@leocg I'm reposting this so it reaches more people. You may remove it if you like.

I'm unable to access any Opera.com or related sites unless I have a VPN on. I'm in the US, and I used to be able to access them just fine. When I tried reinstalling Opera, I had to download it offline, and while I get notifications for updates, it just stays stuck on "checking for updates…"

I have tried the following solutions, but the issue still persists:

Uninstalled and disabled VPN (but I'm using Opera's free VPN, so I can't uninstall it completely)

Restarted my laptop after making the suggested network setting changes
Tried accessing Opera sites on different browsers (same issue, they keep trying to reload but never open unless the VPN is on)

Switched to dns over https nothing, Google DNS (it worked temporarily but then stopped)
Checked Windows Defender Firewall under advanced settings → inbound rules and noticed two opera.exe entries were blocked. I approved them, but the issue still wasn't resolved

Tried the solutions from this thread: https://forums.opera.com/topic/29960/opera-sites-problem-over-again/10

Tested my friend's laptop on my WiFi, and he had the same issue accessing Opera sites

Tried accessing Opera's IP address directly (https://185.26.182.103/). Without a VPN, it gives an error but eventually loads. However, typing "opera.com" directly in the URL bar doesn't work

Finally, I tested on another WiFi network, and Opera sites loaded fine, so it does seem like something in my network settings is blocking it. Any idea what the fix would be? I can troubleshoot further if needed.
images and all the discussion from my previous post here: https://forums.opera.com/topic/76285/i-cannot-access-opera-sites-without-a-vpn

@leocg well I guess but what would be the solution lol, I can do it as well but if you can, could you move this post to a different place with all the info I provided to see what we can do about this??

@leocg it works on other WiFi network yes..

@jack4568 this seems to be a issue from the past but old solutions not working too.. idk if there is discord where more people can solve this lol but i dont trust it

@burnout426 yup tried that too

@burnout426 its weird with vpn yes, without vpn shows error and loads it up. If i type 'opera.com' in url in new tab it wont open

@leocg only thing i cant do... but can try to see if wifi from a coffee shop or something, is there any other fix?

@jack4568 @leocg I tried all the solutions from this link as well
https://forums.opera.com/topic/29960/opera-sites-problem-over-again/10
nothing is working..
@burnout426
@blackbird71 tagging you as you were on that thread earlier

@jack4568 and it doesn't work on my friend's laptop when he connects to my wifi
update: it kinda works and stops working when i switch it google DNS, but i haven't tried installing a new opera browser and update thing is stuck as well
Update: Went to control panel - windows defender firewall - advanced settings - inbound rules, and saw two opera.exe were with a 'no' sign, so i approved the connection but still didn't work.. forgot to look which one i approved, photo is the locations of the files from the control panel itseelf

@burnout426 i am using opera's free vpn... how do i uninstall that? also i restarted the laptop with the settings you said and still the error exists. Another thing i noticed is i cant access 'opera' sites in any browser lmao... i see them trying to auto reload but it would only show when i have vpn