Connect to Surfshark VPN using Ubuntu Network Manager – Surfshark Customer Support

In this article, you will learn how to connect to Surfshark VPN using Ubuntu Network Manager. Ubuntu Network Manager can help you connect to Surfshark VPN servers without using the Surfshark application, and it's pretty convenient to set up and use.

To proceed, you need to have a Linux Ubuntu device and an active Surfshark subscription, which you can purchase on Surfshark's pricing page.

You will learn how to:

Get your credentials
Download configuration files
Configure the Network Manager
Ensure your connection is successful

Get your credentials

NOTE: These are not your regular credentials, such as your email and password.

Enter the Surfshark login page and log in. Then, click on VPN > Manual Setup > Desktop or mobile > OpenVPN to generate your credentials.
Once there, make sure that you are in the Credentials tab and click on Generate credentials.

NOTE: Keep this tab open as we'll need it later.

Download configuration files

Open the same page on another browser tab, go to the Locations tab, and locate the server that you wish to connect to.
Download configuration files by clicking on the arrow pointing downwards next to your chosen location.
Choose which file to download: UDP or TCP.

These are 2 different VPN protocols. We recommend the UDP protocol because it tends to be faster, but feel free to find out more about Surfshark protocols and decide for yourself.
We recommend saving the file on your desktop so that you could easily find it during the setup process.

Configure the Network Manager

Launch the terminal. You can do that by pressing CTRL+ALT+T on your keyboard.
Alternatively, you can launch the terminal from the list of your apps.
Install the VPN manager if it's not on your device yet. To do that, use this command:

sudo apt-get install network-manager-openvpn-gnome
Copy and paste this command to the terminal and hit enter.
This might create a prompt asking for your PC password. Enter your password and authorize to continue.

NOTE: If the Network Manager is on your system, you will be notified that the Network Manager is already there. In that case, go to step 5. If the Network manager is not on your system, proceed with the installation process.
Click the white arrow or the Wi-Fi/Ethernet icon at the top-right corner of your desktop. It will open a system tray.
Click Settings.
Open the Network settings tab in the Settings screen.
Click [+] to add a new VPN profile.
A window will pop up asking how you would like to add a new profile. Choose Import from file, then navigate to the configuration file on your desktop (refer to Download configuration files section in this article). Select to import it.
Once the file finishes uploading, enter the Username and Password (refer to Get your credentials section in this article). Then, click Add.
Now, you will see a new VPN profile. Move the switch from OFF to ON to enable a VPN connection.
To check if the VPN is on, you can open the system tray and you should see the VPN profile there.

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.