Using VPN on iPhone and iPad: How to set up the service on Apple devices

1. VPN on the iPhone: Not always the same tunnel

2. Difference between VPN service and VPN connection

3. Advantages of commercial VPN providers on the iPhone

4. Test VPN connection on iOS

5. Connect to home network / office network

6. iCloud Private Relay: An alternative to VPN?

A VPN is practical, secure and offers a wide range of advantages both in the home office and in public WiFi. The anonymized network protects your online connection comprehensively. If you work on the go with your iPad or surf the web with your iPhone, using a VPN connection has many other advantages. You will then no longer have to miss out on international events such as the current Formula 1 season.

A VPN on the iPhone allows you to surf securely via a so-called VPN provider or you can use it to establish a connection to your home or company network. The best thing about it: VPNs for iOS/iPadOS are even free.

VPN on the iPhone: Not always the same tunnel

Technically speaking, there is only one type of VPN: VPN is the abbreviation for “Virtual Private Network” and describes a method of establishing a connection to a local network via the Internet. This can be the network of your private router, your employer or a third-party provider (a so-called VPN service). The connection is highly encrypted. All of your data traffic runs through this so-called VPN tunnel.

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This means that, for example, WLAN operators or Internet servers have no way of monitoring you while you are on the move. When the VPN connection is active, your iPhone or iPad always behaves as if it were locally on the target network. Among other things, you surf using the IP address of the Internet access for this network.

Difference between VPN service and VPN connection

Just like your router or your employer, commercial VPN providers offer a VPN tunnel in their own network and you surf using the IP addresses of the respective provider. The difference in this case is that the provider itself does not internally track what content you access. At the same time, you can use the VPN service’s global network to trick other websites into thinking you are in another country.

In short: With a good VPN provider, you can surf the internet completely safely and anonymously – even in public connections or other obscure access points. It is therefore particularly sensible to use a VPN for mobile devices that are often used in holiday destinations, such as the iPhone or iPad.

Advantages of commercial VPN providers on the iPhone

The big advantage of commercial VPN providers is that they have a large global network with a large number of “starting points”: you take out a subscription with such a service provider and can then surf using one of their connections – no matter where you are. All of your Internet traffic is routed through the VPN tunnel and thus protected. This offers a number of advantages:

• Anonymous surfing with the IP addresses of the VPN service.
• Protected connection to the VPN provider.
• Bypassing DNS and IP blocks (censorship).
• Geolocking, as used by Netflix and others, is eliminated and you can watch content from other countries.
• Preventing tracking by Internet providers and websites.
• Internal anonymization by the VPN provider through a no-log policy.

So if you use a commercial provider like NordVPN, ExpressVPN or Cyberghost on your iPhone or iPad, you can surf the Internet with the best possible security. You can also bypass censorship and tracking and watch content from any streaming service from any country.

In order to use such a VPN service, you must first take out a subscription with it. VPN services are available from around 2 dollars a month if you choose a longer subscription period. In addition, the providers often outdo each other with special offers. For these small costs, you get complete protection. The only important thing is that you make sure beforehand that the service also offers a VPN app for iOS and iPadOS.

Test VPN connection on iOS

If you really want to be sure that you are anonymous on the Internet, you have the option of checking your current IP address on a website. We at Netzwelt, for example, have prepared a corresponding page for you, which you can access at https://www.igamesnews.de/tools/wie-lautet-meine-ip.html. You can also call up a streaming service: here you will see the content of the country you have connected to via VPN. If you use a US IP address via the VPN, for example, you can now watch films and series that are not yet available in Germany.

Connect to home network / office network

Of course, you can also use your iPhone and iPad to establish a VPN connection to your router at home or your office network. To do this, you need VPN access data, which you either generate in your router or receive from your employer. This type of connection also has certain advantages:

• Work on the go in your home or office network.
• Manage network devices and your smart home on the go or print at home.
• Remotely control the computer in the home network.
• Surf the internet while on holiday using your home IP address (not anonymously!) and thus avoid network blocks and censorship in your holiday country.
• Watch German streaming service content from abroad.

It is important to note that such a VPN is completely free to use and protects you from surveillance by Internet providers or WiFi operators while you are on the move. However, it is not anonymous! After all, you are surfing using the IP address of your home Internet connection.

Modern routers like the FritzBox allow you to create such a VPN connection: The encrypted VPN tunnel is established between your iPhone or iPad and your router at home (or your employer’s server). We’ll explain how this works here.

You have to add your router’s or employer’s VPN to iOS and iPadOS in a different way than you would a VPN provider: There is no app, so you have to create the connection manually. The VPN provider’s app does this for you. If you already have the connection data to hand, setting up a free VPN connection on your iPhone and iPad is no problem:

With this connection, you can now access your home network while on the go. This is extremely practical if, for example, you want to exchange data with your NAS or simply reset a smart home thermostat.

If you still have Macs, PCs or DIY computers like the Raspberry Pi on the network that are turned on and have an active SSH or VNC connection, you can easily control them with your iPhone and iPad and complete tasks there.

iCloud Private Relay: An alternative to VPN?

To protect your privacy and increase your security on the Internet, Apple recently established its own function, iCloud Private Relay, which is not unlike a VPN. Apple advertises the relatively new feature on its own website as follows:

iCloud Private Relay is designed to protect your privacy by ensuring that when you browse with Safari, no one—not even Apple—can know who you are or what websites you visit.

Official Apple website

However, you should know that this function is still in beta. It is only available in certain regions and on the iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey systems. Basically, the feature additionally conceals your connections via various access points. If your device has iCloud Private Relay, you can activate it as follows:

• iPhone/iPad/iPod: Open the “Settings” on your iOS device.
• iPhone/iPad/iPod: Tap your name and then “iCloud”.
• iPhone/iPad/iPod: Here you will now find the option “Private Relay”.
• Mac: First go to the Apple menu and then to the System Preferences.
• Mac: Here you select “Apple ID” and then click on “iCloud”.
• Mac: Here you can now select the option “Private Relay”.

Finally, we have linked a few thematically similar instructions for you, in which we explain how to set up a VPN on a variety of devices.

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