iOS OpenVPN plist or mobileconfig not applying for Per-App VPNSolved

Hi @oliver_p ,

Custom OpenVPN configuration files such as manually created .plist or .mobileconfig payloads cannot be directly linked to Apple’s native Per-App VPN configuration.

For iOS, the setup depends on the VPN use case:

• Device-wide VPN: Use a standard VPN configuration/profile. This routes device traffic through the VPN depending on the configured VPN behavior.
• Per-App VPN: Configure Per-App VPN using the native VPN payload supported by iOS and associate it with managed apps. A custom OpenVPN app configuration payload cannot be selected or reused as the VPN profile for Apple’s Per-App VPN.

If the policy installs without an error but the OpenVPN app remains empty, it usually means the payload was delivered but was not in a format or configuration path that the OpenVPN app or iOS Per-App VPN framework can consume. For app configuration, the payload must follow the configuration schema supported by the app vendor. For Apple Per-App VPN, use the native Per-App VPN workflow instead of trying to attach a custom OpenVPN plist/mobileconfig.

Regards,
Isabel Lora
Hexnode UEM

That explains what I’m seeing. I was expecting the custom payload to appear inside the Per-App VPN options, but it never showed up. So if I need app-specific routing, I shouldn’t use the manually created OpenVPN plist at all?

For app-specific routing on iOS, configure Per-App VPN through the native VPN policy and assign it to managed apps. The custom OpenVPN plist/mobileconfig approach is not treated as a reusable Per-App VPN profile by iOS.

If your requirement is to route all traffic through OpenVPN, use a device-wide VPN configuration instead. If your requirement is to route only selected managed apps, use the Per-App VPN configuration supported by iOS rather than a custom OpenVPN payload.

Regards,
Isabel Lora
Hexnode UEM

One more related question: is Hexnode Browser Lite only available on Android? I could not find a separate iOS app for it.

Hexnode Browser Lite is available on both iOS and Android, but on iOS it is not installed as a separate standalone app. It works as an integrated browser extension within the Hexnode UEM app, so there is no separate Browser Lite app to deploy from the store.

Regards,
Isabel Lora
Hexnode UEM