HT206844: Prepare for removal of PPTP VPN before you upgrade to iOS 10 and macOS Sierra

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MattyBH

Q: VPN using hotspot with ios 10 not working

I frequently work offsite and use my AT&T iPhone 6s to tether my Windows 10 Pro work tablet (ASUS Transformer T300CHI).  Although a lot of the places I work have Wifi, most do not allow VPN which I need to connect to my work server.  After the ios 10 update (I am on 10.0.1), I have not had issues tethering, but VPN no longer works.

 

The Windows 10 Pro built-in VPN on my tablet has an automatic configuration that appears to detect the type of configuration (IKEv2/PPTP/IPSec/L2TP, etc) and you just put in username and password.  According to my IT dept, the VPN connection in the office not only supports PPTP (which I understand has been disabled with ios 10) but also supports IKEv2 and L2TP/IPSec.  Regardless, I always left VPN setup on Windows 10 in Automatic.  I have tried selecting the type of connection but this has not worked either.  I typically get a "VPN tunnels failed" error

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated

iPhone 6s, iOS 10

Posted on Sep 19, 2016 9:30 AM

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Q: VPN using hotspot with ios 10 not working

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  • by Coupee36,

    Coupee36 Coupee36 Sep 19, 2016 8:22 PM in response to MattyBH
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 19, 2016 8:22 PM in response to MattyBH

    MattyBH,

     

    Please keep us posted if you were able to resolve this issue.  I too am having the same problem since the iOS10 update.  I think this has to do with Apple removing PPTP protocol from the IOS10... I was able to confirm the finding by downgrading to earlier IOS 9.3 and my VPN works fine, unfortunately my users with iPHONE7 cannot downgrade their IOS and now cannot access VPN through iOS10 hotspots

  • by Husaberg450,

    Husaberg450 Husaberg450 Sep 19, 2016 8:53 PM in response to MattyBH
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 19, 2016 8:53 PM in response to MattyBH

    I'm having the same issue on IOS10 and Win10. Please let me know if you find a fix. Cheers

  • by Husaberg450,

    Husaberg450 Husaberg450 Sep 19, 2016 9:31 PM in response to MattyBH
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 19, 2016 9:31 PM in response to MattyBH

    The latest version of the iPhone/iPad/Mac operating system, released ahead of the iPhone 7 launch, removes support for point-to-point tunneling protocol (PPTP) connections. This means that VPN setups using PPTP will no longer work with devices and computers running iOS 10 and macOS Sierra.

    While PPTP is by and large considered outdated, the protocol is still being used by some companies and VPN providers, mine being one of them.

     

    I have asked my Network guys to figure out how to rebuild our VPN setup with a different and more secure protocol. I'll let you know what they come up with.

  • by Coupee36,

    Coupee36 Coupee36 Sep 20, 2016 6:06 AM in response to Husaberg450
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 20, 2016 6:06 AM in response to Husaberg450

    What I dont understand is why it would affect HotSpot users?  I understand Apple removed PPTP from the iOS10 VPN settings, but I would think if you're using your phone as a middleman (hotspot) the iOS10 shouldn't dictate what protocol a user can or cannot use for VPN on their Windows OS. 

  • by MattyBH,

    MattyBH MattyBH Sep 20, 2016 8:20 PM in response to Husaberg450
    Level 1 (13 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 20, 2016 8:20 PM in response to Husaberg450

    My IT department is working on same thing.  Unfortunately it does not seem very straightforward even though it sounds like the other protocols are available just not configured.  We have tried to vpn with LT2P with non-Apple devices to no avail.  Definitely doesn't appear to be an Apple/ios10 issue other than removal of PPTP protocol.

  • by BRinAU,

    BRinAU BRinAU Sep 22, 2016 12:21 AM in response to MattyBH
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 22, 2016 12:21 AM in response to MattyBH

    Hi MattyBH,

     

    I do the same, I use Windows 10 in my work notebook and connect to internet using my mobile hotspot (iPhone) and often require connecting to office via PPTP VPN. It also stopped woking after I upgraded to iOS10.

     

    I searched in google and found your question but no descent answer. I had an idea, tested and it worked.

     

    What I'm doing is using another VPN first. I have an account with PureVPN (could be any other) and I connected locally to a server in my country (speed still OK) using L2PT. After connected, I was able connecting via my normal Windows 10 PPTP VPN to our Office.

     

    Hope this workaround helps

  • by craigreilly,

    craigreilly craigreilly Sep 22, 2016 1:45 PM in response to MattyBH
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 22, 2016 1:45 PM in response to MattyBH

    So we are a small company - and do not have the funds to upgrade our VPN right now.

    On the Mac's with Sierra - users are going with Shimo for $55 each. There are about 5 of them. Now they can VPN from their Mac's again.

    However, when they try to VPN while tethered thru their iOS10 iPhone - it does not work.

     

    How do we know if this is by design or a legitimate bug with iOS 10?

  • by detech,

    detech detech Sep 22, 2016 9:21 PM in response to MattyBH
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 22, 2016 9:21 PM in response to MattyBH

    today i have same problem, and i call my network support and then they add new protocol (L2TP ) to connect to my office. i try connect to VPN from my macbook (sierra), and boom its work. but when i use my iphone (ios 10) as hotspot and my macbook connect to it, sadly i cannot connect to vpn. 

  • by ccolotti,

    ccolotti ccolotti Sep 23, 2016 10:18 AM in response to MattyBH
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 23, 2016 10:18 AM in response to MattyBH

    I have the same issue.  I can connect fine with PPTP VPN sierra with Shimo via other connections just not via hotspot.  Not sure why the removal of the PPTP client would also remove the actual capability for PPTP pass-through on the hotspot feature.  If so....that's crap!

  • by stenfromhastveda,

    stenfromhastveda stenfromhastveda Sep 24, 2016 3:17 AM in response to MattyBH
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 24, 2016 3:17 AM in response to MattyBH

    I have the same problem. Downgrading my phone to iOS 9 now

     

    Can Apple answer if it's a bug or a feature?

     

    If it's a feature i'm buying a Androind phone next time

  • by 02FAR,

    02FAR 02FAR Sep 25, 2016 5:14 PM in response to MattyBH
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 25, 2016 5:14 PM in response to MattyBH

    I have been struggling with this for the last few days and think it is solved now.  Not fully tested but able to establish a VPN connection.  My issue was when using a windows 7 or windows 10 computer tethered or hotspot to an iPhone could not establish a vpn connection via L2TP after upgrade of iPhone to IOS10.0.1.  As part of troubleshooting I also updated to iOS 10.0.2 but this is not related.  See article https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/kb/926179 adding the appropriate dword 32bit of AssumeUDPEncapsulationContextOnSendRule under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PolicyAgent and setting the value to 2 worked for me.  Requires a reboot.  Has to do with windows vpn servers / clients behind nat devices.  depending on your specific setup a value of 1 or 2 may be required.

     

  • by craigreilly,

    craigreilly craigreilly Sep 25, 2016 5:21 PM in response to 02FAR
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 25, 2016 5:21 PM in response to 02FAR

    And now... how do Mac users connect to a VPN? I can't get them to connect either. Is your change on the Server side?

  • by 02FAR,

    02FAR 02FAR Sep 25, 2016 5:33 PM in response to craigreilly
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 25, 2016 5:33 PM in response to craigreilly

    client side.  no change required on our server side (or perhaps it was already set can't check at the moment).  can't help with the mac sorry

  • by ccolotti,

    ccolotti ccolotti Sep 26, 2016 6:22 AM in response to craigreilly
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 26, 2016 6:22 AM in response to craigreilly

    Tested 10.0.2 update with Shimo on Sierra....still no dice.  I have confirmed Shimo works fine for PPTP using a verizon MiFi 6620L, but still not with the iPhone in hotspot mode, so this is clearly an iPhone Hotspot issue 100% that Apple has created.  The Mifi also uses NAT same as iPhone in hotspot mode so this is appearing to be isolated to the iPhone only.

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