Troubleshooting checklist

Start here when mins does not connect, connects but nothing loads, or shows an error. Go through the five checks in this order: each one rules out a whole class of causes and takes a minute or two.

If mins shows a message, look it up in Errors first. The tables below send you to the right entry.

For errors that have a page here, the app shows a How to fix action next to the message. It opens the matching section of Errors in your browser.

1. Server

Most problems are on the server side, and mins can tell you quickly.

1. Open Home and tap another server of the same group (or Auto). If a different server works, the first one is down, blocked or overloaded, and your provider is the one to ask.
2. Press Ping all in the group header. The default ping (Settings → Ping → Ping type, ICMP echo) only checks that the server’s address answers. To check that the server really carries traffic, switch the type to Through proxy (HEAD) and ping again.
3. Update the subscription: the refresh button (circular arrows) in the group header, or Update now on the subscription screen. A provider may have rotated its servers. If the update fails, see Subscription “Update failed”.
4. Open the subscription and check the traffic and expiry line. An exhausted quota or an expired subscription is enforced by the provider, not by mins.
5. A server shown with a block icon and a reason is not supported by mins and cannot be connected, see Protocol X is not supported.

Note

The status Connected means the local tunnel is running. It does not by itself prove that the server is reachable. If you are connected and no page loads, continue with the checks below.

2. Time

Everything encrypted depends on the clock: HTTPS subscription downloads and TLS-based protocols check certificates against the current date (this is how TLS works in general, not a mins setting).

1. Turn on automatic date, time and time zone in the system settings.
2. Make sure the date is right, not only the time of day. A phone that was off for a long time or a virtual machine restored from a snapshot often has a wrong date.
3. Connect again.

3. Connection mode

1. Open Settings → Connection. On Windows, Linux and macOS, Connection mode offers VPN (TUN), System proxy and Proxy only. Android and iOS always use the VPN tunnel.
2. On a desktop, switch to Proxy only and connect. If it works, the problem is in the system-wide part (the helper, the service or the extension), see your platform page: Windows, Linux, macOS. Proxy only needs no privileges, but you must point applications at the local proxy yourself (Settings → Advanced → Mixed proxy port, default 10808).
3. Turn Kill switch off for the test. It blocks traffic outside the VPN by design, so after a failed connection it can look like “no internet at all”. It also works with VPN (TUN) only.
4. Open Settings → Network → Split tunneling (Android, Windows, Linux). Application policy should be Off while you test.
5. In Settings → Network, check Bypass local networks if a local device is unreachable, and IPv6 if a site only works over IPv4.

4. Routing

1. Open Routing in the side menu. The three modes are Rules, All traffic and Direct. Direct sends nothing through the server, which looks exactly like “the VPN does not work”.
2. Switch to All traffic and try again. If the site now opens, one of your routing rules sends it somewhere else. Check the active profile and its templates (Global, Russia · direct, China · direct).
3. Routing profiles that mention geoip: or geosite: need the geo files. If the connection fails with a download error, see Geo database errors.

5. Logs

1. Open Logs in the side menu, press Connect, and read what appears. Use the level filter and Filter to narrow the list. Pause stops the scrolling.
2. For more detail raise Settings → Advanced → Log level (trace, debug, info, warn, error). Put it back to info afterwards.
3. Activity shows live connections while connected and a speed graph, which tells you whether traffic flows at all.
4. To ask for help, use Share redacted logs. With Hide IP addresses and domains on (the default), addresses become x.x.x.x and X.X.X. Logs also redact keys, UUIDs, passwords and subscription URLs, but read the text before you send it.

Find your symptom

What you see	Where to look
The system asks for VPN permission and you refused, or mins says the permission was not granted	VPN permission was not granted
Red Connection failed on Home	Connection failed
The app shows mins could not start and a Retry button	mins could not start
Update failed under a subscription	Subscription “Update failed”
A banner about encrypted data, credentials or device identity	Cannot decrypt profile, Credentials unavailable, Device identity unavailable
An import is refused	Protocol X is not supported, Only Xray configuration imports are supported, Encrypted Happ/INCY links
Connected, but only some or no sites load	Checks 1 to 4 above
The connection drops when the screen is off (phone)	Android
TUN does not start on a computer	Windows, Linux, macOS
Auto-connect does not work on iPhone or Mac	iOS, macOS