How to Set Up a VPN on an iPhone and Change VPN Settings
Setting up a VPN on your iPhone is probably easier than you think. Our guide explains what a VPN is, how to set it up, and how to change your settings if you need to. We also explain how to use a VPN, reasons you may need one, and what to look out for in a VPN provider.
What Is a VPN for iPhone?
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a privacy service that secures your internet connection, protecting your sensitive personal data as it travels online.
When you connect to a VPN, it encrypts and reroutes the connection between your iPhone and the internet through a secure server. This makes your traffic unreadable to third parties, such as Wi-Fi network admins or internet service providers (ISPs).
A VPN also replaces your IP address with that of a VPN server, keeping your true location private from the websites you use.
Why You Need a VPN on Your iPhone
Understanding how to use a VPN on an iPhone is important if you want to avoid online security risks and restrictions. For example, a reliable VPN on your iOS device can help:
1. Protect Data on Public Wi-Fi
Encryption stops hackers and snoops on unsecured or malicious Wi-Fi networks from intercepting your traffic. Without it, anyone on the same network can track unencrypted data, inject fake login pages, or monitor app activity.
2. Access Your Accounts While Traveling
Changing your virtual location helps you connect more reliably to banking, business, and other local services. For example, if your bank flags your login attempt as suspicious when you’re traveling abroad, a VPN can make you appear as if you’re still in your home country, reducing security alerts.
3. Avoid ISP Throttling
Normally, your ISP can see which sites and apps you connect to, and may sometimes deliberately slow your connection when you connect to streaming or gaming sites. VPN encryption stops your ISP from seeing your online activity, helping you avoid this kind of interference.
4. Mask Your Location and Block Trackers
A VPN hides your real IP address, preventing sites from building a profile on you. It also disrupts ad networks and analytics scripts that rely on IP-based targeting and geolocation.
5. Improved Security on Apps and Sites
Tough encryption improves your security on websites that don’t use HTTPS, ensuring third parties can’t snoop on your activity. A VPN also masks metadata that even end-to-end encrypted apps like WhatsApp, Signal, and FaceTime can leak, such as connection times, IP addresses, and usage patterns.
6. Remote Access to Enterprise Systems
Remote workers can use a remote access VPN to protect their work-related data as it travels from their devices to their employers’ networks. Some companies may require this, particularly if team members connect via open Wi-Fi networks at hotels, cafes, or other busy hubs.
A robust VPN like Private Internet Access (PIA) can close these security gaps and functional limitations. Combined with strong passwords, app updates, and two-factor authentication, it keeps your data safe and makes your iPhone harder to exploit.
What Is iPhone’s Built-In VPN?
The iPhone doesn’t have pre-installed VPN tools, but it does come with iCloud Private Relay and configurable VPN settings.
iCloud Private Relay is Apple’s built-in privacy feature available on iOS 15 and later with an iCloud+ subscription. It hides your IP and encrypts Safari traffic using a two-relay system:
- An Apple-controlled relay encrypts your browsing data and anonymizes your IP address before forwarding it to the second (third-party) relay.
- The third-party relay decrypts the web request and forwards it to its destination, but doesn’t receive your IP, meaning it can’t associate your activity with your identity.
Private Relay only protects Safari and some unencrypted app requests. Unlike a good quality VPN, it doesn’t encrypt all your device’s traffic, doesn’t allow you to manually choose a server location, and doesn’t protect your privacy with a no-logs policy.
The iPhone does include a built-in VPN configuration tool, which allows you to manually set up a VPN connection provided by a third-party VPN service, school, or enterprise. But manual configurations can be difficult and may be unnecessarily complicated. Besides, this method still requires you to purchase a VPN subscription and connect to your VPN provider’s server.
The better solution for full-device protection and server selection control is to get an iOS VPN app from the App Store. PIA offers a lightweight and regularly updated app that’s compatible with iOS versions 12.1 and higher.
How to Set Up and Turn On a VPN on an iPhone
Method 1: Using a VPN App
The quickest and easiest way to set up a VPN on your iPhone is with a VPN app. It’s automated and offers features that are unavailable with manual configurations.
Here’s how to connect a VPN on an iPhone using the PIA app:
- Subscribe to PIA VPN: Choose a plan on PIA’s subscription page.
- Download the app: Head to the App Store on your iPhone, search for “VPN by Private Internet Access,” and download the app.
- Launch the app and sign in: Use your login credentials to access your account.
- Connect to a server: Tap any location from the list to change your IP and encrypt your connection.
- Follow the on-screen prompts. The first time you connect, iOS will ask for permission to add VPN configurations. Tap Allow to enable the VPN profile.
- Choose from fast servers in over 90 countries.
- Customize your encryption protocols (AES 256-bit to optimize security or AES 128-bit to prioritize speed).
- Configure specific apps or sites to bypass the VPN tunnel with split tunneling.
- Enable an ad and tracker blocker to make your browsing experience less cluttered and more private.
- Prevent accidental leaks on shady Wi-Fi connections with an advanced kill switch.
- Connect an unlimited number of devices simultaneously.
A good quality iOS VPN app offers advanced features for your protection and convenience. For example, the PIA VPN app allows you to:
Method 2: Manually Configuring a VPN Connection Using Your iPhone Settings
Setting up a VPN connection manually on your iPhone requires you to have certain information from your VPN provider. Before you start, make sure you have the following:
- A VPN subscription or server: If you’re using a third-party provider, make sure it supports manual iPhone configuration.
- VPN Type (Protocol): You need to know which VPN encryption protocol your provider supports (iPhone supports L2TP, IPsec, and IKEv2).
- Server: The address of the VPN server you want to connect to (each server has its own address).
- Remote ID: This verifies the identity of the VPN server. It is required for IKEv2 and often matches the server address.
- Authentication (username and password): Your VPN login credentials.
- Proxy: A service used to route traffic through a separate proxy server. Leave this off unless your provider explicitly instructs you to configure a proxy.
Here’s how to enable a VPN on iPhone manually via its built-in settings:
- Go to Settings on your iPhone, tap General, and scroll down to VPN & Device Management.
- From here, you can either sign in to your work or school VPN account or add a manual configuration. To use your business or educational VPN, click Sign In to Work or School Account and follow the on-screen prompts.
- To configure a manual VPN connection: go to VPN and tap Add VPN Configuration.
- Use the information from your VPN provider to fill out the fields for your connection.
- If your VPN requires a proxy server, select Manual (if you have credentials) or Auto (if you have a web link) under Proxy, and tap Done. Otherwise, leave it set to Off.
- Go back to VPN & Device Management, and toggle the switch next to the newly created VPN profile.
Understanding and Managing Your VPN Settings on iPhone
To get the most out of your iPhone VPN, you need to know how to find and use its configuration options. Let’s compare a dedicated iPhone VPN app with a manual setup.
iPhone VPN App Settings
The PIA app offers a range of advanced VPN features you can enable and configure via its user-friendly settings page. Here’s an overview of the different options:
- Protocols: These determine how your data is encrypted and transmitted between your device and the VPN server. WireGuard is fast, efficient, and great for streaming, while OpenVPN offers proven security.
- Data encryption: AES-128 uses shorter keys and delivers faster connection, while AES-256 uses longer keys for stronger encryption with slightly slower speeds.
- VPN Kill Switch: Stops all internet traffic if the VPN disconnects unexpectedly, while the Advanced Kill Switch blocks non-VPN traffic on your iPhone at all times (to ensure you never access the internet without protection).
- Split Tunnel: Choose which apps use the VPN connection and which don’t.
- Multi-hop obfuscation: Keeps your VPN use private from your ISP or network operator. Shadowsocks hides VPN use by mimicking it as regular internet traffic, and SOCKS5 Proxy reroutes app traffic through a proxy without encryption.
- Connect to a different server: Change the address in the Server field.
- Switch protocols: Choose between protocols under the Type field.
- Enable or disable proxy: You can add a proxy if your provider supports it.
- Set the VPN to launch automatically: Enable Connect On Demand (or Always-On VPN).
- Server locations: Choose a VPN with servers in regions that correspond to your online accounts, services, or streaming subscriptions.
- Streaming compatibility: Look for a VPN with streaming-optimized servers that work with your usual accounts.
- High speeds: To maintain a reliable connection for 4K streaming, online gaming, and video calling, look for a fast VPN with a large network.
- Strong encryption: AES 256-bit encryption secures your data on public Wi-Fi and shields your browsing activity from ISP monitoring.
- Protocol support: Look for a VPN that supports modern protocols, such as WireGuard and OpenVPN, to enhance online security without reducing your speeds.
- Unlimited bandwidth: Choose a provider that doesn’t limit your VPN usage based on monthly or daily data caps.
- Proven no-logs policy: A no-logs policy ensures your VPN provider doesn’t store your activity logs or share them with third parties (like advertisers or authorities).
- User-friendly apps: Top-grade VPNs have intuitive iOS apps, as well as versions for other major devices.
- Ad blocker: Features like PIA MACE can block intrusive ads and trackers for more privacy online.
- Live support: It’s better when a provider offers 24/7 live chat support that can solve any issues promptly.
- Unlimited simultaneous connections: Only a few providers allow you to connect as many devices as you like with a single account.
- Money-back guarantee: Choose a provider that allows you to try their service risk-free.
You can change your VPN server location and toggle the kill switch directly from the connection status page (default app page).
Manual iPhone VPN Setup Settings
You can add, delete, or adjust your VPN profiles and settings by going to VPN & Device Management in the General settings. Tap your existing VPN profile to:
How to Disable a VPN on iPhone
There may be situations where you don’t need to encrypt your connection or hide your IP address. Here’s how to turn off a VPN on your iPhone.
How to Turn Off a VPN App on an iPhone
To turn off your VPN, toggle the power button in the VPN app or via your iPhone’s Control Center.
Important: Your iPhone can lose internet access if the kill switch is enabled when you disconnect. In that case, disable the kill switch beforehand.
To remove an app entirely, long-press on the icon on the Home Screen and tap Remove App, or select Delete App from the App Library.
Disabling a Manually Configured VPN
To temporarily disable a VPN on iPhone, toggle the switch next to your VPN profile in the VPN section of the VPN & Device Management (in General settings) or from the Control Center (swipe down from the screen’s top-right corner).
To remove the VPN profile permanently, go to the same VPN section (in the VPN & Device Management settings), tap on your VPN profile and select Delete VPN.
What’s Better: A VPN App, Manual VPN Setup, or Private Relay?
For most people, a VPN app is a better option as it allows you to access additional features. Manual setup does have its advantages for some users, though. For example, you may need to manually configure an enterprise VPN to access corporate resources.
The following table covers the key differences.
| iPhone VPN App | Manual VPN Settings | Private Relay | |
| Setup time | Quick installation following on-screen prompts | Longer setup that requires you to input information about servers, protocols, and credentials | Enabled via iCloud+ settings |
| Accessibility | Requires downloading the VPN app from the App Store | Configurable from anywhere via built-in settings on iOS (useful if the network blocks Apple’s App Store) | Built into iOS 15+ with iCloud+ subscription |
| Customization | Adjustable settings for encryption, protocol type, servers, and advanced features (like split tunneling and kill switch) | Basic control over server, protocol type, and proxy server (optional) | Minimal control with no choice of location |
| Ease of use | Intuitive user interface with shortcuts and extra settings | Native iOS settings menu with a basic on/off toggle | Requires a few taps to activate |
| OS integration | Integrates advanced features with iOS capabilities like auto-connect, Siri, and per-app rules | No integration beyond basic system toggles | Available on iOS after version 15 |
| Support and troubleshooting | Depending on the provider, the VPN can offer in-app diagnostics and 24/7 live chat support | Limited to the provider’s manual setup guides, user forums, or internal help desk (for enterprise VPNs) | Handled through Apple’s general iCloud support |
| Use cases | Casual streaming, browsing, online gaming, and file sharing | Self-hosted VPNs, enterprise and school solutions, as well as regulated environments that require isolated services | Web activity privacy and IP masking on Safari |
How to Choose the Best VPN for Your iPhone
How you intend to use a VPN on your iPhone, where you travel, and what level of privacy you need are all important considerations when choosing the best VPN for your iPhone. Here are some key features you should look for:
PIA VPN has everything you need in an iPhone VPN, including a global server network, a court-proven no-logs policy, and an affordable price point with a 30-day money-back guarantee for new subscribers.
FAQ
Keeping your iPhone VPN turned on at all times is a good way to improve your privacy, but it’s especially worthwhile when browsing unsecured websites or using public Wi-Fi. A VPN encrypts your internet data and masks your IP address and location across apps and sites. If you use your iPhone without a VPN, you increase your risk of exposure to online tracking, profiling, and ISP monitoring.
No, but the iPhone does include iCloud Private Relay (for iCloud+ plans), which encrypts your web traffic and hides your IP address like a VPN does. It’s not a proper VPN, though, because it doesn’t work outside Safari and doesn’t allow you to choose a server. iOS devices support VPN apps and also let you manually configure a VPN connection.
Check for the VPN icon in the status bar or open the Control Center. Alternatively, you can open your VPN app or go to VPN & Device Management in the General settings to see if the VPN profile is shown as Connected. Some apps also display connection status in their interface or via widgets on your Home Screen.
No, but you can configure an iOS VPN app to launch automatically. If you’re using manual VPN settings, you can enable Connect On Demand in your VPN configuration to keep your VPN active automatically. It helps maintain protection on any network, even on risky public Wi-Fi.
A VPN can change your iPhone’s virtual location to the location of the VPN server. Doing so hides your real location from websites, apps, and hackers. It’s especially useful when you’re traveling abroad. For example, connecting to a server in your home country allows you to securely access your usual banking apps, corporate networks, and other regional services.