Mullvad help center

App under Windows says: failed to apply firewall rules...? #

This mostly happens with third party security and firewall software that blocks WFP from working correctly. The error will often show up in the daemon.log as : [talpid_core::winnet][ERROR] Initiate WFP transaction: The call timed out while waiting to acquire the transaction lock.

App under Linux says: failed to apply firewall rules...? #

Please make sure you are running Linux kernel version 4.8.0 or newer. Check in a terminal with "uname -a".
If it is below 4.8.0 you can upgrade with "sudo apt-get install linux-generic-hwe-16.04"
After that reboot, and then try connecting with the app again.

App says “too many simultaneous connections” when only using 1? #

This can happen if the Mullvad VPN app can't find the TAP adapter. Solution: close and, re-install the latest Mullvad VPN App. Wait 5 mins (for the connection count to clear) and then try to connect, and see if this solves the issue.

Why can’t I use the internet after closing the Mullvad app on Windows? #

Go into the "Network & Internet settings" > "Change adapter settings" and then right-click the network adapter you use to connect to the internet and select "Properties" then double-click on "Internet Protocol version 4" and set it to "Obtain DNS server address automatically" Please make sure that you are running 2019.8 or later of our Mullvad VPN app, since that version should fix that specific issue.

How do I turn on DNS leak protection in the app? #

DNS leak protection is always on. There is no option to disable it.

How do I force the Mullvad VPN app to use TCP protocol? #

Open the app's Settings, then click on Advanced. Here you can specify TCP.

After starting the Mullvad VPN app, I can't access local shares or services. What do I do? #

Open the app's Settings, then click on Preferences and turn on Local Network Sharing.

Which country will the IP address that I get be located in? #

The Mullvad app allows you to choose. Check out our full list of VPN servers and locations.

How do I tunnel IPv6 traffic in the app? #

You can enable IPv6 communication in the Advanced settings menu.

Running Mullvad in a virtual machine drops the connection quite often. How do I fix that? #

Please make sure that your guest VM is using static IP addresses.

Can I use Mullvad without the GUI? #

Yes, by using the Mullvad command line interface. We also provide OpenVPN and WireGuard configuration files for any device that supports them.

Do you support my OS or device? #

We support Windows 7 and newer, macOS X Yosemite (10.10) and newer, and Linux distributions such as Debian, Ubuntu, and Fedora running kernels 4.8.0 or newer. We also provide OpenVPN and WireGuard configuration files for any device that supports them.

I get Fatal error during driver installation. Failed to identify newly added TAP adapter. #

Please make sure that you do not have any antivirus or third party firewalls that might be blocking / restricting access for installing the TAP Adapter correctly.

How do I change the app's language? #

The language is automatically determined based on your computer's language settings. You can set the environment variable MULLVAD_LOCALE to the language you wish to use of the ones we have available:

If using Linux : MULLVAD_LOCALE=en-US ./mullvad-vpn

If using Windows you set it in: System -> Advanced system settings -> Environment Variables -> and then add a System variable called MULLVAD_LOCALE with the value of en-US for English.

If using macOS from a terminal: MULLVAD_LOCALE=en-US /Applications/Mullvad\ VPN.app/Contents/MacOS/Mullvad\ VPN

Keep in mind that you will need to restart the Mullvad VPN app for it to take effect.

Why do I get a TAP driver installation issue on Windows ? #

The error message "Fatal error during driver installation : failed to create virtual adapter: error 2" or "Fatal error during driver installation. Failed to identify newly added TAP adapter." when installing the Mullvad VPN app. This is commonly caused by firewall / internet security software, for instance Comodo, please disable them and then try installing the app again.

Why do I get a lot of connection drops after starting to download or stream content on Windows? #

This is an issue with the Windows TAP drivers, and it is seen more often when using torrents, what you can do is install the older TAP driver version 9.9.2_3 and see if that resolves the issue for you, remember to reconnect after installing it.

How do I multihop with the app? #

Activate Bridge mode to route your traffic through two servers.

Is Shadowsocks available in the app? #

Yes. By using Bridge mode you will be using the Shadowsocks proxy.

How can I circumvent censorship or get around a restrictive firewall? #

Activate Bridge mode in the app. This will make use of the Shadowsocks proxy.

Where can I find my app's local log files? #

Here's how to find openvpn.log, openvpn.old.log, daemon.log, and daemon.old.log.

Via the app
You can easily access them via the app by opening Settings > Report a Problem > View app logs.

Via your computer
Windows: C:\ProgramData\Mullvad VPN
macOS: /var/log/mullvad-vpn/
Linux: /var/log/mullvad-vpn/

Downloading the Mullvad app is slow. What can I do? #

Read about our alternative download option.