What’s up with SurfsharkVPN and Ubuntu 22.04? Is it a good combination? How to fix installation errors?

I just read a blog post today from SurfsharkVPN in which they happily shared the news that they have finally released a graphical version of the SurfsharkVPN application for Linux. Currently, it is only supporting Ubuntu, but if you have a Debian based system, it might work on your system as well. This means that you no longer have to use the command line to connect to SurfsharkVPN servers, but you will have a program (much like Windows and Mac) where you can scroll through the list of servers, change settings, and connect to the servers that you prefer.

This was an article that made me really happy so I quickly visited the SurfsharkVPN website to download the newest version of the repositories from the SurfsharkVPN website. I downloaded the file and tried to install it, only to notice that I first had to remove it (as I already installed SurfsharkVPN some months ago). The only problem was that I was unable to remove them because it said that the files were missing. Was I stuck already?

SurfsharkVPN in Ubuntu 22.04

So, in order to be able to install the repositories, I first had to remove completely whatever was left of the old version. I ran the following commands for this to succeed.

sudo apt remove surfshark

If you get an error running that command, try the following instead.

sudo apt remove surfshark-release

When you have used this command, you will be able to run the install file for the repositories and install them.

According to the instructions from Surfshark you should now only run the following command two commands.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install surfshark

If you have succeeded running these commands, you will now find Surfshark in your list of application in Ubuntu, meaning that you can start the application from your Ubuntu desktop and easily connect to any server and disconnect, without having to use the command line anymore.

Reality wasn’t that easy… unable to located package surfshark

It is supposed to be easy, but whenever I have tried to run these commands in Ubuntu 22.04, I end up getting messages that the Surfshark application does’t exist.

I have tried running other commands that might help solve the problem, but nothing seems to help. Let me give you one last piece of advice that actually became my helper and solution in this case.

So, I tried to run commands such as sudo apt install surfshark, sudo apt install surfshark-vpn, and sudo apt install surfshark-release, but I always received an error that it was unable to locate the package. This error was caused because I had an older Surfshark installed on my computer that wasn’t properly uninstalled. In other words, the sudo apt remove sursfhark didn’t get the job done. So, I ran the following command(s). Only one of them will work for you, but try and find out which will work for you.

sudo apt purge surfshark-release
sudo apt purge surfshark-vpn
sudo apt purge surfshark

The command will completely erase Surfshark from your device.

When that is done, install the repository once again, then you run the sudo apt-get update function, before you run sudo apt install surfshark. Things should now work out fine.

I am now ready to use the brand new Surfshark application for Ubuntu and I am happy about it. I had some trouble making it work at once, but after some struggling and a chat with the Surfshark support, the matter has been solved (just like I managed to solve the NordVPN error after upgrading to Ubuntu 22.04).

As you can see above, I am now using Surfshark in Ubuntu 22.04 and it is working fine. It took some time to make it work, but now the joy is full and it is very easy and convenient to use.

Would you like to try Surfshark as well? It is a brilliant VPN for Ubuntu and based on what I have experienced so far, I can warmly recommend it. Click the button below to get a nice Surfshark discount!

You are always protected by the 30-day full refund policy of Surfshark. If you use the VPN, but do not like it, you can always ask for a refund within 30 days.

Are you ready to safe securely using Surfshark as well? Are you a fan of Ubuntu? Will you be missing the terminal version where you type all the commands yourself or are you happy about this upgrade to a nicer desktop version of Surfshark?

Have you struggled making Surfshark function in Ubuntu as well? Did the content in this article help you? I would love to hear from you!