Setting up VPN on iOS Device (iPhone, iPad)

     A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, allows a phone to connect to a network even though it may be located very far away from the hardware running that network.  Put more simply, a VPN can allow you to “fool” your phone into thinking it is on your workplace’s network, when in actuality, you are at home in your PJ’s.  This guide will show you how to set up a VPN connection on iOS devices, using credentials provided by your network administrator. 

Step 1: Click the home button to return to the home screen, and then open up the “Settings” application. 

Step 2: Scroll down and select the "General" Tab. 

Step 3: Select "VPN" from the list in "General." 

Step 4: Select "Add VPN Configuration." 

Step 5: The top option is "Type."  Select this and you will be presented with three options. While there are several types of VPN connections, each with different use cases, for the purposes of this demonstration we are going to select the most common type, “L2TP over IPSec.” Your network administrator can tell you more specifically what type of VPN you should select, but besides some minor changes in the required credentials, the rest of the setup process should be the same across all types.

Step 6: You will now be presented with an opportunity to enter your credentials:

"Description" - Custom name for the VPN connection.  Can be something like "Work" or "Company name" 

"Server" - This is the address for the VPN server.  You should get this from your network administrator, and should be in the format of numbers punctuated with periods "120.250.02.20" 

"Account" - This is your username, and should also be provided by your network administrator.  

"Password" and "Secret" - The password functions the same as any other password, and is tied to the specific user account (test1 in my example below) while the shared secret is common among all users trying to access that particular network.  More simply, every user at a given company using a VPN will have a unique password, but they will all input the same “shared secret” into this field.  You should receive both of these credentials from your network administrator. 

Step 7 (Optional): While not always necessary, some VPN connections will not work unless the “Send all traffic” checkbox is selected. You can find this option at the bottom of the credential entry screen.  If you have followed the rest of the steps in this guide, and the VPN fails to connect, checking this box is often a good first troubleshooting step. 

Step 7: Select "Done" at the top right of the screen to save and exit.  You can now select the newly created VPN connection, and toggle it on or off using the switch at the top of the screen.