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Mullvad VPN and battery drain (slrpnk.net)

submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by [email protected] to c/privacy

6 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I got Mullvad VPN to try it for a month after years using ExpressVPN, but it drains my battery (iPhone SE, 2nd generation, 2020) into oblivion in a matter of 3-4 hours.

Browsed the Cursed Site™️ and using WireGuard instead of the Mullvad VPN app seems to be the most common solution – but not for me. WireGuard either it doesn’t connect to any location or disconnects after 2-3 minutes.

Anyone got any advice?

EDIT: added more details about the phone model.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Pretty much any VPN will drain your battety due to constant connection checks, but some are better than others. I'm on CalyxOS (custom android) so I can't speak to IOS, but I juat tried out various VPN services until I found one that worked. Ironically Mullvad was the one that drained the battery the least for me. Nord, Proton, and Air drained it the most. You could also try Mozilla, Proton, Riseup, or Xeovo VPNs which all have respectable terms of service and are trustworthy imo

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

Curious. Ever since I got this phone I have been using proton with the active kill switch, so in practice it never runs without the VPN active. I have to charge the phone every 1-2 days depending on how much i use it, with the app being a miniscule part of my power usage.

Seems odd that there would be such discrepancies

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Thanks for your answer!

It is true it seems to vary greatly. ExpressVPN went very easy on my phone battery and was on 24/7. I guess I got unlucky with Mullvad VPN.

I just want to get an EU alternative, which is what prompted the change, and Mullvad seems pretty trustworthy and safe.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

You also might try changing VPN protocols. OpenVPN and Wireguard are the 2 most popular, and there's also L2TP on certain providers. For me OpenVPN drains faster than Wireguard. And if I remember correctly, using L2TP on Mozilla vpn drained like 0 battery when I tried it, although L2TP is developed by Microsoft so take that into consideration