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Refer a Friend NowThis tutorial guide will walk you through the steps to set up ExpressVPN for Mac on your Mac OS X. Note: this app requires Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite), 10.11 (El Capitan), 10.12 (Sierra), 10.13 (High Sierra), or 10.14 (Mojave) to use.
You can find out your Mac version by clicking on About this Mac in the Apple menu located in the upper-left corner of your screen.
Prefer manual setup? See the instructions for manual setup for Mac OpenVPN and Mac L2TP.
Jump to section
Download the app
Get your activation code
Install the app
Set up ExpressVPN
Connect to a VPN server location
Disconnect from the VPN server location
Choose a different VPN server location
Switch to a different VPN protocol
Launch and connect ExpressVPN on startup
Use the VPN Speed Test
Use Connection Per App (split tunneling)
Optional: Use the Menu Bar
Use the Spotlight Search to connect instantly
Use the ExpressVPN browser extension
Access printer and shared folders on local area network
Uninstall the app
Download the app
Open the Welcome Email you received when you signed up for ExpressVPN. Click the link in the email.
If you can’t find the link, sign in to your account here.
Once you’ve clicked the link in the welcome email or signed in to the website, click on Download for Mac. This will start the download for your app.
Do not close the window! You will need it for the next step.
Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.
Get your activation code
In order to use ExpressVPN on your Mac computer, you will need your activation code. Let’s copy it to your clipboard.
To copy your activation code to the clipboard, click the copy code icon in the top right corner of the box containing the code. You will be asked to provide it later.
Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.
Install the app
Locate the download file on your computer and open it. A window will pop up, saying, “The package will run a program to determine if the software can be installed.” Click Continue.
You will be guided through the steps necessary to install the ExpressVPN software. Click Continue.
The ExpressVPN Installer will ask you to select a disk where you want to install the ExpressVPN software. Select a disk, then click Continue.
The installer will ask you to click install to perform the installation. Click Install.
Type your Mac username and password to authorize the installation, then click Install Software.
You will see the following window ONLY if you have installed ExpressVPN on your Mac before. If you don’t see this screen, skip ahead.
- Select Keep existing account if you are reinstalling ExpressVPN with the same activation code as before.
- Select Remove existing account and let me switch to another account if you are using a new activation code.
Select Continue.
The next screen gives you a chance to anonymously share analytics about your VPN connections with us so we can make our service faster and more reliable for you.
We will never collect your personal data. We value your privacy, and our engineers have gone to great lengths to design a system to anonymize your data before it reaches our servers.
Click on the checkbox to enable sharing anonymous speed-test data and analytics. Then click Continue.
You will see a screen that says, “The installation was successful.” Click Close to complete the installation.
Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.
Set up ExpressVPN
After the installation is complete, the ExpressVPN app will open automatically.
On the ExpressVPN Setup screen, paste your activation code. This is the code you found earlier. You can paste it by pressing Command + V, or right-clicking the rectangular field and clicking Paste. Then click OK.
When the activation is complete, you will see a “Success!” screen. Click Start using the app.
Congratulations! You are now ready to access our many VPN server locations.
Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.
Connect to a VPN server location
To connect to a VPN server location, click the ON Button. By default, ExpressVPN will suggest the location that provides the most optimal experience for you, called Smart Location.
Once you see the VPN is ON message on the app screen, you can begin surfing with freedom and security!
Note: a single ExpressVPN subscription can be used simultaneously on five devices, regardless of platform. If you try to use more than five devices simultaneously on one subscription, you will see the below screen:
Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.
Disconnect from the VPN server location
To disconnect from the VPN server location, click the ON Button while the VPN is on.
You will know you are disconnected when the “VPN is OFF” message shown.
Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.
Choose a different VPN server location
To choose a different VPN server location, click on Choose Location to access the list of VPN locations.
To connect to a server location, click on it, then click the ON Button. (You can also connect by double-clicking the location).
The list of VPN locations features three tabs: Recommended, All, and Favorites.
The Recommended tab shows you ExpressVPN’s top picks for you to connect to.
The All tab lists the VPN server locations by region. You can expand and collapse the lists by tapping on the triangular arrowheads.
The Favorites tab has two sections. “Recently Connected” shows the three most recent locations you connected to. “Favorites” shows the locations you have saved as a favorite by clicking the star icon next to the location name.
You can also search for your desired server location by using the search bar. To launch the search bar, press Command + F. Inside the search bar, type the name of your desired server location and then double-click the server location in the search results to connect to it.
After disconnecting from a server location you selected, you can return to your smart location (the location recommended for the smoothest experience) by clicking SMART LOCATION.
Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.
Switch to a different VPN protocol
VPN protocols are the methods by which your device connects to a VPN server. Switching to a different protocol can help you achieve faster connection speeds.
To switch to a different protocol, click on the hamburger menu (≡), then click Preferences. Make sure you’re not connected to the VPN when doing this.
In the Protocol tab, select the protocol you want to use, then click OK.
Note: PPTP and L2TP-IPsec provide weak security benefits and should only be used for anonymization or for changing locations.
Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.
Launch and connect ExpressVPN on startup
To launch and connect ExpressVPN when starting up your Mac:
- In the ExpressVPN app, go to Preferences > General.
- Under Startup, check the boxes for launching ExpressVPN on startup and connecting to your last used VPN location.
Use the VPN Speed Test
To use the VPN Speed Test, you must be disconnected from the VPN.
Click on the hamburger menu (≡), then click Speed Test.
On the Speed Test screen, click Run Test. The test will take a few minutes to run.
After the test is finished, select the locations with HIGH Speed Index, LOW Latency, and HIGH Download Speed
Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.
Use Connection Per App (split tunneling)
This feature allows you to decide which apps use the VPN and which apps do not use the VPN when you are connected to ExpressVPN.
To change your “Connection Per App” settings, click the hamburger menu (≡) and go to Preferences….
Tick the box in the Connection Per App section and click Settings.
From there, you can decide which of your apps will use the VPN and which ones will not use the VPN when you are connected to ExpressVPN.
Enabling Split Tunneling
Follow the steps above in this section, but when prompted, click Open System Preferences.
You will see a notification for “System Extension Blocked”. Click OK.
In System Preferences, click Allow next to System software from developer “ExprsVPN LLC” was blocked from loading.
You will now be able to go back to the app and change split tunneling settings.
IN DEPTH: Learn more about the split-tunneling feature
Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.
Optional: Use the Menu Bar
If you don’t want to use the ExpressVPN app via the main window, you can choose to operate it by just using the Menu Bar. This grants almost all of the functionalities of the app as when it is operated by the app window.
To operate the app from the Menu Bar only: On your desktop (while the main app window is displayed), click the ExpressVPN Menu Bar icon and then click Preferences.
In the Advanced tab, select Menu Bar only.
You can repeat the steps above to select whether to use ExpressVPN from both the Menu Bar and Dock, from the Menu Bar only, or the Dock only.
Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.
Use the Spotlight Search to connect instantly
Mac power users, now you can use the Spotlight Search to connect to your Favorite, Recommended, or Recently Connected server locations instantly.
How to connect instantly via Spotlight Search:
Hit Command (⌘) + spacebar.
In the Spotlight Search, start typing: Connect to [server location name]
Select the location you wish to connect to and press Return, or double-click it.
This will open the ExpressVPN app and automatically connect you to your server location.
How to disconnect instantly via Spotlight Search
Hit Command (⌘) + spacebar.
In the Spotlight Search, start typing: Disconnect
This will open the ExpressVPN app and automatically disconnect you from your server location.
Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.
Use the ExpressVPN browser extension
If you’re using version 6.4 (or later) of the ExpressVPN app, you can download and use the ExpressVPN browser extension to remotely control the ExpressVPN app from your browser. The extension is currently available for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari.
From your app, click the hamburger menu (≡), select Preferences…, then go to the Browsers tab. Click Get Browser Extension and follow the on-page instructions.
Learn more about the ExpressVPN browser extension here.
Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.
Access printer and shared folders on local area network
Some users may experience problems with accessing shared folders and printers on LAN while connected to the VPN.
For assistance, see Network Lock instructions and instructions on adding your printer IP address.
Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.
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Uninstall the app
To remove the app from your Mac computer, you must first close the app.
Open Terminal by going to Applications > Utilities > Terminal
Run /Applications/ExpressVPN.app/Contents/Resources/uninstall.tool
Type “yes” when asked, then enter your password to confirm you want to remove the app from your computer.
Close Terminal. ExpressVPN has been removed from your machine.
Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.