Configure iOS Device for OpenVPN

The iPhone and iPad iOS require a .ovpn unified file to load into the OpenVPN app. The article below describes how to create that file.

Preparations

  • Install the iOS app OpenVPN Connect
  • Configure and create an OpenVPN client for your iPhone or iPad device.
    • It is recommended to create a PKCS12 File Password for more security. It's possible to create a PKCS12 file without a password, but it makes it susceptible to a man in the middle attack as anyone intercepting the file will have access to all the certificates.
    • Make sure you document the PKCS12 File Password. It will be needed in the next few steps.

Download Client files

To get started, go to the menu Services > OpenVPN and scroll to the Connection Status and -Control section.
* Click on the Download Client Configuration icon for your connection and save the file as myPhone.ovpn.
* Click on the Download PKCS12 file icon for your connection and save the file as myPhone.ovpn12.

Create unified file

There are a few different ways to create a unified file for use on an iOS device (iPhone or iPad device). It can be done manually by editing the .ovpn file created by IPFire and a simple copy/paste of the Root Certificate. Alternatively, it can be done with one of the bash scripts in this article (they might need some adjustment as the IPFire files structure might change in the future).

Install .ovpn

Install the unified file on an iOS device (iPhone or iPad device) using this method.