always remain at 0
Speed stays at 0 B/s

I even tested with official torrents like Debian and they still do not download.

I also tried:

• Manually changing the port
• Disabling UPnP / NAT-PMP
• Using different torrents with many seeds
• Verifying traffic is going through the VPN (confirmed IP)
• Checking firewall settings
• Checking connection limits

Question:

Has anyone experienced this behavior with Proton + Gluetun + qBittorrent?

Could it be:

• An MTU issue?
• A firewall rule?
• A problem between OpenVPN vs WireGuard?
• A specific configuration I might be missing?

I appreciate any help 🙏