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

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

We will cover the following steps:

Change the default protocol
Disable the Low Power mode
Disable interfering apps
Switch to a different network
Try other locations
Restart your device
Check if you have IPv6 on your network

Change the default protocol

Go to the Settings page on your Surfshark app.
Tap on VPN Settings.
You will find the Protocol setting. By default, the protocol should be Automatic. Change it from Automatic to OpenVPN (UDP).
Connect to one of the servers and test the connectivity.
If OpenVPN (UDP) does not help, try the WireGuard protocol as well.

Disable the Low Power mode

Low Power mode or other settings that optimize battery consumption on your device might disable essential networking functions. Try disabling it with the following steps:

Go to Settings.
Find the Battery section.
Check if the Low Power mode is on. If it is, turn it off and test the speed again.

Disable interfering apps

Some apps might have taken over network controls on your device. That can sometimes interfere with Surfshark (or any other VPN) connection. This applies to antivirus software, other VPNs, 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 kind of restrictions on its network. To see if that is the case, check if connectivity issues remain while connected to a different network.

You can easily do that on your iOS 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 than others.

To change the location, open the Locations page on your Surfshark app, where 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 device

Even though it may sound simple, restarting your device will give you a fresh start.

Check if you have IPv6 on your network

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

Check if you have IPv6 on your network. Unfortunately, iOS devices do not have an option to turn it off locally. So if you find that IPv6 is on, it would be best to contact your internet service provider and request to turn it off.