NordVPN Not Working in China?

Before you start

Do the whole setup at home and test it before you fly. You need:

• an active NordVPN subscription,
• your Nord Account login, and access to the email inbox it uses, for a verification code,
• NordVPN’s certificate, downloaded from the link in its guide,
• a server address and its matching hostname, from the list in the guide for your device.

Each China guide lists a few server IP addresses, each paired with a hostname. Copy one pair exactly as the guide shows it. The lists differ slightly between devices.

Get your service credentials

The manual connection doesn’t use your Nord Account email and password. It uses service credentials, a separate username and password for manual setups.

1. Log in to your Nord Account in a browser and select NordVPN.
2. Choose Set up NordVPN manually, then the Service credentials tab.
3. Select Verify email. NordVPN sends a verification code to your account’s email address. Enter it.
4. Copy the username and password with the Copy buttons.

Official guide: How to find your service credentials.

Install the certificate only from NordVPN

Each setup below installs NordVPN’s root certificate, “NordVPN Root CA”, and tells your device to trust it. Download it only from the link in NordVPN’s own guide, which points to downloads.nordcdn.com. Don’t use a copy from a forum, a file-sharing site, a chat message or another traveler.

A root certificate from the wrong source can let whoever made it intercept and decrypt your connections to websites. Mozilla explains the risk.

iPhone

NordVPN says its iOS app is fully blocked in China. Its workaround uses the iPhone’s built-in IKEv2 VPN settings. Official guide: I can’t connect from China on iOS.

1. Open the certificate link from NordVPN’s guide in Safari.
2. In Settings, open the downloaded profile, install NordVPN Root CA and trust it.
3. In Settings, go to General, then VPN & Device Management, then VPN, and add a VPN configuration of type IKEv2.
4. Enter a server IP from the guide as Server and its matching hostname as Remote ID. Leave Local ID empty.
5. Set user authentication to Username and paste your service credentials.
6. Save, then switch the VPN on in Settings.

Mac

NordVPN says its macOS app is fully blocked in China. Its workaround uses the IKEv2 VPN built into macOS. Official guide: I can’t connect from China on macOS.

1. Download the certificate from the link in the guide, open it and add it to your keychain.
2. In Keychain Access, find NordVPN Root CA and open Get Info. Under Trust, set Extensible Authentication (EAP) and IP Security (IPsec) to Always Trust.
3. On macOS 14 or later, open System Settings, then VPN, select Add VPN Configuration and choose IKEv2. On older versions, add a VPN service of type IKEv2 under Network.
4. Enter a server IP from the guide as Server address and its matching hostname as Remote ID.
5. Choose Username for authentication, paste your service credentials, then save and connect.

Android

NordVPN says its Android app is fully blocked in China. Its workaround uses the strongSwan VPN Client app. Official guide: I can’t connect from China on Android.

1. Download NordVPN’s certificate from the link in the guide.
2. Install strongSwan VPN Client from Google Play or from strongSwan’s website.
3. In strongSwan, open CA certificates from the menu and import the NordVPN certificate.
4. Add a VPN profile and show the advanced settings. Enter a server IP from the guide as Server and its matching hostname as Server identity.
5. Set MTU of the VPN tunnel device to 1280 and tick Block IPv6 traffic not destined for the VPN.
6. Paste your service credentials and save. Tap the profile to connect, and allow the VPN permission when asked.

Linux

NordVPN says its Linux app is fully blocked in China. Its workaround uses strongSwan’s IPsec tools from the terminal. Official guide: I can’t connect from China on Linux.

1. Update your system and install the strongswan and libcharon-extra-plugins packages. The guide uses apt commands and gives a pacman command for Arch-based systems.
2. Add your service credentials to /etc/ipsec.secrets in the format the guide shows.
3. Paste NordVPN’s connection template into /etc/ipsec.conf. Fill in your service username and a server IP and hostname from the guide’s list.
4. In /etc/strongswan.d/charon/constraints.conf, change load = yes to load = no.
5. Download NordVPN’s certificate (root.pem, from the link in the guide) into /etc/ipsec.d/cacerts/.
6. Restart IPsec, then connect with sudo ipsec up NordVPN.

Windows: no workaround yet

NordVPN says its server configurations for manual connections and its apps have recently been blocked on Windows in China. It says it is working on a solution but gives no workaround or date. Its advice is to connect on another device instead. Official article: I can’t connect from China on Windows.

If you depend on a Windows laptop, plan another way to get online before you go. See our VPN comparison and eSIM or VPN for China?.

Other devices

• Android TV. NordVPN says its Android TV app is fully blocked too. Its guide uses the same strongSwan method, with the app installed from strongSwan’s APK after you allow apps from unknown sources. Official guide: I can’t connect from China on Android TV.
• Apple TV. NordVPN says apps and manual setups on tvOS have recently been blocked in China, with no workaround. Official article: I can’t connect from China on tvOS.

If it doesn’t connect

NordVPN’s China guides suggest restarting your device, trying a different network and turning off any other VPN. You can also try another server pair from the guide’s list.

If you’re on hotel Wi-Fi, see VPN for hotel Wi-Fi in China.

Older guides that tell you to use OpenVPN with obfuscated servers are out of date. NordVPN says its obfuscated servers now run on its NordWhisper protocol and no longer accept manual OpenVPN connections.

For NordVPN’s prices, refund policy and current status, see our NordVPN page. Before you travel, read whether using a VPN is legal in China.