Short answer: If https://www.torproject.org/ or https://download.torproject.org/ will not load, do not switch to a random “Tor Browser” portal. Use a channel the Tor Project names: GetTor (email or Telegram) or an official mirror. Then verify the signature. Getting the installer is not the same job as connecting through a bridge.
Setup on an uncensored network still starts at Tor Browser setup.
Procedure
- Try the official site once. If it loads, download there and skip to verification.
- Pick one GetTor channel (email or Telegram) — or an official mirror listed below. Do not mix random “mirrors” from forums with these.
- Download the installer and the
.ascsignature from the reply or mirror. - Verify the signature before you run anything. Walkthrough: how to verify the signature. PGP background: PGP for Tor users.
- Install and Connect. If Tor itself is filtered after install, that is bridges — not GetTor: bridges, WebTunnel, and Connection Assist.
Send mail to gettor@torproject.org. In the body write only one word: windows, osx, linux, or android (no quotes, no other text). The autoresponder replies with download links, the .asc signature, the signing-key fingerprint, and a checksum. That is the current Support and Manual recipe.
Telegram
Message @GetTor_Bot. Start or /start, pick a language, then “Send me Tor Browser” and your OS — or ask it for other official mirrors. User support lists this bot as the GetTor channel.
Official mirrors
Current download docs say: if the Project site is blocked, try official mirrors, “either through EFF or La Cebolla.” Journalist guides still name the Calyx Institute host https://tor.calyxinstitute.org/ beside https://tor.eff.org/. Use a name the Project or a trusted digital-security org already published — not a look-alike domain from a forum.
GetTor itself hosts packages on large platforms (the docs name Dropbox, Google Drive, and GitHub) so a censor has to block more than one site.
Always verify
A blocked download page is exactly where fake installers circulate. Verification is the same ceremony as on an open network: the Tor Browser Developers signing key, the .asc file, a matching fingerprint.
GetTor solves obtaining the browser. If the network then filters Tor itself, that is bridges.
Sources
- Tor Project: How to download Tor Browser
- Tor Project: Tor Browser Manual — downloading
- Tor Project: Verify Tor Browser’s signature
- Reporters Without Borders: Downloading Tor Browser despite censorship (lists
tor.eff.organdtor.calyxinstitute.org)
See also: why Tor “breaks” sites, Orbot vs Tor Browser Android.