Surfshark is a powerful, versatile VPN that’s a solid choice for almost any purpose. To get the biggest discounts, though, you have to commit to a long-term subscription. Understandably, some people would rather try the service out and see if it’s a good fit before any money changes hands. Below, we’ll explain how you can hack Surfshark’s money-back guarantee to effectively get a 30-day free trial.

What’s so great about Surfshark anyway? Well, for a start, it’s pretty fast and offers access to 3,200 servers in 60+ countries. It’s packed with advanced security and privacy features too and is an excellent choice for securely accessing your usual Netflix library from abroad. Finally, this VPN lets you connect any number of devices simultaneously — not bad considering most other providers only allow five or six connections at once.

While some VPNs still offer free trials, these are much less common than they used to be. What’s more, trial users are often restricted in ways that prevent them from really telling if a service is right for them. Surfshark is different; it offers a 30-day guarantee, meaning you’ll have full access to the service for a month, and if you’re unimpressed, you can just cancel to claim a full refund. Additionally, if you choose to keep the service, you can use our Surfshark discount coupon to save over 80% on your 2-year subscription and get two months extra for free.

Today, we’ll be walking you through the process of signing up for Surfshark, installing the software, and canceling for a full refund. We’ll also let you know about some of the techniques that less scrupulous providers use to keep you paying for their services so that you’re less likely to lose money with other services should Surfshark fail to meet your expectations.

How to hack Surfshark’s money-back guarantee

Follow the steps below to gain unrestricted access to Surfshark for 30 days. Just remember that if you don’t cancel your account within 30 days, you won’t be able to claim a refund.

Here’s how to hack Surfshark’s money-back guarantee:

Create a Surfshark account

The first step is simple: you just have to sign up for Surfshark as you would normally.

  • Head over to the Surfshark website and click the Get Surfshark button.
  • Next, decide how long you’d like to subscribe for. Any plan will work since you’ll be claiming a refund later anyway, but since you will have to pay upfront, the monthly subscription ($12.95) is probably your best option. There’s nothing stopping you from switching to a longer plan with a larger discount later if you like.
  • Scroll down the page and enter your email address into the appropriate box. Then, select your preferred payment method. Surfshark accepts a variety of credit cards and cryptocurrencies, as well as PayPal, but you’ll be eligible for a refund whichever you use. One thing to note is that subscriptions renew automatically, but you can always ask Surfshark’s support staff to stop this for you.
  • Once your payment has gone through, you’ll see an order confirmation screen. If you click Continue to your Surfshark account, you’ll be able to manage your account and download the appropriate version of the app for your device.
  • Congratulations — you now have complete access to Surfshark and all of its servers for the next 30 days. All that remains is to try it out! The most important thing is that you remember to cancel before the guarantee period ends so that you can claim a refund.

How to cancel Surfshark and get your money back

Not impressed by what Surfshark has to offer? That’s quite alright; below, we’ll explain how you can cancel your account and get your money back.

Here’s how to cancel Surfshark:

  • Begin by visiting the Surfshark website and scrolling down to the bottom of the page. Click on the blue Chat button.
  • A search box will appear. However, this only suggests help articles, which isn’t what we need. Type anything you like into this box and hit the Enter key. Next, click Live chat.
  • Type in your name, email address, and request into the appropriate fields. Now, hit Start chat to be connected to the 24/7 help desk.
  • The customer support representative might ask you why you’re canceling, for instance, in case you’re canceling because of a specific problem. Don’t feel pressured to provide a reason if you don’t want to — just reiterate that you’d like to cancel and they’ll move on.
  • That’s all there is to it! Your refund might take a couple of days to be processed but you’ve effectively used Surfshark for a month, completely free.

Common problems with VPN trials and guarantees

Money-back guarantees are supposed to provide customers with peace of mind but this all goes out the window if you can’t take your provider at their word. Unfortunately, there are some VPNs that lure users in with the promise of a no-hassle guarantee, only to turn around and deny them a refund. Here are some of the tricks such services use to keep your money:

  • Intentionally making it difficult to cancel. Reputable providers tend to provide step-by-step guides to cancel your subscription. In fact, most let you do this in a matter of minutes. However, shadier services might require you to submit a ticket or contact them over email, possibly even quoting a reference code or invoice number. This essentially turns canceling into a three-step process: finding the required information, asking for a refund, and waiting an indeterminate amount of time for a response.
  • Limiting refunds to specific payment methods. VPNs are privacy tools, and as such, cater to privacy-conscious users. However, if you pay in cash, gift cards, or Bitcoin, you could find yourself unable to get your money back. It’s far from impossible to refund people who use these payment methods, so there’s really no reason to exclude them.
  • Hiding extra rules in the fine print. The whole point of a guarantee is that you have complete access to a service. However, there may well be additional caveats hidden in the terms of use. For instance, you may only be allowed to use a certain amount of bandwidth before becoming ineligible for a refund. Of course, these rules are rarely made obvious before signing up, so it’s possible to break them without even realizing it.

Shady services know that you’ll go elsewhere if given the chance, which is why they rely on trickery and technicalities to keep you paying. In contrast, Surfshark has no problems issuing refunds to users who are still within the guarantee period.

See also: 

Conversely, with a money-back guarantee, you can take full advantage of your VPN’s features. This allows you to really test it over time so you can see if it’s suitable for your purposes. If not, you’re no worse off, since you can just cancel to receive a refund. 

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