Connection issue iOS 14 and OpenVPN

[Stef_wilvpn2 1]

Since installing iOS 14 on iPhone, I have been having issues with my AirVPN connection via OpenVPN. On multiple instances it will show there is a connection after coming out of sleep, to include showing the VPN icon, but there is no internet access. This happens both on cellular and WiFi connections. I have tired downloading new profiles from AirVPN, rekey, switching to TCP from UDP, deleting and reinstalling OpenVPN, but still happens. If I cycle the connection off/on in OpenVPN manually, then all works normally. The issue only happens on a background reconnect. 

Has anyone else encountered this issue or have any suggestions? Also checked OpenVPN forums but no info there either. 

[justin.a.kraft 0]

I'm experiencing similar issues since upgrading to iOS 14. In my case, the issue happens as soon as I connect, not just upon returning from sleep. All profiles connect in OpenVPN, show the VPN icon at the top, but then don't allow you to actually connect to anything on the internet. I've tried US and CA country profiles and individual server profiles, generating and importing new profiles, etc.

Haven't found a fix so far. 

[OpenSourcerer 1441]

15 hours ago, justin.a.kraft said:

Haven't found a fix so far. 

Haven't found logs so far.

[justin.a.kraft 0]

3 hours ago, giganerd said:

Haven't found logs so far.

Good point!

A few more details: I found that my issue only happens when using cellular connection (LTE). WiFi does still work as expected.

In the attached log, using cellular connection, I connected to a server. OpenVPN connected as expected, but I was unable to load websites in Safari.

AirVPN-Log.txt

[Stef_wilvpn2 1]

Attached are additional logs. For myself issue continues to be when coming out of sleep or locked screen.  Also still happens after OpenVPN update yesterday. text.txt

[000001 0]

On 9/30/2020 at 12:46 AM, Stef_wilvpn2 said:

Attached are additional logs. For myself issue continues to be when coming out of sleep or locked screen.  Also still happens after OpenVPN update yesterday. text.txt

I have the same problem and waiting support team replay 

[Monotremata 22]

Big Sur has some issues with DNS tunneling and encryptions, I wouldn't be surprised if it made its way to iOS as well. I havent looked at my phone yet cause I dont use Air on it but iOS 14 was supposed to start randomizing your MAC address which was already wreaking havoc on some peoples home network setups. On Big Sur, if I run Eddie while the Little Snitch is running, the Mac kernel panics if you start messing with the network lock. They seem to run fine on their own, for the most part, but the combo together is a disaster right now. 

[Stef_wilvpn2 1]

So found a bug ticket on OpenVPN with the same problem. 
https://community.openvpn.net/openvpn/ticket/1328#no1

Also, tried another VPN service as a point of comparison that had an iOS app vs OpenVPN app.  It also had problems with UDP and TCP connections. Only type that was stable was IKEv2 (I know AirVPN does not support IKEv2. Just providing for reference.)

With AirVPN, also tried restricting to IPv4 only and then IPv6 only instead of allowing mixed. However this did not change the problem. 

[NewToVPNs 0]

I had the same issue as those above, where the VPN "connects" after wake but doesn't actually connect the internet until the VPN is turned off then turned off again. On wake, OpenVPN will display the spinning circle inside the on/off slider, but the connection timer below shows that it isn't reconnecting on wake (as the connection time is usually continued from whenever the phone was last used). I've tried basically every combination of settings and haven't seen any results. Turning off seamless tunnel does not fix the issue, despite what https://community.openvpn.net/openvpn/ticket/1328#no1 indicates.

[Stef_wilvpn2 1]

Even if turning off seamless tunnel was a possible temporary fix, seems like that would cause more problems with potential leaks than it would be worth. 

Issue has seemed to be getting worse this past week, but not sure if that is just because I am paying attention to it more across devices. 

[000001 0]

there’s a temporary solution in case you have a trusted VPN provider who's offer HTTP proxy server ,so you can make WIFI in iPhone connected directly for proxy and turning off seamless .
that solution only for WIFI not cellular data and don’t forget turning seamless on when you switching to data . 
NOTE : it’s still risky but better than turning off seamless without proxy .

[akerman 0]

I experienced connectivity problems after updating to iOS 14. Connecting and authenticating with OpenVPN server works fine but no traffic to remote networks or internet goes thru. After inspecting traffic on OpenVPN server I noticed that all DNS queries where routed thru vpn with iOS 14 but not before. I removed a DNS push from server to clients and then connectivity to both internet and remote networks worked again. I guess some changed behavior in iOS for DNS routing may be the reason.