Always-On VPN Configuration Profile Causes iOS 26.1 Onboarding Failure #481
Description
Bug report
Describe your environment
Platform: iOS 26.1
Device: iPhone 14 Pro
IVPN Version: 2.12.5 (5)
Describe the problem
When an iPhone with IVPN's always-on VPN configuration profile updates to iOS 26.1, the device becomes stuck during the post-update onboarding process and cannot complete setup.
Root Cause:
Always-on VPN profile loads on device boot (as designed)
VPN connects successfully
iOS onboarding requires Find My service authentication to proceed
Apple's Find My servers block/reject VPN connections during authentication
User cannot access Settings to disable VPN during onboarding
Setup process hangs indefinitely
Steps to reproduce:
- Install IVPN with always-on configuration
- Update iPhone to iOS 26.1 via Recovery Mode (preserves profiles)
- Device reboots to onboarding
- WiFi connection never completes during setup
- User is locked out
Observed Results:
Complete device lockout after iOS update - cannot complete onboarding without removing device from Find My via external method (iCloud.com)
Recommendation:
Document this issue for users and recommend one of:
Temporarily disable always-on VPN before major iOS updates
Use on-demand VPN instead of always-on to avoid boot-time loading
Provide clear instructions for users stuck in this state (remove from Find My via iCloud.com)
Additional Notes:
This appears to be an Apple infrastructure issue (Find My blocking VPN)
Same blocking behavior affects iOS update downloads
Issue may affect other always-on VPN providers on iOS 26.1