How to Use Surfshark VPN: Step-by-Step Tutorial 2026

Hey, I'm Dan, and in this video, I'll show you exactly how to use Surfshark VPN step-by-step. I'll walk you through installing it, connecting to a server, which settings actually matter, using it to unlock streaming content from other countries, and setting it up on your phone. By the end of this video, you'll be fully set up on your computer and your phone. You'll be protected, and you'll be comfortable finding your way around the app. And if this is your first time using a VPN, don't worry. Every step is simple, and I'll show you exactly what to click. Let's quickly cover what a VPN actually does, and then we'll get it installed. Right now, every time you go online, your device has an IP address, a number that can show roughly where you are, and be used to track what you're doing. A VPN fixes that in two ways. First, it encrypts your connection, which just means that it scrambles your data so that nobody in between can read what you're doing. Second, it routes your traffic through one of its servers, so the websites that you visit see Surfshark server location instead of your real one. The result is that your activity stays private, and you can make it look like you're in a different location than your home just by choosing a server somewhere else. Now, let's get Surfshark installed. To make sure you're getting the best deal, use the link on screen or click on the first link down in the description below. Once you click it, you'll join me here on Surfshark's current deal page so that you know that you're not overpaying. These promos can change over time, but using that link is the easiest way to make sure you're getting the best available price whenever you sign up. Go ahead and click Get Surfshark VPN. Now, you'll see three plans: Starter, One, and One Plus. For this video, and for most people, the Starter plan is the one that makes the most sense because it's built around the VPN itself. With Starter, you get the VPN, unlimited devices, the ad blocker, and extra privacy features. The one and one plus plans add bundled extras like antivirus and identity tools. But if you're just here for the VPN, starter is all you need. You can always upgrade later if you change your mind and you can view the full list of features here. Now, you'll want to choose how long you want your plan for. The best value is the two-year plan, which right now is $2.49 a month. That includes three extra months, so you get 27 months of access total. That's about $67 for more than 2 years of VPN. And there's a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it and get a full refund if it's not for you. You can go with shorter terms, but if you click over to the 12 months and the 1-month option, you'll see that the price per month jumps up quite a bit. So the two-year plan is the best value by far. And just so you know, this is Surfshark's intro promo pricing. So after your term ends, it renews at the regular yearly price. So it's best to lock in that low price now and that way you have it for the longest term up front. Once you've got the two-year plan selected, click get starter. On the next screen, enter your email address. Then enter your payment information. Your order summary will be shown on the right and when you're ready, click complete purchase. After your payment goes through, you'll be prompted to create a password. Enter one and then click create. You may get offered a special deal and this one will extend your VPN access at that lower rate, but for me, I'll click skip. Surfshark will then ask you to select your VPN IP address type. It sounds like a technical choice, but it's pretty simple. Shared IP gives you a different address each time you connect and you share it with other people on the same server. And it's already included in your plan. A dedicated IP is your own personal address that no one else uses and it's a paid add-on. For almost everyone, shared is the right choice. It's already included in your price and it's what we'll use for the rest of the video. You'll only want a dedicated IP for specific cases like logging into a work network that only allows known addresses or running your own server. If that sounds like you, you can add it now. Otherwise, just click use shared IP and let's keep going. And here, my number one reason for using Surfshark is to access websites and stream content safely. I'll select this and click continue. Here, don't worry too much about what to pick. I'll click VPN beginner and you can follow along with me. Surfshark can go on just about anything. Desktop, mobile, your browser, even a smart TV. But we'll start with the desktop app. Surfshark automatically detects your computer operating system, so the download button already shows the right version. For me, that's download for macOS. And if you're on Windows, it'll say download for Windows. Either way, click this button to download the app. I'll save it into my downloads. Once it finishes, open your downloads in the top right of your browser and click the Surfshark setup file. Then, I'll drag it into my applications. Once it copies over, open your applications folder and then open up the Surfshark app. Here, I'll click agree and continue. Then, log in with the account that you just created. I'll enter my email and password and then I'll click login. If you see this screen, just click exit setup and then confirm. And now we're in the main Surfshark dashboard. Unfortunately, the macOS app is difficult to resize, so I'm just going to zoom in so you can see this entire dashboard clearly. Before we connect to anything, let me give you a quick tour so that you know where everything is. On the right is your status panel. Right now it's red and says connect to stay safe, which means you're not protected just yet. It also shows your current location and your real IP address and both of these things change once we connect. Down in the bottom right is the quick connect button. That's what we'll use in a second to turn the VPN on. Above it, it shows the location that you'll connect it to, which is the fastest one for you and you can click change to pick a different country. On the left is your list of locations with a search bar at the top, a couple of recommended picks for you and all of the countries in the list below. At the very top you'll see a list for tabs. We're on the locations tab here and you'll see ones for static IP, multi-hop and dedicated IP. Special server types that I'll come back to in a bit. And the thin strip on the far left is your menu. Hovering over it will expand the icons into labels. VPN is where we are now and you'll see alert, antivirus, search, alternative ID and settings. We'll mostly stay on VPN. Most of these are separate tools that come with the higher one and one plus plans. So on starter, they'll be locked. The gear at the bottom is settings and we'll open that a little later. And that's the whole app. It's simpler than it looks. So let's connect. The fastest way to get connected is to click quick connect down in the bottom right. Now, if you're on a Mac like me, the first time you connect, you'll get a message asking you to allow the WireGuard protocol. Don't let the name scare you. A protocol is just a method that your VPN uses to create its secure encrypted connection and WireGuard is one of the fastest and safest ones out there. Your Mac just needs permission to switch it on. So click open login items and extensions and that takes you to the right settings page. Within the login items and extensions settings, scroll down until you get to the extensions area. Then find Surfshark and click the info button here. Toggle file provider and network extension. You should be prompted for your password and I'll enter mine here. Then click okay. Once you've enabled the extension, come back to the VPN tab and try to quick connect again. Then add the VPN configuration here. When you see this pop-up, click allow and you'll see Surfshark attempting to connect. And that's it. You're protected. If you're on Windows, you won't see a few of those extra steps and you'll connect right away. You'll see your connected IP address and your location. Whenever you want to turn it off, you can click pause to stop it for a bit or disconnect to turn it off completely. Now, what if you want to connect to a specific country instead of the closest one or the fastest one? Click change and then you'll see the full list of locations. Surfshark has servers in around 100 countries. So, instead of scrolling, just type the one you want into the search bar above, pick a country, click quick connect, Surfshark will connect and now you're browsing in that country. I'll show you exactly why that's useful when we get to streaming a bit later on. Above the country list, you'll see a few more tabs. Locations, static IP, multi-hop and dedicated IP. Locations is the one we just used and that's probably what you'll use the majority of the time. The other three are special server types. Let's see what each one does. Static IP gives you the same address every time you connect. Normally, your address changes each time and some sites, like your bank, can flag your account when it keeps changing. A static IP avoids that. Just pick one from the list and hitting the star will save it to the very top. Multi-hop sends your connection through two countries instead of one, one after the other, which makes it even harder to trace back to you. You can pick one of these ready-made pairs or click create connection and you can build your own by choosing an entry country and then an exit country. Then you can connect, or go back to view the list. And dedicated IP is the one that we saw at sign-up. An address that's yours alone instead of one that's shared with other people. It's a paid add-on, so if you ever want it, click learn more, and it opens a page in your browser where you can add it to your plan. But for almost everyone, the regular locations tab is all you'll ever need. So don't worry if those other three don't apply to you. I'll this tab, and I'll navigate back to the Surfshark dashboard. Now let's turn on a few settings that are the most important. Click the gear icon in the bottom left to open up settings, and then click into VPN settings. The first one I would turn on is auto connect. That way Surfshark will connect on its own whenever you join a network, and you'll never be sitting unprotected. At the top, you can also change your quick connect preference. I'm in the US, so I'll choose US as the fastest location. Below quick connect and auto connect, you'll find the bypasser. This is also called split tunneling, and it lets you pick certain apps or sites to skip the VPN, like a banking app that doesn't play nicely with it. You can add any website or any app here. Below the bypasser setting, you'll find CleanWeb. Turn that on, and to enable it, if you're already connected, you'll need to reconnect. CleanWeb blocks ads and trackers when the VPN is connected, which makes your browsing cleaner and safer. Then you have the option to turn on the kill switch. This is currently in beta, but if your VPN connection ever drops, it cuts your internet for a moment so that your real IP address never slips out. Under protocol, you can leave this set to automatic. That lets Surfshark pick the fastest, most stable connection for you, and there's nothing more to change here. There are a few more advanced options below, like rotating IP, but you can leave those alone for now. There's one last one, and it's in a different spot. So go back, and then open app settings. Here, make sure the launch app on startup is toggled on. That way Surfshark is ready the moment that you turn on your computer. And that covers the major settings that matter. One of the most popular reasons people use a VPN is to unlock shows that aren't available where they live. So, let me show you how to do that. Streaming services like Netflix show you a different set of titles depending on what country you're in. I've changed my connection from Canada, and I'm now connected to the VPN in the US. So, I'll see the US Netflix library. Let's say I want to watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. When I search for it, you can see by the search results that it's not on Netflix in the US. But, I know it's on Netflix in the UK. So, I'll go back to Surfshark. I'll go to the locations tab, and I'll search for the UK. I'll select the fastest location, and then continue to change the VPN. I'll see my connection change to the UK, and then I'll go back to Netflix. Now that Netflix thinks that I'm in the UK, if I refresh this page with the search, the UK library loads, and I can now pick Always Sunny. For this particular show, I'll also have to upgrade my plan, but that's my problem and not yours. You can do this with all sorts of countries and streaming services to reach content that's blocked where you are. One quick tip, if a show won't play or you get an error, connect to a different server in that same country and refresh. That may just clear it up for you. Surfshark covers all your devices on one account. So, let's quickly get it onto your phone as well. I'll close Netflix, and if you still have this download page open, click over to the mobile tab. This gives you a couple ways to get the app. You can scan this QR code with your phone's camera, or just open your phone's app store and search for Surfshark. I'm using an iPhone, so I'll grab it from the App Store. But, if you're on Android, it works exactly the same way from the Google Play Store. Once it's installed, open app, tap log in, and sign in with the same email and password you used on your computer. The first time you connect, your phone will ask for permission to set up a VPN. Just tap allow. Then tap quick connect, exactly like we did with the desktop app, and then you're protected on your phone. Everything works very similarly to the computer version. You can pick countries and change settings in the same way. And since Surfshark covers unlimited devices, you can do this on your tablet and anything else you use at no extra cost. And if you've only been following along so far and haven't signed up yet, remember to use the first link in the description to get the best available deal on Surfshark. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next video.