Device Management

Manage devices associated with your Mullvad account and understand device limits

Mullvad accounts support multiple devices simultaneously. This guide covers device registration, limits, and management.

Device System Overview

Each Mullvad account can have up to 5 active devices at a time. When you log in, the daemon:

1. Generates a unique WireGuard keypair for the device
2. Creates a device entry with a random name (e.g., “Happy Seagull”)
3. Registers the device with your account via the API
4. Associates the public key with the device

Devices are the fundamental unit of VPN connections. Each device has its own WireGuard keys and configuration.

Device Properties

Every device has the following attributes:

• Device ID: Unique identifier (UUID format)
• Device Name: Human-readable random name for easy identification
• Public Key: WireGuard public key for this device
• Created: Timestamp when device was registered
• DNS Hijacking: Whether the device hijacks DNS queries (typically false)

Device Limits

Maximum Devices

Mullvad enforces a 5-device limit per account. When you reach this limit:

• Login attempts fail with MAX_DEVICES_REACHED error
• You must remove an existing device before adding a new one
• Connection attempts show: “This account has too many simultaneous connections”

If you get a “too many connections” error (TOO_MANY_CONNECTIONS), you’ve hit the device limit. Remove unused devices to free up slots.

Error Messages

Error Code	Error Type	Message
MAX_DEVICES_REACHED	API Error	Failed to create device - account at device limit
TOO_MANY_CONNECTIONS	Auth Failed	”This account has too many simultaneous connections. Disconnect another device or try connecting again shortly.”

Listing Devices

View all devices associated with an account.

List Your Current Account’s Devices

mullvad account list-devices

Output:

Devices on the account:
Happy Seagull
Brave Dolphin  
Wise Penguin
Swift Eagle
Gentle Bear

List Another Account’s Devices

Specify an account number to view its devices:

mullvad account list-devices -a 1234567890123456

You must have valid credentials for the specified account to list its devices.

Verbose Device Information

Get detailed information about each device:

mullvad account list-devices -v

Output:

Devices on the account:

Name      : Happy Seagull
Id        : abc123def456
Public key: wQEbFGkz9t2eR7L4xPmN6vK5cDaB0sXyJ8iU3hV/gW9=
Created   : 2026-03-01 14:20:00 -05:00

Name      : Brave Dolphin
Id        : xyz789uvw012  
Public key: nR5tYvB8kL2xQmP0zDwF7eS3gH6iJ4uO9pC1aV/fK8=
Created   : 2026-02-15 09:45:00 -05:00

Removing Devices

Free up device slots by removing devices you no longer use.

1. Identify the Device

   List devices to find the name or ID:

   mullvad account list-devices
   

   Note the device name (e.g., “Wise Penguin”) or ID.

2. Revoke the Device

   Remove by name (case-insensitive):

   mullvad account revoke-device "Wise Penguin"
   

   Or remove by device ID:

   mullvad account revoke-device abc123def456
   

   Output:

   Removed device
   
3. Verify Removal

   Confirm the device is gone:

   mullvad account list-devices
   

   The device should no longer appear in the list.

Remove Device from Another Account

Specify the account number to remove devices from a different account:

mullvad account revoke-device "Old Laptop" -a 1234567890123456

What Happens When a Device is Removed

The RemoveDevice RPC:

1. Deletes the device entry from the account
2. Invalidates the device’s WireGuard keys
3. Frees a device slot immediately
4. Emits a RemoveDeviceEvent to notify other components

Revoking a device immediately disconnects it from the VPN. The device will show a “device revoked” state and must log in again to reconnect.

Device States

Devices can be in one of three states:

Logged In (LOGGED_IN)

Device is active and can connect to the VPN.

mullvad account get

Mullvad account:    1234567890123456
Expires at:         2026-04-15 10:30:00 -05:00
Device name:        Happy Seagull

Logged Out (LOGGED_OUT)

No device is registered for this installation.

mullvad account get

Not logged in on any account

Revoked (REVOKED)

Device was removed from the account (by you or another device).

mullvad account get

The current device has been revoked
Mullvad account: 1234567890123456

Updating Devices

Refresh device information from the API.

Manual Device Update

The UpdateDevice RPC syncs device state with the API:

# Automatically called by:
mullvad account get

This checks:

• Whether the device still exists on the account
• If the account has expired
• Current device configuration

The daemon calls UpdateDevice automatically before most operations. You rarely need to trigger this manually.

Device Events

The daemon emits DeviceEvent notifications when device state changes:

Event Causes

Cause	Description	Enum Value
Logged In	User logged into account and created device	LOGGED_IN
Logged Out	User logged out and removed device	LOGGED_OUT
Revoked	Device removed remotely (not found on API)	REVOKED
Updated	Device information changed (not keys)	UPDATED
Rotated Key	WireGuard key was rotated	ROTATED_KEY

Device Event Structure

message DeviceEvent {
  enum Cause {
    LOGGED_IN = 0;
    LOGGED_OUT = 1;
    REVOKED = 2;
    UPDATED = 3;
    ROTATED_KEY = 4;
  }
  Cause cause = 1;
  DeviceState new_state = 2;
}

Remove Device Event

Emitted when a device is explicitly removed via RPC (not during logout):

message RemoveDeviceEvent {
  string account_number = 1;
  repeated Device new_device_list = 2;  // Updated list after removal
}

Device API

The device API provides several endpoints:

Create Device

Endpoint: POST /api/v1/accounts/devices

Request Body:

{
  "pubkey": "base64-encoded-wireguard-public-key",
  "hijack_dns": false
}

Response (201 Created):

{
  "id": "abc123def456",
  "name": "Happy Seagull",
  "pubkey": "wQEbFGkz9t2eR7L4xPmN6vK5cDaB0sXyJ8iU3hV/gW9=",
  "ipv4_address": "10.64.0.1/32",
  "ipv6_address": "fc00:bbbb:bbbb:bb01::1/128",
  "hijack_dns": false,
  "created": "2026-03-01T19:20:00Z"
}

List Devices

Endpoint: GET /api/v1/accounts/devices

Response (200 OK):

[
  {
    "id": "abc123",
    "name": "Happy Seagull",
    "pubkey": "...",
    "hijack_dns": false,
    "created": "2026-03-01T19:20:00Z"
  },
  // ... more devices
]

Get Device

Endpoint: GET /api/v1/accounts/devices/{device_id}

Response (200 OK): Returns single device object.

Remove Device

Endpoint: DELETE /api/v1/accounts/devices/{device_id}

Response (204 No Content): Device removed successfully.

Managing Many Devices

Strategies for managing multiple devices effectively:

Regular Cleanup

Periodically remove unused devices:

# List all devices
mullvad account list-devices -v

# Remove old devices you no longer use
mullvad account revoke-device "Old Phone"
mullvad account revoke-device "Work Laptop" 

Device Naming

While device names are randomly assigned, you can identify devices by:

• Public key: Unique to each device
• Created date: When device was registered
• Device ID: Unique identifier

Keep notes of which device name corresponds to which physical device, especially if you frequently add/remove devices.

Logout vs. Revoke

Logout (from the device itself):

mullvad account logout

• Removes current device
• Can only be done on the device itself
• Proper cleanup method

Revoke (from any device):

mullvad account revoke-device "Lost Phone"

• Removes any device remotely
• Useful for lost or stolen devices
• Can be done from any logged-in device

Troubleshooting

Too Many Connections Error

Problem: Can’t connect or log in, seeing “too many simultaneous connections”.

Solution:

1. List your devices: mullvad account list-devices
2. Remove unused devices: mullvad account revoke-device "Device Name"
3. Try logging in again

Device Not Found Error

Problem: Trying to remove a device that doesn’t exist.

Solution:

1. Verify the device name or ID: mullvad account list-devices -v
2. Use exact name (case-insensitive) or device ID
3. Ensure you’re checking the correct account with -a flag

Device Revoked Unexpectedly

Problem: Your device shows as revoked, but you didn’t log out.

Possible Causes:

• Another device removed this one to free a slot
• Account hit device limit and old device was auto-removed
• API sync issue

Solution:

1. Check current devices: mullvad account list-devices
2. Log in again: mullvad account login
3. This creates a new device entry

Related Topics

• Account Management - Account creation and login
• Authentication - WireGuard key rotation

CLI Reference

Command	Description
mullvad account list-devices	List devices on current account
mullvad account list-devices -a <ACCOUNT>	List devices on specified account
mullvad account list-devices -v	List devices with verbose details
mullvad account revoke-device <NAME|ID>	Remove a device by name or ID
mullvad account revoke-device <NAME|ID> -a <ACCOUNT>	Remove device from specific account

gRPC Service Reference

RPC	Request	Response	Description
GetDevice	Empty	DeviceState	Get current device state
UpdateDevice	Empty	Empty	Sync device state with API
ListDevices	StringValue (account)	DeviceList	List all devices on account
RemoveDevice	DeviceRemoval	Empty	Remove device from account

Device Message

message Device {
  string id = 1;                          // Device UUID
  string name = 2;                        // Human-readable name
  bytes pubkey = 3;                       // WireGuard public key
  bool hijack_dns = 5;                    // DNS hijacking enabled
  google.protobuf.Timestamp created = 6;  // Creation timestamp
}

DeviceState Message

message DeviceState {
  enum State {
    LOGGED_IN = 0;
    LOGGED_OUT = 1;
    REVOKED = 2;
  }
  State state = 1;
  AccountAndDevice device = 2;  // Only present if LOGGED_IN
}

DeviceRemoval Message

message DeviceRemoval {
  string account_number = 1;  // Account to remove from
  string device_id = 2;       // Device ID to remove
}