Mullvad VPN Not Working? Common Errors & Fixes

If Mullvad hangs on 'Connecting' and then shows 'Blocking internet', your network is usually blocking the WireGuard connection or one server is down. Switch to another city, change the WireGuard port or turn on UDP-over-TCP/QUIC under Anti-censorship, and log out and back in if your keys are stale.

If the internet stays dead after you disconnect or quit Mullvad, Lockdown mode is probably on, or on Windows your adapter is stuck with Mullvad's DNS. Turn off Lockdown mode, or set your network adapter back to 'Obtain DNS server address automatically'.

Mullvad is usually slow because of a distant server or because DAITA, Multihop or obfuscation is on. Pick a nearby city, try a different hosting provider, set Anti-censorship to None and test other WireGuard ports.

Frequent drops are usually caused by the network throttling UDP or by Wi-Fi power saving. Mullvad's own advice is to connect over TCP port 443 with UDP-over-TCP under Anti-censorship.

Netflix detects most Mullvad IPs and shows the proxy error, because Mullvad doesn't run streaming servers. Trying other servers in the same country and clearing Netflix data sometimes helps, but for reliable streaming you need a streaming-focused VPN or split tunneling to bypass the VPN for Netflix.

Shared Mullvad exit IPs trigger Google's 'unusual traffic' page and Cloudflare CAPTCHAs. Switch to another server or city, use Mullvad's SOCKS5 proxy, and if your whole connection is blocked, turn off your router's malicious-site filter.

Each Mullvad account allows 5 devices. When you hit the limit, the app shows the registered devices at login so you can remove one with the X icon; you can also remove devices at mullvad.net/account.

Check the Account screen in any logged-in Mullvad app first. If you paid by card, the payment token on your bank statement (VPN*xxxxxxxxxx) can recover it, but Mullvad can only trace payments for about 20 days.

Mullvad blocks local devices by default. Turn on Local network sharing in VPN settings; on Android this doesn't work while Android's 'Block connections without VPN' is on.

Mullvad shut down all OpenVPN servers on January 15, 2026, so OpenVPN configs on routers, NAS boxes and third-party apps no longer connect. Generate a WireGuard configuration on mullvad.net and import it instead.

An Android 16 bug lets apps send some QUIC traffic outside any VPN tunnel, even with Always-on VPN and 'Block connections without VPN'. Google marked it won't fix; Mullvad's workaround is an ADB command that disables the feature, and GrapheneOS has patched it.

The Mullvad app is only a front end for the mullvad-daemon service. If the app says it can't contact the system service, start or restart the daemon with systemctl and check its verbose output.

Most Mullvad accounts don't need cancelling: website purchases are prepaid and simply expire. You only cancel if you pay through the Apple App Store, Google Play, or a legacy card/PayPal subscription from before 2022. Refunds are available within 14 days except for cash, crypto and vouchers.