If devices on your iPhone's Personal Hotspot have no internet while VilaNet is connected, turn off Capture All Network Traffic: while that switch is on, iOS does not let hotspot devices use the tunnel. This is an iOS limit of that switch, not a broken account or a bad server. The same switch also explains a phone that cannot open new pages while WeChat can still send, Wi-Fi Calling problems, and why Apple push depends on it.
Turn Capture All Network Traffic off
- Open VilaNet and go to Settings > Connection > Advanced Settings.
- Turn off Capture All Network Traffic.
- Disconnect the VPN, then connect again.
- For Personal Hotspot: turn Personal Hotspot on again. A computer, laptop, or tablet using that hotspot should get the internet back. While the switch is on, the iPhone itself can usually still browse. The devices joined to the hotspot are the ones that go offline.
- If the phone itself has no internet at all, especially on an older system such as iOS 15: existing chats such as WeChat can still send, but web pages and other new connections fail, and the phone can stay offline after you disconnect. Turn the switch off, connect again, and if the phone is still offline, restart the iPhone and then connect.
The switch forces traffic into the VPN. If the tunnel does not come up, new connections are dropped, so an old chat still works while a new page does not. New installs leave it off, and the app warns that it fights Personal Hotspot and Internet Sharing. An update does not turn it off. A phone that saved it as on keeps that value until you turn it off once. Turn it on again only when Apple push does not arrive on mainland-China cellular.
Bypass VPN for LAN does not restore the hotspot. Do not change it for this. The server and protocol are not the cause either.
Wi-Fi Calling
While Capture All Network Traffic is on, system traffic bound to the physical interface is taken into the tunnel, including the carrier traffic Wi-Fi Calling uses. Wi-Fi Calling can then fail to register, or calls can misbehave. Turn the switch off when you need Wi-Fi Calling.
Why Apple push depends on this switch
Apple push binds its connection to the physical interface. An ordinary VPN tunnel cannot capture it. With Capture All Network Traffic off, Apple push bypasses the VPN and connects directly on every network, including Wi-Fi. Route Apple Push via Proxy works only while Capture All Network Traffic is also on. That is true in every routing mode, including Global.
A bypass is not a failure. When the phone can reach Apple's push servers directly, notifications still arrive. On mainland China that direct path is often unreliable, so turn Capture All Network Traffic on to send push through the VPN. Personal Hotspot, Internet Sharing, and Wi-Fi Calling can then break. Turn it on only if Apple push does not arrive on mainland-China networks, and turn it off before you use Personal Hotspot. Cellular push may be slower while it is off.
If you must leave the switch on so cellular push stays reliable, do not share the iPhone's VPN through Personal Hotspot. Install and connect VilaNet on the computer or tablet itself.
Push for an overseas app is still missing
On a mainland-China network, Apple push for some overseas apps, including Telegram, may not arrive. There is no complete fix. To send Apple push through the VPN:
- Open Settings > Connection > Advanced Settings and turn on Capture All Network Traffic.
- Turn on Route Apple Push via Proxy. It works only while Capture All Network Traffic is also on. If you cannot find a switch, look under Advanced Settings or More routing settings.
- Disconnect the VPN, then connect again.
This still does not guarantee that every overseas-app notification will return.
How to tell it worked
- Personal Hotspot: a device using the hotspot can open a web page. Safari on the iPhone can open a page too.
- The phone had no internet at all: after a restart and a new connection, Safari can open a new page.
- Wi-Fi Calling: after the switch is off, it can register and place a call.
- Push: slower Apple push on cellular after you turn Capture All Network Traffic off is the expected tradeoff. It does not mean the server is faulty.
Still not working?
- On Wi-Fi, Chinese apps load text but pictures and video keep spinning, while cellular is fine: that is a different case. See Chinese apps on iPhone Wi-Fi load text but not video.
- The switch is already off, the iPhone has been restarted, and the fault is still there: do not disconnect first. Open Contact Support in the Menu, or the support button on the main page, leave Include app diagnostics on, and say whether you are on Wi-Fi or cellular. You can also open a ticket from the client area.
- The switch was already off, VilaNet says Connected, and sites still do not load: see connected, but sites do not load and Can't Connect to Server Node? Connected but No Internet?. Do not change the device DNS for this.
- Install and first connection on iPhone: the VilaNet iOS guide.