Article Summary
- Quickest way: Settings → General → VPN & device management → VPN, then toggle it off. If it won’t stay off, turn off Connect On Demand from the info icon next to your VPN.
- To remove it entirely: tap the info icon next to your VPN and choose Delete VPN at the bottom to remove the profile.
- When it’s worth turning off: location-based apps that need your real position, a firewall or streaming service blocking the VPN, noticeable speed drops, or low battery.
- The risk: off means no encryption. On public Wi-Fi especially, leaving it off exposes your traffic, so switch it back on once you’re done.
Sometimes a VPN gets in the way, no matter how good its privacy and security features are. Financial and banking apps often block VPN connections because they use your real IP address to verify your location.
The same goes for online gambling apps, and you may find yourself locked out of the more aggressively protected streaming services too. Occasionally, apps like Bolt or Wolt won’t work properly if your iPhone’s GPS data puts you in an entirely different location, or even a different country, from your VPN IP address.
In this guide, I’ll explain how to turn off a VPN on iPhone quickly.
Easy Ways To Turn off VPN on iPhone (Step-By-Step)
Turn off VPN in iPhone Settings
- Open Settings and locate the VPN option near the top.
- Tap the green slider to turn it off.
If you still see the VPN reconnecting, follow these steps:
- Open iPhone Settings.
- Tap General.
- Scroll down to VPN & device management and tap it.
- Go to the VPN section.
- Turn off the green slider to disconnect.
What To Do if Your iPhone VPN Keeps Turning Back On
Even now, you may still see the VPN reconnecting on its own. Here’s the fix:
- Go to iPhone Settings → General → VPN & device management → VPN section.
- Tap the information icon next to your VPN’s name.
- Toggle off the Connect On Demand feature.
Connect On Demand is what reconnects the VPN automatically, so switching it off is what makes the disconnection stick.
How to Fully Remove a VPN Profile From iPhone
Deleting the VPN is just as easy. When you tap the information icon next to your VPN’s name, as above, you’ll see a Delete VPN option at the very bottom. Tapping it removes the VPN profile from your iPhone completely.
When and Why You Might Want to Turn Off Your VPN
As secure as iPhones are, a VPN adds privacy protection the phone doesn’t offer on its own. But there are times when a VPN connection causes problems, large or small. Here’s when it’s worth turning your iPhone VPN off:
- An app needs your real location. As mentioned, some apps genuinely need your actual location to work. Most use GPS for this, but others cross-check it against your real IP address, and a mismatch breaks them.
- Blocked websites. Streaming services like Netflix keep tightening their VPN detection. If you can’t get through, turning the VPN off restores access. You lose the foreign library, but you get back in.
- Firewall blocks. Connecting to a workplace network will often fail with a VPN on. Firewalls only let approved IP addresses through, so your VPN IP gets blocked.
- Slow speeds. Every VPN costs you a little speed, though the fastest ones on WireGuard do so barely noticeably. If the drop is significant, try another server first, then disconnect if that doesn’t help.
- Low battery. Encryption puts extra load on the battery. If you’re running low, disconnecting the VPN until you can charge buys you some time.
What Happens (and the Risks) When You Turn off a VPN
When you turn the VPN off, you lose the encrypted tunnel it routes your connection through.
Instead of a VPN IP address, you go back to the original IP assigned by your mobile carrier. You also lose the extras that ride along with a VPN: built-in ad blocking, tracker blocking, and malicious-site filtering. VPNs with anti-malware features, like NordVPN’s Threat Protection, stop scanning for online threats once disconnected.
This is riskiest on public Wi-Fi. Attackers use tricks like a Wi-Fi deauthentication attack to knock unprotected phones off a network, hoping they’ll reconnect somewhere less safe. A VPN doesn’t stop the disconnection, but it does keep your traffic encrypted if you do end up on a hostile network, which is the difference between exposed data and unreadable data.
It’s also worth knowing where your location data can end up without protection. The FCC fined the four largest US carriers, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint, nearly $200 million for sharing access to customers’ real-time location data without proper consent, and in June 2026 the Supreme Court sided with the FCC over those penalties. Your location in the wrong hands can reveal when you’re away from home, which carries obvious risks. A VPN doesn’t stop your carrier knowing where you are, but it’s a reminder that the data is valuable and worth guarding where you can.