Guide to installing native NordVPN client on SteamOS

VPN
1

After trying multiple things in SteamOS I think I finally got a nice clean way to get NordVPN installed on the Steamdeck.

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First, disable the readonly file system

sudo steamos-readonly disable

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Now install the required packages with pacman:

sudo pacman-key --init

sudo pacman-key --populate holo

sudo pacman -S base-devel

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Then set up NordVPN:

mkdir builds

cd builds

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/nordvpn-bin.git

cd nordvpn-bin

makepkg -i sudo groupadd -r nordvpn

sudo gpasswd -a deck nordvpn

sudo systemctl enable --now nordvpnd.service

nordvpn login

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Copy the link and paste it in your browser and log in.

Once done, go back to your Konsole window and enter

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nordvpn c UK

You should now be connected to a NordVPN Nordlynx UK server

Finally, don’t forget to enable the readonly file system afterwards.

sudo steamos-readonly enable

As an extra step, download NordVPN Plasmoid from the Discovery store, then you will have a lovely clickable icon to connect rather than using the CLI

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Couple of other useful commands you may want to run in Konsole:

nordvpn set threatprotectionlite on

nordvpn set autoconnect on

nordvpn set meshnet on

nordvpn set analytics off

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2

Thanks! I’ve been wanting to be able to use Nordvpn on my Deck for a while, mostly to use meshnet. This worked great for me!

3

Thanks a lot, this work awesome for me!

4

while trying to follow this guide to reinstall nordvpn after it stopped working, when using sudo systemctl enable --now nordvpnd.service it comes up with the error “failed to enable unit: Unit file nordvpnd.service does not exist.” do you happen to know how to get it to work?

5

Thank you very much for your guide. Worked very well. Anyway I have a problem after changing my steamdeck from beta to stable version. Nordvpn cannot be started anymore. I tried to follow to install it based on xour guide again, but I run into problems. Is there a way to uninstall everything related to Nordvpn (and your guide) to reinstall it cleanly afterwards?

6

This guide is so great, I used it on Manjaro to get it working

7

Thanks a lot for the guide :heart::heart::heart: It worked perfect!

8

How do you update it though?

9

After entering nordvpn login in the terminal, I get an error with red letters. I don’t get a link. Don’t know what to do

10

When SteamOS has a big update, will this not be overwritten and deleted? And should I set up auto connect, meshnet, etc. before enabling read only or does that work even after it’s enabled? I hate an immutable system, I don’t have this kinda trouble running Linux Mint on an old laptop setup to run and send files to my 3D printers. lol

11

A couple of questions:
Is there a way to specifically use IKEv2 protocols?
And to use a different location would that require using commands, or is there not some sort of interface to manually select locations?

12

So I keep getting this error after running

(A+)(root@Port-A-Nilla builds)# cd nordvpn-bin
(A+)(root@Port-A-Nilla nordvpn-bin)# makepkg -i sudo groupadd -r nordvpn
==> ERROR: Running makepkg as root is not allowed as it can cause permanent,
catastrophic damage to your system.

What am I doing wrong? Ive tried it out of “sudo” as well and I still get the same error…

Linux is so frustrating, it’s like passing a bill through congress to get anything installed most of the time :frowning:

13

Can I change the server to a us server near me? I plan on doing this tomorrow, thanks!

14

Is there a VPN with a native app for the Steam Deck that’s simple to use—just click to install and toggle on/off? This has been the main reason I haven’t bought a Steam Deck yet, as I need a VPN to access Xbox Cloud Gaming.

15

With the GeForce suite announced today, we are getting way closer to the Desktop release version of the SteamDeck OS so knowing that’s getting easier to load NordVPN is fantastic. It will be great to convert our media desktops at our TVs over to Steam Deck OS sooner than later and still be able to watch shows on our out-of-country streaming platforms.

16

This isn’t working for me. When I perform the step:

“makepkg -i sudo groupadd -r nordvpn”

It gives me the following error:

curl: (22) The requested URL returned error: 404
==> ERROR: Failure while downloading https://repo.nordvpn.com/d
eb/nordvpn/debian/pool/main/nordvpn_3.19.0_amd64.deb
Aborting…

17

Thank you this worked great for me. I also needed to use obfuscated servers so if anyone else is in the same situation follow the following.

Open a terminal on your Steam Deck.
Use the following command to set the NordVPN technology to OpenVPN: nordvpn set technology openvpn.

Choose either UDP or TCP for the OpenVPN protocol: nordvpn set protocol udp (for UDP) or nordvpn set protocol tcp (for TCP).

To enable Obfuscated Servers:
Enable obfuscated servers using the command: nordvpn set obfuscate on.

To connect to Obfuscated Servers:
Connect to the obfuscated servers using the command: nordvpn connect

To disable Obfuscated Servers:
To disable obfuscated servers, use the command: nordvpn set obfuscate off

This can then be used within the little UI in the taskbar, it works great thanks again OP.

18

Delete old Nordvpn folder:

rm -rf /var/lib/nordvpn

Might need to stick sudo at the front of that line.

Then, re-run the original instructions

19

A simple way is to delete the Nordvpn folder and run the guide again.

20

What does the error say? Is it saying to add the user to the group and restart. If so, Thats what gpasswd does so you already did that, next step would be restart and go back in konsol and try nordvpn login again.