If you are having trouble connecting to Surfshark on your Mac, especially from a restrictive country, a manual connection is the recommended solution. This article will direct you to the correct setup guide for your needs.
This is also the best path for users with older Mac computers that do not support the main Surfshark app.
Before you proceed to one of the guides, ensure you have a macOS device and an active Surfshark subscription. You can view our plans on the Surfshark pricing page if you need to sign up.
Choose your manual setup guide
We offer two reliable methods for manual connections on macOS.
NOTE: If you are connecting from China, please use our dedicated guide on how to connect from China on macOS instead.
OpenVPN (Recommended)
This is the most common and reliable method for bypassing network restrictions. It uses the Tunnelblick application to establish a stable connection.
WireGuard (Alternative)
In case you were not able to connect or prefer to use a newer protocol, WireGuard is an excellent alternative.
Ensure the connection is successful
We always recommend checking if Surfshark VPN is working after setting it up for the first time. You can easily do it by performing Surfshark IP leak test and a DNS leak test. For your convenience, both are available on our website.