Common issues on Linux

Learn how to effectively tackle Meshnet-related problems on Linux.

Introduction

This page offers actionable troubleshooting steps for resolving issues that may arise when using Meshnet on Linux machines.

Possible issues and their solutions

This section outlines various situations or problems you may encounter while using Meshnet. For each case, you'll find a technical explanation to help you understand the root cause, as well as troubleshooting methods to resolve the problem.

Duplicated Meshnet IP address

The NordVPN Linux app uses the content of two files for machine identification in Meshnet — machine-id and hostname. If a system is duplicated or installed from a backup, there is a high chance that the values for both systems will be the same, thus leading to identical Meshnet details.

The machine-id file contains the unique machine ID, which is generated during system installation. It is not recommended that this file be manually altered. However, the hostname file can be freely modified to allow distinction between the devices.

Solution

Take the following steps on any one of the affected devices to edit its hostname file:

1. Open Terminal.

2. Uninstall NordVPN from your device by running the following command:

   sudo apt remove nordvpn -y

3. Open the system's hostname file using the Nano text editor with this command:

   sudo nano /etc/hostname

4. Modify the string value in the file in any way. For example, add, change, or remove a symbol.

   

5. Press Ctrl + X, Y, and Enter to save changes and exit.

6. Reinstall NordVPN by executing the command below:

   sudo apt install nordvpn -y

Once the app is installed, log in to your account using nordvpn login and enable Meshnet. Your device should now have a unique Meshnet IP address and Nord name.

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Cannot access Docker containers over Meshnet

In its current implementation, Meshnet treats the Docker IP range (172.17.0.0/16 subnet) as a local network. This means that with default permissions, if any network packets from peer devices are headed to this IP range, Meshnet will drop them to prevent unintended traffic from reaching LAN IP ranges.

Solution

To access Docker containers hosted on your device, you'll need to grant the local network permission from the device running Docker to the peer devices that will be accessing the hosted services.

Take the following steps on the device running Docker:

1. Open Terminal.

2. Run the nordvpn meshnet peer list command to display your Meshnet peer devices.

3. Locate the device from which you want to access your Docker containers and copy its Nord name.

   

4. Run the following command to grant the local network permission to the peer device, replacing <device> with the previously copied Nord name.

   nordvpn meshnet peer local allow <device>

   Example

   nordvpn meshnet peer local allow secret.meerkat-everest.nord

With the permission granted, the other device will be able to access your Docker-based services.

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Contact support

If you encounter a problem not described on this page or you cannot resolve a problem using the provided guidelines, feel free to contact the NordVPN support staff at support.nordvpn.com.It would be highly beneficial if you could provide the following information when reaching out:

Linux distribution:
NordVPN app version:

Exact issue you are experiencing: 
Any error messages you are seeing:

Steps to reproduce the issue: 

Example report

Linux distribution: Ubuntu 24.04
NordVPN app version: 3.18.1

Exact issue you are experiencing: Meshnet does not turn on
Any error messages you are seeing: "The VPN connection has failed. Please check your internet connection and try connecting to the VPN again."

Steps to reproduce the issue:
1. Open Terminal.
2. Run the 'nordvpn set meshnet on' command.
3. Receive error message.

Tip

You can find your current NordVPN app version using the nordvpn -v command.