How to fix unstable connection issues on Android – Surfshark Customer Support

In this tutorial, you will learn what might cause connectivity issues on your Android and how to fix them.

If you notice the connection being unstable on your Android device when connected to a VPN, here is what you should try first:

Change the default protocol on your Surfshark app.

To do that, launch the Surfshark app, go to Settings --> VPN Settings, then open the Protocol tab. This is where you will find an option to change the default protocol.

Change the protocol from Automatic to OpenVPN(UDP). If that does not help, try the OpenVPN(TCP) protocol.
Turn off battery-saving mode.

Battery saving mode disables many systems on the phone, including some networking functions.

Since there are many different Android OS versions, this setting might appear in a different location. But most often, you will find it if you go to your phone's Settings and check Battery settings. If Battery saver or any similar function is on, try disabling it.
Disable potentially interfering apps.

Some apps might have taken over network control on your device. This can sometimes interfere with Surfshark (or any other VPN) connection.

That applies to anti-virus software, other VPNs, firewalls, and file-sharing apps. If you have any of those, try disabling them. Then reboot your device and see if the connection gets any better.
Switch to a different network.

Connectivity issues might be network-specific. This often happens if the Internet provider applies some restrictions on its network. To see if this is the case, try to check if connectivity issues remain connected to a different network.

You can easily do that on your Android by switching from Wi-Fi to a mobile data network or vice versa.
Try other locations.

For various reasons, one location might provide a more stable connection compared to others.

To change the location, open the Locations page on your Surfshark app; here, you will find the full list of our servers. Try to test at least several different servers and see if the issue persists.
Restart your Android.

It may sound simple, but this will reset your network and give you a fresh start.
Disable the IPv6.

IPv6 is a networking system that some Internet networks might have. Unfortunately, Surfshark does not support IPv6 at the moment, so if you have it on your network, connectivity issues may arise.

Here is a tutorial on how to disable IPv6. It's worth mentioning that IPv6 can only be disabled on mobile data networks.