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WorkingVPN Help

Mobile app troubleshooting

The WorkingVPN mobile app uses your phone’s own VPN system: NetworkExtension on iOS, VpnService on Android. Most mobile problems come down to a handful of platform behaviours rather than bugs in the app.

If a connection attempt fails, the app shows a message ending in a short code such as (NET-03). That code is the same in every language, so it is worth noting down before you start.

Step 1: Confirm the VPN profile is enabled

Both platforms need explicit permission to install a VPN profile, and that permission can be withdrawn later, sometimes by accident and sometimes by a system update.

iOS:

  1. Open Settings → General → VPN & Device Management → VPN.
  2. Confirm the WorkingVPN profile is listed, and that its status reads Connected while the app says it is connected.
  3. If the profile is missing, delete and reinstall the app. iOS will ask you to approve the profile again on the next connection.

Android:

  1. Open Settings → Network & internet → VPN. The exact path varies by manufacturer.
  2. Confirm the WorkingVPN entry is listed.
  3. Tap the gear icon beside it to see its status.
  4. If it’s missing, reopen the app and connect. Android will show the VPN permission request again.

Step 2: Turn off aggressive battery savers

This is the most common cause of a VPN that connects fine and then drops on its own.

Android is where this bites hardest. Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, OnePlus and others layer their own battery management on top of stock Android, and it will terminate background apps, VPN clients included, to save power.

  • Go to Settings → Apps → WorkingVPN → Battery and set it to Unrestricted, or whatever the equivalent “don’t optimize” option is called on your phone.
  • On Samsung, also open Settings → Battery → Background usage limits and remove WorkingVPN from any sleeping or deep-sleeping list.
  • On Xiaomi and Poco, also check Security → Permissions → Autostart, and the background app settings.
  • Don’t Kill My App keeps manufacturer-specific instructions for this, and is worth checking for your exact model.

iOS is gentler but not exempt:

  • Settings → General → Background App Refresh should be on for WorkingVPN.
  • Low Power Mode throttles background activity, so the VPN may drop more often while it is on.

Step 3: Reconnecting after a restart (Android)

WorkingVPN does not restart itself when your phone boots. Android reserves that for its own Always-on VPN setting, which the system manages directly and which is more reliable than an app trying to start itself at boot.

To turn it on, open Settings in the WorkingVPN app and tap Start on boot, which takes you straight to the right Android screen. Or navigate there yourself: Settings → Network & internet → VPN → WorkingVPN (gear icon) → Always-on VPN.

Step 4: If your phone seems to have no internet at all (Android)

Alongside Always-on VPN, Android offers Block connections without VPN, a kill switch. With both on, your phone will appear to have no internet whenever the VPN is not connected, including while it is still connecting.

If that is what you’re seeing:

  1. Go to Settings → Network & internet → VPN → WorkingVPN (gear icon).
  2. Turn Always-on VPN off temporarily.
  3. Confirm your connection works.
  4. Turn Always-on VPN back on, but leave Block connections without VPN off until you’re confident the connection is stable.

Step 5: Check Private DNS (Android)

Android’s Private DNS sends all DNS queries to a provider you choose, which can conflict with the VPN’s own DNS.

  1. Go to Settings → Network & internet → Private DNS.
  2. Set it to Off or Automatic while you troubleshoot.
  3. Reconnect WorkingVPN.

Step 6: Try cellular instead of Wi-Fi, or the other way round

Some Wi-Fi networks block VPN traffic outright, particularly public, school, and corporate networks. If the app connects on cellular but not on Wi-Fi, the network is the problem, not the app. See School, work, and public Wi-Fi.

Step 7: Reinstall

If nothing else works, delete the app and reinstall it from the store. Sign back in and your settings will come back with your account.

Still stuck?

Email [email protected] with:

  • The reference code from the error message, if there was one
  • Your phone model and OS version, for example “Pixel 8 / Android 15” or “iPhone 15 / iOS 18.3”
  • Whether the problem happens on Wi-Fi, on cellular, or both
  • The exact error message or symptom
  • Which of the steps above you have already tried

A screenshot of the error usually saves a round trip, since it captures the wording and the code together.