How to turn off a VPN on your phone: Android, iPhone and computer

A VPN is usually turned off with one button in its app. Trouble starts when there is no button, the connection keeps coming back on its own, or the whole internet vanishes once you turn it off. Below — where a VPN is turned off on Android, iPhone and a computer, which system settings keep it on, and what the “Disconnected from always-on VPN” notification means.

If you meant to stop paying rather than disconnect, that is done elsewhere: how to cancel a VPN subscription and get your money back.

Android: where a VPN is turned off

There are three ways, from the quickest to the most reliable.

1. In the app itself. The off button is usually on the main screen — where you turned it on. While the connection is up, the app usually keeps its own notification in the notification shade: tap it and the app opens. Some apps also add a tile to the quick settings, so you can turn the VPN off without opening the app.
2. In the phone’s settings. The path from Google’s help: open Settings → Network & internet → VPN, tap the settings icon next to the VPN you want, and turn it off. Forget on the same screen removes it altogether.
3. With search, if there is no such path. Open Settings, tap search at the top and type “VPN”. That is exactly Google’s advice: “If you can’t find it, search for ‘VPN.’ If you still can’t find it, get help from your device manufacturer” (Android help).

Why your path looks different. “Network & internet” is what the section is called in Google’s own Android. Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, Honor and others put the VPN item into their own sections, and it moves with updates. We do not list a path for every brand: those go stale faster than the article, and the search in Settings finds the item everywhere.

How to tell the VPN is off. While it is on, a VPN icon (usually a key) is shown in the status bar. No icon — no connection.

Turned it off and there is no internet: two Android system settings

Besides the button in the app, every VPN on Android has two system switches. They are on the same screen: Settings → Network & internet → VPN → the settings icon next to the app.

• “Always-on VPN”. Android itself starts this VPN when the phone boots and keeps it running while the phone is on. The mode exists since Android 7 (Android documentation).
• “Block connections without VPN”. While the VPN is not connected, the phone lets nothing out to the network. When you turn this on, Android itself warns that you won’t have an internet connection until the VPN connects.

Hence the main trap. You turned the VPN off in its app, but the second option is still on for it — and the phone does exactly what it was told: no VPN, no internet. It is not a fault, and a reboot will not bring the direct connection back.

What to do:

1. Open Settings → Network & internet → VPN (or search for “VPN”).
2. Tap the settings icon next to the VPN you turned off.
3. Turn off “Block connections without VPN” — the internet goes direct again. If you do not want this VPN to come up on its own, turn off “Always-on VPN” too.

The option names here are from Google’s Android; other makers label them slightly differently, but the options sit on the same screen.

The app has no off button, or it does not work. Most likely that VPN has “Always-on VPN” on. In that mode Google advises developers to disable any disconnect button in the app, because the system and its settings control the connection (Android documentation). So it is turned off on the system screen: turn off “Always-on VPN” or tap Forget. According to the documentation, the system itself drops the connection when on that screen you disconnect or forget the VPN app, or switch off always-on for it.

“Disconnected from always-on VPN”: what it is and how to clear it

This is not a message from an app but an Android system notification. It means: some VPN on the phone has “Always-on VPN” on, and there is no connection right now. Under the title it says “Change network or VPN settings”, and it cannot be swiped away. Google’s help puts it plainly: “If your always-on VPN connection stops working, you’ll get a notification that stays until you reconnect. To clear that notification, turn off always-on for that VPN” (Android help).

Tap the notification — a “Can’t connect to always-on VPN” window opens with the app’s name. Its text tells you whether you have internet now:

• “Your phone will use a public network until…” — there is internet, but it goes direct, without the VPN;
• “You won’t have a connection until the VPN can reconnect” — this VPN has “Block connections without VPN” on, and there will be no internet until it connects.

You can clear the notification in two ways:

1. Reconnect that VPN — the “Open app” button in the same window.
2. Turn off “Always-on VPN” for it: Settings → Network & internet → VPN → the settings icon next to the app. The “Change VPN settings” link in the window leads to the same screen. If you no longer need the VPN, you can forget it there too.

We quote the notification and the window from Google’s Android. Phone makers may change the wording, but the meaning is the same: the system is waiting for a VPN you once made always-on.

iPhone and iPad: the app, Settings and the profile

On iPhone a VPN is turned on either by an app from the App Store or by a configuration profile — installed by a company, a school or a website you downloaded settings from.

1. In the app. Open the app that turned the VPN on and switch the connection off there. Apple advises starting with that: “Use the app to turn off its features” (Apple Support).
2. In Settings. Open Settings, swipe down to reveal the search field and type “VPN” — that is how Apple suggests finding VPN and profile settings. In the section you find, turn off the switch for the connection you want.
3. Remove the profile altogether. Settings → General → VPN & Device Management → select the profile → Delete Profile, then restart the iPhone (Apple guide). Removing a profile deletes all of its settings and information. If your organisation installed it, ask them first.

The VPN keeps coming back. Apple warns that if the software that created the setting is still in use, the setting might return later. Then turn the connection off in the app itself or delete the app.

On iPhone Mayak works with the subscription link in a third-party app, Happ or INCY, so it is turned off there too — where to tap on iPhone.

Computer: Windows and macOS

Windows 11. On the taskbar select the Network, Volume, Battery icon → VPN. If you have one VPN, you turn it on and off with the left side of the VPN quick setting. All connections are in Settings → Network & internet → VPN (Microsoft Support; Windows 10 has its own tab there). Microsoft describes connections set up in Settings; if a separate program turns the VPN on, turn it off in that program.

macOS. Apple menu → System Settings → VPN in the sidebar (you may need to scroll) → turn the service off (Mac User Guide). Quicker — the VPN status menu in the menu bar: click it and choose the service to disconnect. If the icon is not there, it is turned on in System Settings → Menu Bar → the VPN checkbox (VPN status menu).

We promise nothing here about Mayak on a computer: we have no app of our own for Windows or Mac yet, and we have not tested third-party ones there with a live connection.

If you turn it off for your bank or government services

A common reason to turn a VPN off is a Russian bank or government services app that will not let you in while it is on. The service sees not you but the address the request came from, and a foreign address can put it on guard. The details are in why banks and government services do not work with a VPN.

You do not have to turn protection off entirely for that if the app can split traffic. In Mayak this is the “Split tunneling” item (Settings → the Network section), and the caption under it reads: “Selected apps go past the tunnel: banking, government apps. Everything else stays protected.” The ready-made set of Russian apps is called “RU Apps” and is switched on with a toggle on the main screen, above the connect button. It applies on the next connection. Step by step — how to send Russian apps past the tunnel.

An honest caveat: whether a particular service lets you in is its own decision. The set only changes which way the app’s traffic goes.

How to turn Mayak off

We make Mayak, so it gets its own section, in the app’s own words, for the version that is on our site and in Google Play right now.

• Main screen. Tap the big circle again: the first tap connects, the second turns protection off. “Unprotected” appears under the circle. A tap while it is still connecting cancels the attempt.
• Notification shade. While Mayak is connected, its notification with a Disconnect button stays in the shade. Tapping the notification itself opens the app.
• Tile. If you added the “Mayak Networks” tile to the quick settings, one tap on it turns Mayak off without opening the app. Under the tile you see the connected country or “Unprotected”.
• So that it does not come back when the phone starts, turn off Auto-connect: Settings → the Protection section. Its caption: “Restores your last working connection when the phone starts.”
• If you turned on “No protection — no internet”. This item in Settings → Protection turns nothing on by itself: it opens the Android system screen, the one with “Always-on VPN” and “Block connections without VPN”. If you turned those on there, Mayak switched off leaves the phone with no internet — the trap from the section above. The app does not check whether these options are on when you turn it off, and does not warn about them.

Turning the connection off does not touch your subscription. If you need to stop payments too — how that works with us.

What we checked

• Android paths and options — against Google’s help and the Android developer documentation, read on 24 September 2026. The option names and the notification and window texts — against the Android source code, which shows both the strings and the condition under which the system shows the notification.
• iPhone and Mac — against Apple’s support pages and guides, Windows — against Microsoft Support, read on 24 September 2026.
• Mayak — against the source code and labels of the app version that is on our site and in Google Play on 24 September 2026: the circle on the main screen, the notification, the tile, the Auto-connect, “No protection — no internet” and “Split tunneling” items.

What we do not know

• Where the VPN item is on your phone. Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, Honor and others have their own paths, and they change with updates. We have not checked them on a phone of every brand — which is why we recommend the search in Settings.
• How the options are labelled in your firmware. The names above are from Google’s Android; makers sometimes rename them.
• Whether the paths match word for word on your iPhone, Mac or Windows computer. We retold Apple’s and Microsoft’s help rather than walking the paths on live devices; each path has a link to its instruction next to it, and that is what to trust.
• How a particular third-party app turns off. Everyone has their own buttons; we do not review other apps here.
• How Mayak behaves on a computer. We have not tested it with a live connection.

Short answers

How do I turn off a VPN on my phone? With the button in the app that turned it on. The fallback on Android is Settings → Network & internet → VPN, on iPhone — searching Settings for “VPN”.

How do I turn off a VPN on Android if there is no “Network & internet”? With the search in Settings: type “VPN”. Samsung, Xiaomi and other makers keep the item in their own sections.

I turned the VPN off and the internet disappeared — what now? Turn off “Block connections without VPN” for that VPN on the system VPN screen — step by step.

How do I clear “Disconnected from always-on VPN”? Reconnect that VPN or turn off “Always-on VPN” for it — in detail. The notification cannot be swiped away.

What is a VPN on a phone, and how do I turn it off? It is a secure connection through which the phone goes online: traffic to the server travels encrypted. While it is on, a VPN icon shows in the status bar. It is turned off in the app or in the settings, as described above.

How do I turn off a VPN on a computer? On Windows 11 — the network icon on the taskbar → VPN, on a Mac — System Settings → VPN. If a program turns the VPN on — in that program.

How do I turn off a VPN on iPhone? In the app, or through the “VPN” search in Settings. A profile is removed in General → VPN & Device Management.

Do I have to turn the VPN off for my bank? No, if the app can send individual apps past the tunnel. In Mayak this is “Split tunneling” and the ready-made “RU Apps” set — more.