Using the Mullvad VPN app

This guide explains how to use the Mullvad VPN desktop app (for Windows, macOS and Linux) and all of its features. We also have specific user guides for Android and iOS/iPadOS.

• Using Mullvad VPN on Android
• Using Mullvad app on iOS

Installation guides

For help with downloading and installing the app see the following installation guides.

• Install Mullvad app on Windows
• Install Mullvad app on macOS
• Install Mullvad app on Linux
• Install Mullvad app on Android

What this guide covers

• Starting up Mullvad
• Create account
• Log in
  • Too many devices
• New device
• Connect
• Switch location
  • Filter server selection
• Disconnect
• Temporarily blocked Internet – kill switch always on
• Update the app on Windows
• Update the app on macOS
• Update the app on Linux
• Account
• Settings menu
  • DAITA
  • Multihop
  • VPN settings
  • User interface settings
  • Split tunneling
  • API access
  • Support
  • App info
  • Quit app
• VPN settings
  • Launch app on start-up
  • Auto-connect
  • Local network sharing
  • DNS content blockers
  • Enable IPv6
  • Kill switch
  • Lockdown mode
  • Tunnel protocol
  • WireGuard settings
    • Port
    • Obfuscation
    • Quantum-resistant tunnel
    • IP version
    • MTU
  • OpenVPN settings
    • Transport protocol
    • Bridge mode
    • Mssfix
  • Use custom DNS server
  • Server IP override
• User interface settings
  • Notifications
  • Monochromatic tray icon
  • Language
  • Unpin app from taskbar
  • Start minimized
  • Animate map
• Vulnerabilities
• FAQ

Starting up Mullvad

When you start Mullvad for the first time you have two options:

1. Create a new account - use this if you never had a Mullvad account or you want to make a new one.
2. Log in with an existing account - use this if you already generated an account on our website that you want to use.

Create account

If you do not yet have an account number, you have two options for creating a Mullvad account. From the app or on the website.

In the app

1. Click Create account and a new account number will be created for you.

   
   Attention: Remember to save your account number after creating a new account!

2. To start using the app, you need to add time to your account. You can either buy credit on our website or redeem a voucher that you received, or bought from one of our resellers.

On our website

If you create a new account on our website, or log in with an existing account there, then make sure to log in with the same account number in the Mullvad VPN app. This is important since the payment will go to the account that you are logged in with on our website. 

If you are logged in with the wrong account number in the Mullvad app then tap on the Account icon in the top right corner of the Mullvad app and click on Log out. Then log in with the account number that you created on our website.

Finding a lost account

If you recently (less than 20 days ago) made a payment on our website, and you do not know the account number, then use our account recovery tool.

Log in

Enter your Mullvad account number and hit Enter or click the green button with an arrow.

Too many devices

You can use a Mullvad VPN account on up to 5 devices. If you log in with an account that already has 5 devices associated with it, you will see a list of devices and be prompted to log out of at least one of them.

1. To be able to login you will need to remove one of the devices by clicking the X icon to the right of the device name.

   

2. Click Yes, log out device.

   

3. You can now click Continue with login to login with the device.

   

New device

When you’ve logged in to a Mullvad account that has time on it, a notification will appear informing you that a new device has been assigned a name. You can read more about device names under the info icon in Account or in our blog post Introducing names for easier device management.

Connect

Once you have logged in with an account number that has time on it, you can click on Connect to connect to Mullvad VPN. You can see the status of your connection on the app's connection screen.

When connecting, the app will block the internet until a connection to a VPN server is established.

By default, the app will initially connect to a server in Sweden. If you choose a different location, the app will remember your selection for the next time you start the app.

Connection status - know when you are connected

Once connected, the Mullvad app will visually signal this in a few ways.

The padlock in the system tray (Windows/Linux) or menu bar (macOS) will turn green and lock.

The top bar of the app will be green.

A green dot on the map background shows where you are connected.

The app says "Connected" on the connection screen.

Connection details

When you are connected, you can click on the arrow to the right of the CONNECTED text. This opens the dashboard and shows all current features active in the connection as well as other connection details such as the VPN server's entry (in) IP, port, and transport protocol, as well as the VPN server's exit (out) IP address. If both IPv4 and IPv6 are used in the connection, the out IP will show both separately.

Feature indicators

In the connection details you can see which settings you have currently enabled and that are affecting your connection.

Reconnect

Next to the Switch location button is a Reconnect button. If you have selected a country or a city to connect to, then reconnecting will reconnect you to another Mullvad server in the selected country or city. Reconnecting can also change the port it uses to connects to the server, unless you have specifically set a port in the app settings.

Is your browser leaking?

Use our Connection check to verify your connection status and to see if your browser is leaking information and jeopardizing your privacy. This can occur even while connected to Mullvad.

Switch location

To select a different country, city or server, click on the Switch location button.

Select a country

On the Select location screen, scroll down with the mouse scroll wheel or using the scroll bar in the right edge. Then click on the country that you prefer and the app will connect to it automatically.

Select a city

On the right side of the country there is a down arrow. Clicking on this will reveal a list of cities that you can choose to connect to.

Select a server

On the right side of the city there is another down arrow. Clicking on this will reveal a list of servers that you can choose to connect to. Depending on what the tunnel protocol is set to, you will see the corresponding types of servers.

Search

The search field can be used to search for locations or servers.

Unavailable locations

It can happen that you won't be able to select a location because its servers are currently unavailable. Such a location will have a red dot beside it and the name will be greyed out. Also individual servers can be disabled and show a red dot.

You can check the Servers list on our website where you can click on the down arrow for a specific server to learn more about it. Please note that the information on the website is cached and might not be immediately up to date as it's manually updated by the staff.

Filter server selection

After you click on Switch location you can click on the button in the top right corner to see the filtering options.

Filter by Ownership

Here you can select which servers and locations to show based on ownership.

Filter by Providers

Here you can select or deselect server hosting providers to show or hide them in the location list. This is useful if you find that servers from some providers work better for you than others.

Temporarily blocked Internet – kill switch on

In case there is a problem while the Mullvad app is connected, you may notice that your Internet has suddenly stopped working. Check to see if the padlock in the system tray/menu bar has turned green with a red dot. If so, the connection screen in the app will also display BLOCKING INTERNET.

This is the app's built-in kill switch at work, it is automatically blocking the Internet upon VPN connection failure to ensure that your traffic is not accidentally leaked outside of our secure tunnel.

You will experience this in a few situations:

• If the app disconnects due to a connectivity issue.
• If you run out of time on your account while connected.
• While the app is establishing a connection when you start the app.
• If your device loses internet connection.

The app will continue to block your Internet traffic until a secure connection is made or reestablished, or until you manually disconnect from the app.

If you are worried about those times when you forget to start the app – leaving you unsecure – consider doing one of the following:

• Under VPN settings, turn on Lockdown mode.
• Configure your browser with our SOCKS5 proxy which only works when you are connected to Mullvad.

Disconnect

If you want to disconnect from Mullvad, click on the Disconnect button on the connection screen.

Know when you are disconnected

When you are disconnected, the Mullvad app will visually signal this in a few ways.

The padlock in the system tray (Windows/Linux) or menu bar (macOS) will be red.

The top bar of the app will be red.

A red dot on the map background shows your real location.

The app says "Disconnected" on the connection screen.

Update the app - Windows

If you are running an old version of the app, you will see a notification on the connection screen that says "Update available". You will also see a yellow dot on the padlock icon and on the settings icon.

In the app

1. Click on the notification on the connection screen or go to Settings > App info > Update. In this screen you can also see the updates' change log before downloading it.

   

2. Click on Download & install to start the download of the update.

   

3. When the download is finished, the app will automatically verify the download.

   

4. If the verification is successful, the app will automatically launch the installer. Follow the instructions and install the update.

   
5. Your app is now updated!

Error: Mullvad VPN cannot be closed.

The installer can fail to update the app and blocks the Internet if the app fails to close properly during the installation. If this happens, do not close the Mullvad VPN client in Task Manager. Closing it can cause the Internet to remain blocked. Instead you can follow the Troubleshooting instructions in the "Install Mullvad VPN app on Windows" guide.

Mullvad loader

If you already downloaded the Mullvad VPN loader before then it can also be used to update the app without having to download it from our website again.

1. Navigate to the folder where the file "Install Mullvad VPN.exe" is and double-click it. It is likely in your Downloads folder or desktop if you haven't deleted it.

   

2. If you see a warning about allowing changes to your device, click Yes.

   

3. Now you should see the newest version available, download and install it.

   
   Psst! Beta versions are also often available in the Mullvad VPN loader.

Error: Mullvad VPN cannot be closed.

The installer can fail to update the app and blocks the Internet if the app fails to close properly during the installation. If this happens, do not close the Mullvad VPN client in Task Manager. Closing it can cause the Internet to remain blocked. Instead you can follow the Troubleshooting instructions in the "Install Mullvad VPN app on Windows" guide.

Update the app - macOS

If you are running an old version of the app, you will see a notification on the connection screen that says "Update available". You will also see a yellow dot on the padlock icon and on the settings icon. 

There are two different options to update the app:

In the app

1. Click on the notification on the connection screen or go to Settings > App info > Update. In this screen you can also see the updates' change log before downloading it.

   

2. Click on Download & install to start the download of the update.

   

3. When the download is finished, the app will automatically verify the download.

   

4. If the verification is successful, the app will automatically launch the installer. Follow the instructions and install the update.

   

5. After installing the new update, you will need to manually open the app again after. To launch the app, double-click the Mullvad VPN icon in the Applications folder.

   
6. Your app is now updated!

Mullvad loader

If you already downloaded the Mullvad VPN loader before then it can also be used to update the app without having to download it from our website again.

1. Navigate to the folder where the "Install Mullvad VPN" .dmg file is located and open it by double-clicking. It is likely in your Downloads folder or desktop if you haven't deleted it.

   

2. Double-click on "Install Mullvad VPN" in the opened window. This will open the Mullvad VPN loader.

   

3. Click the Download & install button in the opened window. This will download and verify the Mullvad VPN app.

   
   Psst! Beta versions are also often available in the Mullvad VPN loader.

Update the app - Linux

If you are running an old version of the app, you will see a notification on the connection screen that says "Update available". You will also see a yellow dot on the padlock icon and on the settings icon. 

If you have installed the Mullvad VPN app using our repository then it will be updated when you check for system updates.

Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Fedora: sudo dnf update

Otherwise click on the arrow icon on the right side of the message to open our Apps download webpage. We recommend that you keep your app up to date. You can also choose to participate in our Beta program.

Account

The Account screen can be accessed by clicking on the account icon in the top right corner on the connection screen.

Here you can view information relating to your account, including your account number, your device name, and when your paid time runs out. You can also add more time and log out. Read more about this below.

Running out of time

Starting three days before your account credit expires, you will see a notification in the connection screen. You will also see a yellow dot on the padlock icon.

Add time

From the app you have two options of adding time to your account.

From the website

Click on the Buy more credit button, which will take you to our website where you can buy more time.

With a voucher

1. If you have bought or received a voucher, you can redeem this directly in the app by clicking the Redeem voucher button.

   

2. This will open a dialog where you enter the 16 character code from your voucher.

   

3. Click Redeem, if the voucher is valid you will see a success message about the time added.

   

Log out

When you log out of the app, your device is removed from your Mullvad account. You are taken to the Login view where you can see that your latest logged in Mullvad account is saved under the Login input field.

To remove this saved account number, click on the X icon on the right of the number.

To log in to this account, click on the account number.

Settings

The Settings menu can be accessed by clicking on the gear icon in the top right corner on the connection screen.

From here you have access to several sub menus and features. It is also in this view where you can quit the app.

DAITA

Enable DAITA to hide patterns in your internet traffic. Since not all our servers are DAITA-enabled the app will automatically route your traffic through one of our DAITA-enabled servers using multihop. If you want to disable this behavior turn on Direct only.

If you want to know more about DAITA you can read our overview.

Multihop

You can enable multihop to increase your anonymity, your internet traffic will then be routed from one WireGuard server to another. Note that this can impact your speed and latency. See our guide Multihop with WireGuard if you want to know more.

Multihop can also be useful in restrictive locations where it's only possible to connect to a limited number of Mullvad servers, and you want to exit the traffic in a location you can't directly connect to.

After enabling multihop you can go back to the map view, click on Switch location and select an Entry location and Exit location.

VPN settings

The VPN settings view is where the most features and settings relating to the VPN connection are.

See information about each specific VPN setting in this guide.

User interface settings

See information about each specific setting under User interface settings in this guide.

Split tunneling

Split tunneling allows you to exclude some apps from the VPN. See the guide Split tunneling with the Mullvad app.

API access

If you have trouble logging in, creating an account or adding time to your account it could help to switch API access methods. From this view you can test, use, disable, and add custom methods to reach the Mullvad API.

Testing the API connection

You can test the API connection by following these steps:

1. Click on the three dotted icon for each of the methods in the list

   

2. Then click on Test. 

   

3. You can see the testing sequence underneath the methods' name.

   

4. If it works then it should say "API reachable" for a moment. If it says "API unreachable" several times then you can try to turn off that method.

Use a specific method

You can specify a specific method to use by following these steps:

1. Click on the three dotted icon.

   

2. Then click on Use.

   
3. The app will first test the method to make sure it can reach the API before using it.
4. If it works then it should say "API reachable" for a moment before changing to “In use”.

Disable a specific method

If you know that a specific method will not work, you can disable it by clicking on the toggle next to the method you want to disable. To make sure that the app isn’t entirely blocked, there must always be at least one API access method enabled, the app will default to enable the “Direct” method.

Add a custom method

If none of the default API access methods works you can add custom methods. The available protocols are Shadowsocks, SOCKS5 remote, and SOCKS5 local.

1. Click on the Add button.

   

2. Fill out the connection information for the custom method and then click on Add.

   
3. The app will test the new custom method to make sure it is reachable before adding it to the list.

Support

In the support screen in the app you can find the option of Reporting a problem and also our FAQs link that takes you to the Help section of our website.

Report a problem

If you are experiencing issues or want to give feedback about the app you can do so via the Report a problem form. Write your message in English or Swedish. When sending the form, your app logs will be anonymized and added as an attachment. You can view the logs by clicking on View app logs.

When sending the form, you can do so without adding an email address, but if you want a reply from us you need to add an email.

FAQs & Guides

Clicking on the FAQs & Guides will take you to the Help section of our website.

App info

Here you can find information about the current app version, enable Beta updates and update the app when there are updates available.

Version

The current app version that you are running.

What's new

In this view you can see the change log for the current version of the app.

Beta program

Enable this option to get notified directly in the app when a new beta version is available.

Update available - (Windows & macOS)

When there is an update available, you’ll get a notification in the app and can see what the new update contains. Read more about updating the app on Windows and updating the app on macOS in this guide.

Quit app

Clicking on the red Quit (or Disconnect & quit) button shuts down the app. Doing so will disconnect you from any connection you had with the app, leaving your Internet traffic exposed unless you have the Lockdown mode setting enabled.

VPN settings

There are many settings in VPN settings and they will be described below. To see them all you can scroll down with the mouse scroll wheel or use the scroll bar in the right edge in the Mullvad app.

Launch app on start-up

If this is enabled then the Mullvad app will start up when your computer's operating system has started.

Auto-connect

With this setting enabled, the app will automatically connect the VPN when the app is started.

Local network sharing

Enable this setting in order to access other devices on the same local network, such as printers and network attached storage (NAS). In many cases it's best to use the IP-address of the device when you connect to it.

If you want to connect to another private network IP address range or subnet than the one your computer is using then you also have to add a static route to that. For example:

Windows

In a Command Prompt (run as Administrator):

route ADD 192.168.2.0 MASK 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.1

macOS

sudo route -n add -net 192.168.2.0/24 192.168.1.1

Linux

sudo ip r add 192.168.2.0/24 via 192.168.1.1 dev eth0

DNS content blockers

Click on the option to expand the list. You will be presented with different options for blocking.

Enable IPv6

If you are using a Mac then this should be enabled, otherwise some websites may not load in some web browsers.

If you are using Windows or Linux then IPv6 is normally not needed, but you can enable it if you have a need to connect to a special server on the Internet which only supports IPv6.

The VPN speed is normally faster with IPv4 since it often has more optimal routing.

Kill switch

The Mullvad app has a built in safety feature known as the Kill switch. This is always on and cannot be turned off in the settings as it's active from the moment you click on Connect until you disconnect Mullvad. It automatically blocks the Internet upon VPN connection failure to ensure that your traffic is not accidentally leaked outside of our secure tunnel.

You can read more about this above under Temporarily blocked Internet – kill switch on.

Lockdown mode

In addition to the built-in Kill switch, the Lockdown mode is an optional safety feature that will also block the internet after you click on Disconnect or Quit.

The Mullvad app will signal that Lockdown mode is active and blocking internet in a few ways when Mullvad is disconnected:

• Padlock locked with indicator in the middle.

  

• In-app notification informing you that it is blocking internet and that Lockdown mode is enabled.

  

Lockdown mode - Important information

Attention: enabling Lockdown mode will make your computer always require a Mullvad VPN connection in order to reach the Internet.

Downgrading the app version - If you have downgraded the app, Lockdown mode is enabled automatically.

Split tunneling - If you have enabled Split tunneling, the excluded apps will still have access to the internet even with Lockdown mode enabled.

Tunnel protocol

Choose which VPN protocol you'd like your connection to use. You can choose between WireGuard or OpenVPN, WireGuard is chosen by default.

WireGuard settings

To change the WireGuard settings make sure that the Tunnel protocol setting is set to WireGuard.

Port

If Automatic does not work well for you then you can select a different port or manually enter a custom port.

Obfuscation

If you have trouble connecting to Mullvad then you can enable one of the obfuscation options. Test each method to see what works best for you. 

Here are some general guidelines:

• Shadowsocks - Select Shadowsocks if you have a problem to connect in a restrictive location such as a country where VPN services are blocked.
• UDP-over-TCP - Select UDP-over-TCP if you have a problem to connect mostly in public Wi-Fi networks or mobile networks, which may be blocking UDP traffic.

Quantum-resistant tunnel

Although strong enough quantum computers have yet to be demonstrated, having post-quantum secure tunnels today protect against attackers that record encrypted traffic with the hope of decrypting it with a future quantum computer.

• Automatic - This currently means the same thing as "On", but this might change in the future.
• On - Enables Quantum-resistant tunnel.
• Off - Disables Quantum-resistant tunnel.

IP version

Normally the app connects to a WireGuard server using its IPv4 address. If your network or device only supports IPv6 then you can select that here.

MTU

The default MTU for WireGuard in the Mullvad app is 1380. Mullvad will test the MTU when you connect (unless DAITA is enabled).

If the connection stops working then set the MTU to 1280. This may be necessary in some mobile networks. Increasing the value might achieve slightly higher speeds in some cases.

OpenVPN settings

To change the OpenVPN settings make sure that the Tunnel protocol is set to OpenVPN.

Transport protocol

When using automatic it will default to UDP because it is generally faster than TCP. However, sometimes only TCP works on certain restricted networks, and it may be more stable.

You can set either Automatic, TCP, or UDP.

Bridge mode

Enabling Bridge mode routes your traffic through two servers - first a Shadowsocks bridge server and then an OpenVPN server - instead of one, in essence a multihop. The Automatic setting means that it will only be used if there is a problem to connect without it.

Follow our guide How to use bridge mode for full instructions.

Mssfix

You can use this setting if you are connected with OpenVPN with UDP. It will avoid packet fragmentation which in some cases can cause the connection to stall, for example https:// (SSL) websites may not load properly. The default value (max package size) is 1450 and 1300 is a good value to start with if you have this particular problem. You could also try to change to TCP instead.

Use custom DNS server

Use this option if you want to use another DNS server instead of the DNS on the Mullvad VPN server. You can enter an IPv4 or an IPv6 address, but not DNS-over-HTTPS or DNS-over-TLS servers.

You can only use a public/external DNS server if you connect to a Mullvad WireGuard server, but you can use a local DNS server both with WireGuard servers and OpenVPN servers.

Server IP override

If you are in a restrictive country where our VPN servers are blocked, it may be possible to connect to one using a server entry IP override. This may be provided, if deemed necessary, by Mullvad Support. You can find the e-mail address in the bottom of this website.

Attention: Server IP override has no impact on services and websites which block our server exit IPs since it only changes the entry IP.

Server overrides can be added in two ways:

1. Importing via text, where a .json text is inputted.
2. Importing a .json file.

User interface settings

There are many settings in User interface settings and they will be described below. To see them all you can scroll down with the mouse scroll wheel or use the scroll bar in the right edge.

Notifications

Control whether or not you want system notifications to be displayed. Critical notifications, such as when the app temporarily disconnects, will always be displayed.

Monochromatic tray icon

This setting allows for a grayscale tray icon instead of the default colored one.

Language

Here you can select the language for the app.

Unpin from taskbar (Windows)

Enable this to have the Mullvad VPN app be in a free-standing window.

Start minimized (Windows & Linux)

Enable this to only show the tray icon when the app starts.

Animate map

If you are having issues when the map is animating when connecting, or if you are running the app on an OS that cannot handle animations well, then you can disable the map animations.

Vulnerabilities

Early boot leaks on macOS

If you are using macOS, note that the Mullvad app can’t ensure it starts before other applications start sending traffic to the Internet - thus your traffic may leak during system startup.
We recommend that you do not enable "Open at Login" for applications that you do not want to leak Internet traffic. Wait until the Mullvad app has started and connected to a server, and then start them manually. Note that some system services can still leak before the Mullvad service has started.

Microsoft Defender Application Guard in Windows

If you install Microsoft Defender Application Guard and open a "New Application Guard window" in Microsoft Edge then it will leak your IP address. As an alternative you can use Windows Sandbox instead. Use our Connection check to verify the IP.

FAQ

Q: How can I enable Lockdown mode before I log in to the Mullvad app?

A: You can enable it in the Command Prompt or Terminal with this CLI command:

mullvad lockdown-mode set on

Q: What does the yellow dot on the padlock icon mean?

A: The yellow dot either means that your Mullvad account is about to expire, or that there is an update available. If you open the Mullvad app then you should see a message in the top.

 

"WireGuard" is a registered trademark of Jason A. Donenfeld.