VPN problem on iPhone after updating to iOS6 - server not found for .local URLs in Safari

O.K., so here in detail:

say, you have problems connecting to a URL "http://myserver.mycompany.local" via VPN/3G ...

1. Open "Free Ping" and you´ll find only one Input box (labelde "Type IP") and a button: "PING".

2. Enter "myserver" in the Input box and press "PING"

The output of Free Ping should say something like "64 bytes from xx.xx.xx.xx icmp_seq...". That means the IP Address of the host could be resolved.

3. Open your App (which could not contact the host/server) and try to establish a connection again.

It should work.

I can approve the solution.

After changing exchange.companyname.local/server into 123.456.890/server everything is okay.

Thanks for your help. 🙂

Apple support needed 3 calls and 30 minutes for no solution.

Additional Info on the iPhone VPN configuration:

Using IPSec Setup:

Server is filled out with external VPN IP

Account and Password are filled out correctly

Use Certificate is Off

Group Name and Secret are filled out Correctly

Proxy is off

How do I know these items are filled out correctly? Because I can access the VPN with no issues on WiFi.

Like this comment if your settings are the same, or reply with your settings if you have a different setup.

Another post on the issue

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4393481

This post implies there was a similar issue in previous versions of iOS:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2490057?answerId=12160761022#12160761022

Cpohle, by GPS I assume you mean a 3G-only connection, correct? And you confirmed you turned off WiFi, have a 3G connection and are using iOS6, correct?

What does your VPN configraution look like? Are you using IPSec?

If you made changes to your VPN host server or DNS server, what exactly were those, or did you simple upgrade to iOS6 without any changes to your iPhone or your private network?

We have some iPhones that are still using iOS 5.1, and they still connect without any issues on 3G only, so the only change was upgrading to iOS 6.

If any one else having (or not having) this issue can post their details, that might help.

CodePro,

Cpohle, by GPS I assume you mean a 3G-only connection, correct?

Of course, I meant "GPRS", or call it 3G/UMTS. Sorry for the typo.

And you confirmed you turned off WiFi, have a 3G connection and are using iOS6, correct?

Correct.

What does your VPN configraution look like? Are you using IPSec?

Yes, I'm using IPSec. On the other side of the tunnel, there is a StrongSwan listening for roadwarriors.

If you made changes to your VPN host server or DNS server, what exactly were those, or did you simple upgrade to iOS6 without any changes to your iPhone or your private network?

I upgraded to iOS 6 and noted that I could not get to the .local-hosts anymore. I then created a new DNS domain on our ActiveDirectory controller / internal DNS server, as described above, with "myhost.mycompany" aliases pointing to the still existing "myhost.mycompany.local" addresses.

HTH

I'm having same issue here. Can ping the internal resources by IP Address but DNS will not resolve to them when VPN is active. If I ping using IP Address, it actually responds with the server name, but pinging server name does not work (and therefore Safari does not work for any internal websites).

o.k., just one thing to be metioned: try to ping the fully qualified host name (myserver.whatever.local). my workaround works, because i declared the Domain ".local" as a (MS Term) "Domain Suffix" for local searches.

Is this a change you made in your domain's DNS server?

no, actually it´s a parameter in our cisco vpn appliance (dhcp config). what´s your vpn endpoint?

We use a Palo Alto.

have you tried my workaround: Free Ping (App)- Ping fully qualified hostname (myserver.whatever.local)? you should get a Ping-reply?

Yes tried it using IT Tools app but no response to pings to any server names (FQDN or not). Responds to IP addresses fine. Actually responds to the IP address ping with the FQDN. Crazy, working fine on my iOS5 devices, but broken once I upgrade devices (ipads and iphones) to iOS6. If I replace url in safari with IP address it works also. Definitely a DNS issue created by the iOS6 change.

Yep, that´s the bug!