Facing problems with your VPN connection? This happens from time to time, often without an obvious reason. Unfortunately, it can hurt your productivity and cause serious problems with privacy, especially if you’re relying on keeping the VPN always ON. Luckily, the problem isn’t always serious. It could stem from a temporary connection downtime on your or the provider’s side, a software or OS glitch, or a buggy update. So, before you rush to remove a VPN from iPhone or Android or buy another VPN, try a set of steps below. Trust us, learning how to reset a VPN on iPhone can help you avoid a lot of troubleshooting.
Tip. We already covered tweaking VPN configuration when we discussed how to change a VPN on iPhone. For that reason, we’ll focus on other useful methods.
Why should you reset a VPN?
Resetting a VPN can be a chore, but sometimes it is necessary. Especially if you are experiencing some issues with your service provider. Although some VPN issues might be technical and stem from the vendor’s side, there are many instances where problems occur due to the bad implementation of a VPN. Thus, resetting a VPN is a solution that can work wonders. Below are some situations when resetting a VPN is the best thing to do on an iPhone.
VPN not working
If your VPN has ceased working, then try resetting it. Sometimes a VPN client might fail to connect to the network. And while there might be several causes behind it, the chances of a faulty installation are pretty high. Thus, users can try and reset their VPN settings to ensure the functionality of the VPN.
Firewall/Antivirus issues
Then there is the problem of antivirus or firewall. Oftentimes, a VPN might seem to fail due to the firewall. If you do not want to disable your firewall or buy another antivirus, then you might want to reset your VPN and hope it can work.
VPN blocking
Finally, we have VPN blocking. Typically, blocks affect ports that grant access to VPN traffic. Hence, by resetting your VPN and changing your configurations, you might figure out a way to circumvent such blocking attempts. You can also try to load a new VPN profile after resetting your VPN to bypass blocks. Hence, resetting a VPN can work fine as long you can change your setting afterward.
Method 1. Change VPN protocol in the VPN app
We mentioned the possibility of switching protocols in the aforementioned guide. However, we didn’t make it clear you can also do it inside the VPN app of your choice. Well, now you know – it’s an easy way to reset a VPN tunnel. To give you the steps required, we’ll use one VPN app for a quick demonstration. Follow these steps to switch protocols in ExpressVPN:
- Launch the ExpressVPN for iOS app.
- Tap the Options menu in the top left corner (three-line menu).
- Go to VPN Settings > VPN Protocol.
- Switch to any other protocol than the chosen one. For example, from IKEv2 to OpenVPN.
- Either go back to the main screen right away to utilize the newly chosen protocol, or switch back to the original protocol now that you’ve refreshed it.
Method 2. Reset a VPN on iPhone by deleting a VPN profile
This is an alternative method that can delete settings tied to a VPN app. With that said, there are 2 ways to reset a VPN profile by removing a current profile:
1. Delete VPN profile from the VPN app
This isn’t possible with every provider, but many do offer this option. To give you a demonstration, here’s how it works on ExpressVPN:
- Launch ExpressVPN for iPhone.
- Tap on the three-line menu in the top left corner.
- Select Reinstall VPN Configuration.
- When the Configuring Your VPN notification pops up, tap on Allow.
- Tap on Allow once again, then enter your iPhone passcode, or use your Touch ID or Face ID to confirm.
- The VPN configuration will be reinstalled now.
2. Erase VPN profile in iPhone settings
Here’s how to erase a VPN profile in iOS VPN settings:
- Tap on Settings and go down to General.
- Find an option named Profile below VPN.
- You’ll now see a list of all configuration profiles installed on your iOS device.
- Tap the one you want to get rid of, then tap on Delete Profile > Delete.
Method 3. Reset a VPN on iPhone by reverting network settings to default
Follow these steps to reset a VPN on iOS by factory resetting network settings:
- Tap on Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll all the way down and tap on Reset.
- Tap on Reset Network Settings.
- If you have a passcode on your iPhone, enter it when prompted.
- On the pop-up screen, tap on Reset.
- Wait for the process to complete. Your device might restart.
- Tip. This will also remove the list of Wi-Fi networks and respective passwords. Cellular and APN settings will be erased too but should be downloaded from the carrier automatically.
Method 4. Reset a VPN on iOS by clearing the VPN app cache
This method is particularly useful when you rely on a dedicated VPN app from a provider rather than general VPN settings. The problem is, Apple didn’t implement a way to delete the app cache directly. Some app developers add the option, while others don’t. Here are 2 ways to get rid of VPN app cache on iOS:
1. Check for the Clear Cache option
Follow these steps to see if the cache reset option exists on a VPN app on iPhone:
- Go to Settings. Scroll down and tap on the VPN app’s name.
- Below the list of permissions, find the list of options.
- Look for Clear Cache, Clear Data, or Clear Storage options. There might be an option you can toggle, such as Reset cache on next launch. These might also be hidden inside options such as Storage Usage or Data Usage.
2. Reinstall the iOS app
If the above doesn’t exist, proceed to delete then erase the VPN iOS app like this:
- Tap on Settings > General.
- Select iPhone Storage. On iPadOS, the option is called iPad Storage.
- Apps will be listed from the largest to the smallest. Find the app that belongs to your VPN provider and tap on it.
- On the next screen, tap on Delete App.
- Install the app from the App store again and sign back in. You’ve reverted VPN settings to default in the process.
