Remove VPN icon from iOS 18 control center?

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Level 1

5 points

Remove VPN icon from iOS 18 control center?

Hello, I updated my ipad to iOS 18 last night and found the Control Center now has a VPN activation button in the cluster with the Bluetooth and Wifi buttons, but I can't remove it or rearrange the icons to make things easier to use. Specifically, I used the Bluetooth button to toggle it on and off quickly so I could swap an external device (like headphones or a speaker) between my phone and iPad, but with the VPN button taking up the space with the Bluetooth icon this has become more difficult. I've tried everything I can think of to edit the Control Center or, at the least, shift the icons around so the Bluetooth button is not clustered into the bottom right, but there doesn't seem to be a way to do so.

I don't use my VPN enough to have it in the way of something I use regularly, so is there a way to remove the VPN option altogether? For me it's pointless to have this VPN button, plus it's made it more difficult to do something extremely simple. If I could remove it, or just shift it around that would be amazing, but right now this small issue is enough to keep me from updating my phone to iOS 18 because I use this Bluetooth icon that regularly.

iPad Air, iPadOS 18

Posted on Sep 19, 2024 9:21 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Lawrence Finch

Community+ 2025

Level 10

228,306 points

Sep 23, 2024 2:25 PM in response to Mas000

Delete the VPN profile in Settings/General/VPN & Device Management/VPN.

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Answer 2

Oct 22, 2024 11:56 PM in response to holdenma020

Did you transfer all data from previous phone? Let's try to remove all VPN profiles/settings and add them again. After my first VPN connection on new iPhone 16 pro (after transferring data) I had same issue. I deleted every VPN settings and added them again. It fixed the issue.

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Answer 3

Nov 29, 2024 7:56 AM in response to Controlcenterbad

Here is guidance on customizing the control center→Use and customize Control Center on iPhone - Apple Support

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Answer 4

Nov 13, 2024 7:09 AM in response to shiva1964

shiva1964 wrote:

This is a really dumb update decision as it downsized frequently used icons (Bluetooth and cellular data) while airplane mode and vpn are big and hardly ever used. This is how I fixed it. Hard press the top right of the control panel and you go into edit mode. I just deleted that whole box and then added controls for all the things that I needed in the order that I want.

In other words, Apple does offer a way to do what people are requesting.

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Answer 5

Oct 5, 2024 2:06 PM in response to barnaclejafee10thousand

“Siri, turn off Bluetooth"

“Siri, turn on Bluetooth"

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Answer 6

Nov 29, 2024 4:38 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

I see VPN Not Connected, and the option to sign into a school or work account. I am not connected to a VPN, and the VPN option is greyed out in control center, but I can’t get rid of the VPN option.

Id also honestly like the functionality to remove airdrop and personal hotspot from control center.

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Answer 7

User5002

Level 1

20 points

Sep 19, 2024 7:32 PM in response to holdenma020

I had the same problem. I was able to add Bluetooth as a separate shortcut making it very easy to toggle on and off like it was before the update.

Hope that helps

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Answer 8

holdenma020 Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 23, 2024 11:57 AM in response to holdenma020

5002’s suggestion to add the bluetooth shortcut works but it leads to a very clunky result: I now have the standard connectivity box and shortcuts for bluetooth and airplane mode, but I have to leave the connectivity box in place to disable wifi if necessary, leaving me with redundant icons that take up more space than they did before updating.

For now I’ll just stick with 17 on my phone since being able to quickly switch these things on and off is important.

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Answer 9

Oct 5, 2024 1:06 PM in response to holdenma020

I have the exact same issue. The workaround of adding an additional Bluetooth shortcut exists but causes you to waste space here. It seems that many people would want the functionality that we want here, quickly toggle Bluetooth. This seems like an oversight more than intentional. If anyone finds another workaround, please post.

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Answer 10

bpena29

Level 1

4 points

Oct 19, 2024 9:12 AM in response to tbmackey43

Mine is always on in settings as well even though I slide it to the off position it defaults back to on…every time! I can’t get anything done because it’s just becoming a nuisance!

Who’s your VPN provider? If your VPN uses a separate app (primarily for connecting and making VPN setting changes), if you initiate the VPN on from the app and later (not saying intentionally) disable the VPN from your iPhone’s VPN toggle— it may keep turning back on due to the “connect on demand” setting.

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Answer 11

Nov 13, 2024 2:21 AM in response to holdenma020

This is a really dumb update decision as it downsized frequently used icons (Bluetooth and cellular data) while airplane mode and vpn are big and hardly ever used. This is how I fixed it. Hard press the top right of the control panel and you go into edit mode. I just deleted that whole box and then added controls for all the things that I needed in the order that I want. Looks like this now

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