Why Pearson VUE OnVUE Gets Blocked—and How to Fix It Before Exam Day

Pearson VUE's OnVUE remote proctoring is not a normal website. It runs a browser-based exam delivery stack that checks your camera, microphone, screen, and network path before the first question loads. When a candidate says 'Pearson VUE got blocked,' the exam usually did not block their account—the proctoring stack failed one of its required technical handshakes.

Why OnVUE blocks at all

OnVUE relies on four browser capabilities that ordinary sites treat as optional:

1. **WebRTC media streaming** for camera and microphone access.

2. **getDisplayMedia** for full-screen capture and screen share.

3. **Local device enumeration** to detect monitors, cameras, microphones, and virtual devices.

4. **Network telemetry** through the WebRTC connection to detect proxies, VPNs, and unstable paths.

When one of these capabilities is blocked, Pearson VUE cannot certify the environment. The block is usually not a punishment—it is a fail-closed security control. The WebRTC API is documented by [MDN Web Docs](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WebRTC_API).

The most common blockers

1. VPNs and corporate proxies

A VPN or corporate egress proxy can break WebRTC's real-time connection. OnVUE may see the VPN exit node as a different region, fail the secure media handshake, or block screen capture because the browser's media path is routed through a virtual adapter. If your organization uses Zscaler, Cisco Umbrella, or a split-tunnel VPN, you may pass the system test and still fail at exam launch.

**Fix:** Disable the VPN and any forced proxy. Use a direct home network or a clean mobile hotspot. If you work inside a managed corporate network, move to a personal Windows or macOS device on a non-corporate network.

2. Secure DNS and content filtering

DNS filters such as Pi-hole, NextDNS, and corporate DNS blocklists can block Pearson VUE domains or WebRTC signaling hosts. Browser secure DNS in Chrome or Edge may also route lookups away from the local resolver and into a filtered path.

**Fix:** Temporarily disable secure DNS in Chrome or Edge and set system DNS to your ISP or `1.1.1.1`. Only if required, use a clean resolver without parental or category filters. Read Pearson's official [OnVUE system requirements](https://home.pearsonvue.com/onvue) for the current domain allowlist.

3. Browser extensions

Extensions are the biggest silent killer. Ad blockers, privacy extensions, password managers, and AI tools can inject scripts, block WebRTC, or modify the screen-share prompt.

**Fix:** Create a clean Chrome or Edge profile with no extensions. Do not run ad blockers, Ghostery, uBlock, Grammarly, LastPass, or anything that changes page behavior. Use the new profile for the system test and the exam.

4. Camera, microphone, and screen permissions

The most common user-level block is a denied permission. OnVUE requests camera, microphone, and screen access during check-in. In an incognito or managed profile, these prompts may be suppressed, or the permission may be set to Block by policy.

**Fix:** In Chrome or Edge, go to `chrome://settings/content/camera`, `chrome://settings/content/microphone`, and `chrome://settings/content/screenCapture`. Set the OnVUE site to **Allow**. If the browser is managed by your employer, use a personal profile or device.

5. Antivirus and EDR software

Endpoint detection and response tools sometimes hook the same screen and media APIs that OnVUE needs. Windows Defender, CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, and similar tools may not show an alert while still interfering with `getDisplayMedia`.

**Fix:** Temporarily disable or exit system-tray antivirus and EDR tools during the exam if local policy allows. Never run the exam inside a virtual machine, remote desktop, or thin client—it will be blocked and may be flagged.

6. Background conferencing and virtual devices

Zoom, Microsoft Teams, OBS, Snap Camera, and many virtual camera drivers hold the camera or microphone open. OnVUE may see the virtual device as the primary device and block the session.

**Fix:** Close all video and meeting apps. Uninstall or disable virtual camera drivers before exam day. Reboot and run only the browser.

7. Managed browser policies and enterprise hardware

Chrome and Edge enterprise policies can block WebRTC, screen capture, and untrusted sites. A corporate-managed laptop may have `WebRtcBlockUdpPorts`, `ScreenCaptureAllowed`, or similar settings disabled. That produces a hard block no amount of site-level setting can override.

**Fix:** Check `chrome://policy` for `WebRtcBlockUdpPorts`, `ScreenCaptureAllowed`, and `AudioCaptureAllowed`. If you see enterprise policy values, use a personal, unmanaged device. Chrome Enterprise policies are documented in the [Chrome Enterprise policy reference](https://chromeenterprise.google/policies/).

A practical pre-exam checklist

Run this in order on the same machine and network you will use for the exam:

1. Open Pearson's official [OnVUE site](https://home.pearsonvue.com/onvue) in Chrome or Edge.

2. Use a clean profile with no extensions.

3. Disable VPN, proxy, and secure DNS.

4. Allow camera, microphone, and screen capture for Pearson's domain.

5. Close Teams, Zoom, OBS, and any remote desktop tool.

6. Reboot and rerun the Pearson system test.

7. Check WebRTC connectivity. In Chrome, open `chrome://webrtc-internals` and confirm the candidate and media streams are `ICE connected` when Pearson loads.

8. Read Pearson's current network and system requirements before exam day. Requirements change, and exam-day troubleshooting is not the place to discover a new domain or port.

nslookup home.pearsonvue.com
curl -v https://home.pearsonvue.com

What not to do

Do not try to bypass the block with a virtual machine, remote desktop, screen-sharing workaround, or a second person's help. OnVUE's security stack is designed to detect these patterns. A bypass attempt can invalidate the exam and the certification attempt. The safer path is to remove the legitimate technical blocker before check-in.

What this looks like from a browser stack view

Pearson VUE is a fail-closed WebRTC application with a strict environment contract. Any extension, policy, or network path that breaks the contract produces a blocking failure rather than a degraded session. That is why a machine that runs normal SaaS apps cleanly can still fail OnVUE.

At Sapior, we see the same failure modes in locked-down enterprise browser fleets: WebRTC ports blocked, secure DNS filtering, managed `chrome://policy` restrictions, and extensions that mutate media permissions. The fix is almost always to reduce the environment to the simplest supported configuration—not to add more software.