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Using Mullvad VPN in restrictive locations

Mullvad app Connectivity Bridges Windows Linux Android Mobile Installation macOS Desktop iOS Multihop Censorship circumvention 

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This guide lists different settings and methods to connect to Mullvad VPN from networks and countries where connecting to a VPN is difficult. This includes countries such as China, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.

What this guide covers

Connecting from China or Russia etc.

Countries like China and Russia uses firewalls that blocks VPNs. They have lists of known VPN server IP addresses, and one way to circumvent this is to find VPN servers which they are not aware of. You can try to connect to different countries and cities, not just in your region, but all over the world. Try to find newly added Mullvad servers. If you need help to find a server that works then e-mail support@mullvadvpn.net.

These firewalls also uses Deep Packet Inspection to find traffic that looks like VPN traffic. It can then block or slow down that Internet traffic. You can try to enable Shadowsocks or UDP-over-TCP obfuscation in the Mullvad VPN app settings. However note that those settings can also affect the VPN speed, especially with far away servers.

Using Multihop to exit in your preferred location

If you are not able to connect directly the location that you want to, then you can enable Multihop in the Mullvad VPN app settings. Then click on Switch location and select an Entry server that you are able to connect to, and select an Exit server anywhere you want.

Logging in to the Mullvad VPN app

If you seem to be unable to log in to the Mullvad VPN app, then try to log in repeatedly many times. The app will then try to use different servers to connect to the API.
If you are using a phone then you can also try it both on Wi-Fi and using mobile data.
Read the next step to test the API connection.

Testing the API connection

You can test the API connection by going to the Mullvad VPN app settings > API access. Then click on all the round buttons with three dots inside and select Test a couple of times. If it works then it should say "API reachable" for a moment. If it says "unreachable" several times then you can try to turn off that method.

Using WireGuard

If the Mullvad API is unreachable as tested above, then you can try to use the WireGuard app instead.

Platform Source Guide
iOS App Store WireGuard on iOS
Android Play Store WireGuard on Android
Windows WireGuard website WireGuard on Windows
macOS macOS App Store WireGuard on macOS
Linux Repository WireGuard on Linux

Creating a Mullvad account

You can create a Mullvad account in one of the following ways:

  1. On our website.
  2. In the Mullvad VPN app.
  3. On our website using the onion address in Tor browser.

Adding time to your Mullvad account

You can add time to a Mullvad account in one of the following ways:

  1. On our website using different payment methods.
  2. In the Mullvad iOS app with an Apple in-app purchase.
  3. In the Mullvad Android app with a Google in-app purchase.
  4. On our website using the onion address in Tor browser (limited to crypto and cash payments).

Downloading the Mullvad VPN app

You can download the Mullvad VPN app in one of the following ways:

  1. On our website.
  2. On our Github page (see details below).
  3. (Android only) on Google Play or using the F-Droid app or website.

Downloading from Github

Go to GitHub and click on Assets to download the app for your operating system: Windows (exe), macOS (pkg), Ubuntu/Debian (deb), Fedora (rpm) or Android (apk). If you download the Android app here then you have to remember to update it manually in the future as the app won't notify you.

Obfuscation methods

You can try to enable the following Obfuscation methods.

WireGuard Obfuscation - Shadowsocks and UDP-over-TCP

  1. Go to the Mullvad VPN app settings by clicking on the gear icon in the top right corner of the app.
  2. Windows/macOS/Linux:
    Click on VPN settings and select WireGuard as the tunnel protocol.
    Click on WireGuard settings and under Obfuscation and select Shadowsocks or UDP-over-TCP.
  3. iOS/Android:
    Tap on VPN settings > WireGuard obfuscation and select Shadowsocks or UDP-over-TCP.

OpenVPN Bridge mode (Shadowsocks)

This is available in the Mullvad VPN app for Windows/macOS/Linux.

  1. Go to the Mullvad VPN app settings by clicking on the gear icon in the top right corner of the app.
  2. Then click on VPN settings and select OpenVPN as the tunnel protocol.
  3. Click on OpenVPN Settings and set Transport protocol to Automatic, then set Bridge mode to On.
  4. Close the settings and click on Switch location. Click on Entry in the top and select a bridge server close to your location for better speeds, then select an Exit server. Try different bridge servers if it doesn't connect.

DAITA

DAITA modifies the traffic pattern and packet sizes to make traffic analysis harder. While it's not designed as an obfuscation method you can see if it helps to enable it in the Mullvad VPN app settings. However note that it can use a lot of extra Internet traffic, so avoid using it on mobile data connections.

Other bridges and obfuscation methods

If the settings above don't help then you can read the following guides:

  1. Shadowsocks for Android
  2. Shadowsocks with v2ray
  3. xtls with Mullvad VPN
  4. SSH and Mullvad VPN