How to connect to Surfshark in countries with internet restrictions on macOS – Surfshark Customer Support

In this tutorial, you will learn how to set up the Tunnelblick app on your macOS device. This method is a proven way to easily connect to the VPN from countries with internet restrictions like China, UAE, Russia, etc.

You will need a device running the macOS operating system and an active Surfshark subscription. If you don’t have the subscription yet, you can get it here.

Here are the steps that we will go through:

Get your credentials
Download configuration files
Download the app
Install the app
Connect to the VPN

Get your credentials

You will need Surfshark service credentials to connect to the VPN using a manual OpenVPN connection. Do not confuse these with your regular credentials - your email address and your password.

Here is how you can get your Surfshark service credentials:

Download configuration files

Every server has an IP address that you will need to use to connect to the specific VPN location. If you wish to connect to the US, you will need an IP address for the US. If you prefer connecting to Australia, use the IP address for Australia.

To get the IP addresses for connecting, click here, and download your preferred configuration file.

Select the OpenVPN tab.
Lastly, click on the Locations tab and hit the Download button next to your desired server.

Download the app

Firstly, click here to download the official Tunnelblick app.
Locate the installation package in the Downloads or Recents folder on your Mac.

Install the app

To start the installation process, double-click on the Tunnelblick installation package in your Downloads or Recents folder.
Double-click the Tunnelblick icon in the next window.
Confirm the action by pressing Open.
Set your preferences for the Tunnelblick app and click Continue.

Feel free to leave the default entries.
Click I have configuration files. You downloaded these in the second part of this guide.
Click OK.
Now open the Downloads folder on your Mac and locate the Surfshark configuration files you already downloaded.
Open the Tunnelblick app by clicking on the Tunnelblick icon in the menu bar.
You will now need to install the configuration file. Click on the configuration file in your Downloads folder and drag it to the Configurations area in the Tunnelblick app.

You can also install the configuration files without opening the Tunnelblick app by dragging them to the Tunnelblick icon in the menu bar.
The following pop-up will show up, select Only Me.
You may need to enter your admin credentials to perform this action.

Enter your Mac admin account password and press OK.
The configuration files that you just installed will appear in the Configurations section of the Tunnelblick app.

Connect to the VPN

To connect to a VPN location, click on the configuration file of a specific location. Then press Connect.
Enter the Surfshark service credentials and click OK.

These are service credentials that you collected in the Get your credentials part of this tutorial. Do not confuse these with your regular Surfshark credentials, namely your email address and a password you created when registering.
You will see a pop-up window showing the connection status in the top-right corner of your screen.

It will stay yellow while connecting.

Then it will turn green once the connection is successful.
To disconnect from the VPN, click the Disconnect button.
To connect to a different location, repeat these steps:

1. Download configuration files of your preferred location
2. Install new configuration files and connect to the VPN

Congratulations - you have successfully installed and configured the Tunnelblick app on your macOS! As long as you’re connected, your location is private, and your sensitive data is secure.