Using Mullvad VPN on Android

This guide explains how to use the Mullvad VPN app on Android devices.

information installation Mullvad app guide Install Mullvad app Android .

What this guide covers

Purchasing time for Mullvad

To buy time for Mullvad VPN, open our website in your web browser. You will need a Mullvad account. For this you have two options:

1. Create a new account on our website (or use an existing account)

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 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 then tap on Log out. Then log in with the account number that you created on our website.

2. Create a new account in the Mullvad app

create new account Mullvad app sure log account number website pay .

Finding a lost account

If you recently made a payment (less than 40 days ago) and you do not know the account number then use our account recovery tool.

Redeem voucher

If you have a voucher code that you purchased from one of our resellers then you can redeem it on our website, or tap on Create account Mullvad app tapRedeem voucher. If you do not have a voucher then tap on the Account icon in the top right corner of the Mullvad app to view your Mullvad account number or log out.

Basic use

Log in

Enter your Mullvad account number, then tap the green login icon (➜).

Too many devices

You is use use Mullvad VPN account 5 devices . log account 5 devices associated , you is see list device names .

device names generated log , random words (   adjective animal ) . time shows devices worry , follow instructions :

1. To be able to log in you will need to remove at least one of the devices, by tapping the ✖ to the right of the device name. To check so you don’t delete a device that you are using, open the Account settings in the Mullvad app on each of your devices to see their device names.
2. Tap on Yes, log out device.
   
3. Tap on Continue with login to log in on the device.
   
4. To see the new device name, tap on the settings icon and go to Account.

Connection screen

Once logged in, you will see the status of your connection on the app’s connection screen. When you are disconnected, the top bar of the app will be red and “Unsecured connection” will be displayed on the connection screen.

Connect and approve the connection request

To connect, tap Secure my connection.

The first time after you install the app, it will ask for your permission to set up a VPN connection on your device.

Tap OK.

Once you are connected, the top bar of the app will be green, a VPN icon will display in the top notification bar of your device, and “Secure connection” will be displayed on the connection screen.

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

Note that the Mullvad app for Android does currently not have a map on the connection screen like the app for other platforms do.

Switch location

To choose a different server, tap the Switch location button.

Scroll down and tap the country that you prefer and the app will reconnect automatically.

Tapping on the down arrow to the right of a country will reveal cities and specific servers that you can choose to connect to.

You can also search for a location in the top of the list.

Disconnect

To disconnect, just tap Disconnect on the connection screen.

Account

The Account view can be accessed by tapping on the account button in the top right corner, next to the settings button.

Here you can view your account number (tap on the eye icon), copy the account number (tap on the copy icon) and when your paid time runs out.

This is also where you log out you is wish wish log account number , want remove Mullvad device .

Settings

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

Here there are different submenus that are described below.

VPN settings

Read more below about the settings that you can set here.

Auto – connect

Enablethis if you want the app to connect automatically when you start it. If you also want the app to connect when you restart your device then you can enable – VPN in the Android settings.

Local network sharing

Enablethis setting if you want to access other devices in your local network, such as a printer or a NAS (network attached storage). Use the IP-address of the device when you connect to it. It is recommended to turn this off if you connect to a public Wi-Fi network.

WireGuard MTU

default MTU is is app 1280 . recommended change specific reason .

DNS content blockers

Tap on this setting to show different content blocker options. If you enable these options it will prevent some of these types of content from loading in your web browser and other apps. This feature uses blocking lists from various providers.

WireGuard Obfuscation

Set optionOn (UDP-over-TCP) if you have a problem to connect in some Wi-Fi networks or mobile networks which may be blocking UDP traffic. Note that this will slow down your Internet speed if you are far away from the Mullvad server that you connect to. Only enable it if you can not connect without it. When this is set to Automatic it will be used automatically if the app is not able to connect.

Quantum-resistant tunnel

Set optionOn if you wish to enable encryption that may withstand decryption attempts from quantum computers in the future.

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

WireGuard port

This option may be useful if the network you are connecting from only allows traffic on certain ports.

Use custom DNS server

Enablethis option if you want to use another DNS server instead of the DNS on the Mullvad VPN server. All DNS content blockers must first be turned off. You can enter an IPv4 address or IPv6 address. You can not use DNS-over-HTTPS or DNS-over-TLS servers.

Split tunneling

Split tunneling allows you to exclude selected apps from the VPN. For more information see the guide Split tunneling with the Mullvad app. Also read the split tunneling FAQ below.

Report a problem

If you are having issues you can let us know by sending a problem report. Enter your email address if you want a reply. Describe your problem in English or Swedish and include which country you are connecting from if you have a problem to connect, so we can help you better.

Android VPN settings

Blocking connections without VPN

The Mullvad app has a built in kill switch which blocks the Internet if the connection is lost to the Mullvad VPN server you are connected to. If you want your device to only be able to use the Internet when you are connected to Mullvad then you can enable that in the Android settings.

Requirements

• “Block connections without VPN” is available in Android 8 or later (not included in Android TV).

Enablethe Android settings

1. Open Android Settings .
2. Tap on Network & internet.
3. Tap on Advanced.
4. Tap on VPN.
5. Tap on the gear icon on the right side of Mullvad VPN.
6. Enable– VPN.
7. EnableBlock connections without VPN.

Vulnerabilities

There’s a known Android issue where DNS traffic can leak outside the tunnel which we’ve explained in this blog post.

Additionally , traffic is is connectivity checks exempt Android leak outside tunnel ” Block connections VPN ” enabled . You is read read   blog post leaking connectivity checks prevent guide configuring connectivity checks Android .

Note that if you are using Split tunneling in the Mullvad app then “Block connections without VPN” will block all excluded apps since they do not use the VPN. It will also block local network connections.

Connecting to Mullvad when the device starts

You can connect to Mullvad automatically when the device is started by enabling the following settings.

1. Go to the Mullvad app settings (tap on the gear icon in the top right corner in the app).
2. Tap on Preferences.
3. EnableAuto – connect.
4. Follow the steps above to enable – VPN.

FAQ

Q: The Mullvad app says that the Android VPN permission was denied.

Did you allow the app to set up a VPN connection? If the app did not ask for this then try to restart the device and/or reinstall the app. In some cases you may have to reset the Android Network settings.

Q: Mullvad is losing the VPN connection when using mobile data, or it does not connect with T-Mobile, Sprint or Mint Mobile.

sure correct APN setting mobile data Android Settings .

Q : Mullvad app is connect connect restricted country public Wi – Fi .

1. Try to switch location and connect to different countries and servers.
2. UDP traffic might be blocked in the network. Try to enable Obfuscation, or use the OpenVPN for Android app with a TCP configuration file.
3. Try to use Shadowsocks and OpenVPN for Android.

Q: Nothing happens when I tap on the buttons in the Mullvad app.

This can happen if you are using a “blue light filter” app that changes the color tone of the display. It functions as a screen overlay and it blocks the buttons in our app. You have to disable that.

Q: I am unable to access the local network even though I have enabled Local network sharing.

If you have turned on “Block connections without VPN” in the Android system settings then it won’t work because it then blocks the local connections outside of the VPN tunnel.

Q: I am not able to update the Mullvad app.

This can happen if you did not install the app using Google Play from the beginning. You can uninstall the app and then install the new version.

Q: Android shows a notification dot on the Mullvad app icon.

The notification dot will remain as long as the Mullvad notification in the notification center remains. If you don’t want to see it you can go to the Android settings > Apps & notifications > Mullvad VPN > Notifications and turn off “Allow notification dot”. You can also turn off “VPN tunnel status” if you don’t want to see that in the notification center.

Q: When installing Mullvad on my Amazon Fire TV Stick it says “There was a problem parsing the package”.

: Mullvad app supports Android 8 newer . FireTV / FireStick old you is use use WireGuard app instead supports Android 5.0 .

Split tunneling

Q: My web browser does not work and/or says “This site can’t be reached”.

If you have excluded the app with split tunneling and enabled “Block connections without VPN” in the Android settings then Android will not allow it to connect outside of the VPN tunnel.

Q : I is excluded excluded Firefox beta Split tunneling , normal Firefox got excluded .

Both Firefox and Firefox Beta have the same internal identifier (UID), so the Android system sees them as the same app in certain regards. This makes it impossible to exclude one of the apps from the tunnel, but not the other. This is something only Mozilla can fix. You can use Firefox Nightly instead. It has a different identifier and can be excluded without affecting the other Firefox versions.

“WireGuard” is a registered trademark of Jason A. Donenfeld.