About VPN protocols for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

You can use your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to connect to a VPN. Find out which protocols, authentication methods, and certificates your device can use to connect to VPN servers.

Your device can use these protocols and authentication methods:

  • L2TP/IPSec with user authentication by MS-CHAPV2 Password, RSA SecurID or CryptoCard, and machine authentication by shared secret.
  • For iOS 9 and earlier, PPTP with user authentication by MS-CHAPV2 Password, RSA SecurID, or CRYPTOCard.
  • Cisco IPSec with user authentication by Password, RSA SecurID, or CRYPTOCard, and machine authentication by shared secret and certificates. Cisco IPSec works with VPN On Demand with domains that you specify.
  • You can also use third-party VPN apps available on the App Store. These apps might use other protocols.

You can use certificates in these raw formats:

  • PKCS#1 (.cer, .crt, .der)
  • PKCS#12 (.p12, .pfx)

Contact your network administrator or IT department to make sure that you set up VPN to work properly with your device.

Learn more about how VPN works with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

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