Software platform of iOS runs on all the popular devices such as iPhone, iPad, iPod etc. No matter what the type of device used by the individual, the person should connect their device with a secured internet network. VPNs provide security and this security is mandatory for all the internet users in the present situation.
VPN servers provide their internet network in the form of different encrypted protocols and these protocols would include PPTP, L2TP, IPSec, Open VPN, SSTP, etc. All these different types of VPN protocols have built-in configuration into the iOS platform and thus it would make the process of setting up VPN very easy and simple. All users have to know is what is the type of protocol provided by their service provider and how to setup iOS VPN corresponding to that protocol onto their device.
Before we discuss in detail about the procedure to setup iOS VPN, users should know few things. Primarily, the user should note whether the mobile carrier they are operating on does provide mobile based VPN connection and even 3G support for VPN connection because, certain carriers do not provide them. It is better to change to a carrier who offers support in all aspects. Also, consider the VPN service provider who is known for providing services mainly for handheld devices.
In business organizations, employees can contact their office IT administrator and get the setup up and running. For individuals and personal VPN users, they should obtain all the setup details from their VPN service provider. All the connection specific details would be provided to the subscriber by the VPN upon subscription. A Welcome email would be sent to the subscriber and in that, all the details would be provided.
Know to Setup iOS VPN
- Select Settings and under that select General.
- Network icon should be selected and after that, you can find VPN
- Select VPN and tap on “Add VPN Configuration”. This is to create a new VPN connection.
- In the Add Configuration page, you can find three different icons indicating the three different types of protocols such as L2TP, PPTP, and IPSec.
- Of all these different type of protocols, IPSec would be the widely used one especially for iOS devices because, amongst all the different protocols, it offers the highest level of security.
- L2TP over IPSec is the second most secured network. Servers providing this particular network are very less.
- PPTP and Open VPN protocols are not as secure as the earlier two types. Open VPN setup is very complicated and time consuming.
Setup iOS VPN based on L2TP
- L2TP option should be selected in the “Add Configuration” page.
- Description of the network is left to the user’s choice. He or she can name the network as they wish.
- In the Server location, the user should enter the server name. List of servers possessed by the VPN would be given and the user can choose one of them.
- Account name would be the VPN account username. One-time password would be provided by the VPN initially but after the first connection, the user can change the password through the subscriber dashboard provided by the VPN.
- RSA SecurID should be left unselected.
- Send all traffic option should be selected i.e. should be ON. This particular option should be selected in order to send all the data traffic to the VPN connection.
- After this, click Save.
Setup iOS VPN based on PPTP
- PPTP should be selected in the “Add Configuration” page.
- Description name can be of the user’s choice. In case of business organizations, they might have a standard name for the entire connection.
- Server name should be entered from the list provided by the VPN. Based on the country that the user is trying to connect to, the server name would differ.
- Account name, which is the username and the password, should be entered correctly in the respective locations.
- RSA SecurID should be left unselected.
- Encryption level should be left as Auto. Auto encryption bit would be selected by the system itself. The benefit of keeping this option in Auto is that, the user would be able to gain higher speeds.
- As with the earlier setup, the entire data traffic should be sent over the VPN connection and for that, the option of “Send All Traffic” should be selected. Click Save to save the setup.
Setup iOS VPN based on IPSec
- IPSec VPN protocol should be selected in the “Add Configuration” page.
- Description of the VPN network is left to the user to decide. He or she can decide the name they are going to give to their VPN connection.
- Server name would be the name of the server that, the user is going to connect to.
- Username and Password of the VPN should be entered in Account and Password locations respectively.
- Group Name and Secret can be filed by the user if they want to. It is at their discretion.
- Click Save which would be on the top right corner of the “Add Configuration” page.
Making the connection work
Now, that we have understood the setup iOS VPN process based on all the different VPN protocols, the next step would be to know whether the connection would work or not.
For connecting to the VPN, the user should go to the settings page and slide the VPN to ON position. The connection would be established by now and the status of the connection would be displayed on the top right corner of the home page of the device.
Disconnecting the VPN connection can be done the similar way. The VPN option should be switched to OFF position.
Setup iOS VPN using the best in business
Amongst all the different VPN providers, there would be very few companies who would provide their services in a legitimate way and those are the ones listed below.
| Rank | Provider | Starting Price | Money Back | Visit Provider |
| 1 | ExpressVPN | $6.67 /Month | 30 Days |  |
| 2 | Hidemyass | $6.55/ Month | 30 Days | |
| 3 | iPVanish | $10.00/Month | 7 Days | |
| 4 | StrongVPN | $21/ 3 Months | 7 Days | |
| 5 | VyprVPN | $14.95/Month | 7 Days | |
