How to Set Up VPN on iOS with L2TP

Laatste update: april 3, 2020

Need a VPN for iOS?

Love ExpressVPN? Want a free month?

This tutorial will show you how to manually set up an L2TP VPN connection on your iPhone or iPad.

Note: L2TP/IPsec provides weak security benefits and should only be used for anonymization or for changing locations.

Prefer to use the app instead? See the instructions for app setup for iOS 10 and above.

Jump to…

1. Get your ExpressVPN account credentials
2. Set up your VPN configuration
Connect to a different VPN server location
Disconnect from the VPN server location
Uninstall the VPN configuration

1. Get your ExpressVPN account credentials

To set up ExpressVPN manually, you will first need to obtain your ExpressVPN credentials for the manual configuration.

On your iOS device, open the Welcome Email you received when you signed up for ExpressVPN. Tap “Set Up ExpressVPN.”

Tap Show other devices > Manual Configuration.

If you can’t find the email, sign in to your account. Enter your verification code, which you will receive in your email.

Under Set up your devices, tap More > Show other devices > Manual Configuration.

Select PPTP & L2TP/IPsec. This will show you your username, password, and a list of server addresses around the world.

Keep this browser window handy. You will need this information for the setup later.

Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.

2. Set up your VPN configuration

On your iOS device, tap Settings > General > VPN > Add VPN Configuration…

Then enter the following settings:

Type: Select L2TP.
Description: Enter a name that will help you recognize your VPN connection. It might be helpful to enter the location name (e.g., “ExpressVPN LA”).
Server: Enter one of the server addresses provided (e.g. la-abc-abcd.abcde.com).
Account: Enter the username you found earlier.
RSA SecurID: Make sure this is off.
Password: Enter the password you found earlier.
Secret: Enter 12345678.
Send All Traffic: Make sure this is on.

Then tap Done.

You are ready to connect to the VPN now. To connect, toggle the Status switch on.

When your VPN connection is successful, the Status will change to “Connected.”

Congratulations! You can now begin surfing with freedom and security. Open your web browser or any app, and all traffic will automatically be protected by ExpressVPN.

Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.

Connect to a different server location

You can create more than one server connection by repeating Step 2.

To connect to a different server location you have set up, go to Settings > VPN. Tap the name of the connection in the list, then toggle the Status switch on.