Search
In this tutorial, you will learn what might cause connectivity issues on your Mac and how to fix them.
If you notice the connection being unstable on your device when connected to a VPN, here is what you should try first:
-
Change the default protocol used on the 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.
-
Try other locations.
For various reasons, like server load or technical issues on the server, 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.
-
Turn off IPv6 on your device.
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.
To see if you have it on your network, proceed to this tutorial.
-
Temporarily disable potentially interfering apps.
Some apps might have taken over network controls on your device. This can sometimes interfere with your Surfshark (or any other VPN) connection.
This applies to other VPNs, firewalls, file-sharing apps, and especially, anti-virus software. If you have any of those, try disabling them. Then reboot your device and see if the connection gets any better.
-
Remove parental/security controls on your router.
Some network providers might have enabled network security features on your network. Most often, such features are parental controls or some "Safe DNS" function.
Setting custom DNS on your router will do the trick. To do that, you will need to navigate to your router's network settings and change the DNS to:
-
Reboot your Mac.
Even though this may sound too simple, it often does the trick. Rebooting your Mac will kill unnecessary apps' background processes and reset your network to give you a fresh start.
-
Set custom DNS on your machine.
Your internet service provider often provides default DNS servers. In many cases, they're not the best option performance-wise. Here's a guide on how to set up more flexible DNS.
You may also be interested in: