Mullvad has shut down its free public encrypted DNS service, ending the DNS over HTTPS and DNS over TLS resolvers at dns.mullvad.net and its five filtering variants. Anyone who entered a Mullvad DNS address by hand should switch to another resolver now.

The Swedish privacy company announced the move on its blog on 3 September 2026, and the service was scheduled to be discontinued on 2 November 2026. Mullvad now sponsors Quad9 instead and recommends it as the replacement.

What has stopped working

Every manual configuration pointing to a Mullvad DNS hostname or address is affected. The six resolvers were dns.mullvad.net (194.242.2.2) with no blocking, adblock.dns.mullvad.net (194.242.2.3) for ads and trackers, base.dns.mullvad.net (194.242.2.4) for ads, trackers and malware, extended.dns.mullvad.net (194.242.2.5) which adds social media, family.dns.mullvad.net (194.242.2.6) which adds adult content and gambling, and all.dns.mullvad.net (194.242.2.9) which covers all of the above. The older hostnames doh.mullvad.net and dot.mullvad.net should also be removed.

Mullvad gave two reasons for the shutdown. First, the servers add nothing for its VPN customers, because VPN traffic is already encrypted and the VPN's own resolver handles queries. Second, it considers running a privacy-focused public resolver a specialist job and prefers to fund Quad9, which it calls the leader in the field, rather than duplicate that work. Mullvad says it will financially support Quad9 but has not named an amount.

Who needs to act

Mullvad VPN users are not affected, because DNS inside the VPN tunnel keeps working through the company's internal resolvers. The change only hits people who configured the public service themselves, in a browser, on Android Private DNS, on a router, or through an iOS or macOS profile.

Mullvad Browser users on the default DNS over HTTPS setting or the included ad-blocking option are moved to Quad9 automatically. Custom settings are not changed, so anyone who picked base, extended or family should switch back to the default. On iOS and macOS, Mullvad DNS configuration profiles stop working and should be deleted and replaced with a Quad9 profile. Everywhere else, the hostname or DoH address must be replaced by hand.

Quad9 is the replacement Mullvad recommends, and the closest fit in terms of privacy policy. It is a Swiss public-benefit not-for-profit foundation whose privacy policy states that it does not collect or record user IP addresses. Its default service blocks malicious domains and validates DNSSEC. Its addresses are dns.quad9.net for DNS over HTTPS and 9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112 for plain IPv4.

Other options include AdGuard DNS and DNS4EU for ad blocking, and Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1. Mullvad launched its public encrypted DNS service in 2022 as a free alternative for people who wanted encrypted DNS without a VPN, and moved the servers to RAM-only operation in 2023. That infrastructure is now gone, and anyone still pointing at a 194.242.2.x address should check their settings and switch.