A VPN for your phone: how to choose and set it up on Android and iPhone

A “VPN for a phone” is installed differently on Android with Google Play, on Android without it and on iPhone, and it gets switched off in the background differently by different brands. Below: how to find your path, how to choose a service without rankings, how to install it, and which two settings keep the connection alive. Details for each brand are in separate articles, linked as we go. Everything here is as of 2 October 2026.

Which phone you have: three paths

The brand matters less than two things: is it Android or iPhone, and does it have Google Play. They decide where to install the app from.

Whether a phone has Google Play is visible in the app list: the store icon is either there or not. On Huawei and Honor it depends on the year and the system — how to tell for sure is in the Huawei article.

How to choose a VPN for your phone: five questions instead of a ranking

A ranking answers “what is popular”, while you need “what will work on my phone in my network”. Five questions find that out — ask them of any service, including us:

1. Is there an app for your system — its own, not just a “key” for someone else's client.
2. Where to install it from. The official store or the service's own site. Not a download site and not a link from a chat: there it is easy to get someone else's file under the right name.
3. What the app does when the first path does not go through. A network that lets the connection through at home may not on mobile data. An app with a single path simply fails to connect at that moment.
4. Which permissions it asks for. A secure connection needs no contacts, messages or location.
5. Can you check it before paying, and on how many devices does one subscription work.

In more depth, with signs for Android: “Which VPN for Android is better”; a general list of questions before paying: “How to choose a VPN”.

Android: how to install

1. Install the app from Google Play or as a file from the service's site. These are two different channels: the store version cannot be installed over the site version or the other way round, they are signed differently. Switching channels means removing one and installing the other (what the phone says when it will not install).
2. Create an account right in the app or sign in to yours.
3. Allow the secure connection. Android shows a system dialog once — its normal routine for any such app.
4. Pick a country and connect.

On one Android only one such connection works at a time: turn on a second app and the first one disconnects. If you have two services installed, keep one on.

iPhone: a client and a subscription link

On iPhone a pair usually works: a client app from the App Store and a subscription link from the service that holds its servers.

• Look at the publisher, not the name. Popular names in the Russian App Store are shared by look-alike apps from other publishers. In our catalogue check on 23 September 2026 the real Happ (publisher Flyfrog LLC) was not in the Russian App Store, while INCY (publisher LLC ITDEV) was (the full check).
• Steps: install the client, copy the subscription link from the service's account area, add it to the client, let iPhone add the configuration, connect.
• What iPhone does not have: automatic path switching like our Android app. A third-party client gets one way of connecting through the link.

Where to tap with Mayak: the “Where to tap on iPhone” page.

Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei and Honor: what each brand does its own way

The app is the same on every Android. The skins differ: each saves battery its own way and names the settings its own way.

• Samsung Galaxy (One UI). The system puts rarely opened apps to sleep by itself. The “Never sleeping apps” list and the “Unrestricted” battery mode protect against that: where they are.
• Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO. Their own thing is autostart and per-app battery saving: what to switch on.
• Huawei and Honor. First, whether there is Google Play; if not, install from a file. Then background work: how to install and keeping it on.
• Other Android brands. The order is the same as in the four Android settings; menu names differ between skins, and we do not invent exact paths for each.

Keeping the connection alive in the background

Most often “the VPN turns itself off” not because of the network but because the phone put the app to sleep to save battery. Two settings cover most cases:

• Unrestricted background work. Phone “Settings” → “Apps” → the service's app → “Battery”. Our app notices such a restriction by itself and leads you to the right screen.
• Always-on. Android can keep a chosen app connected at all times and, without it, let no internet through at all. In Mayak: Settings → Protection → “No protection — no internet”; the button opens the right Android screen.

Other causes, from network changes to games, are covered in “VPN keeps disconnecting”. How to switch the connection off when it gets in the way: on Android and iPhone.

Mobile data and Wi-Fi

Unlike a computer, a phone moves between home Wi-Fi and mobile data all day. Sometimes the connection comes up at home but not outside: the cause is the network, not the phone. What we measured ourselves on each operator is in separate articles: Beeline, MTS, MegaFon, Tele2, Yota; the general breakdown is “Why a VPN fails on mobile data but works on Wi-Fi”. If the operator has switched on whitelist mode, no service of this kind will connect, ours included (why).

Traffic and battery

• Traffic. A tunnel does not save traffic, it adds to it: in our measurement on the night of 16 September 2026 the same download through the tunnel cost about 10 % more than directly (the full measurement).
• Battery. We have not measured phone battery drain with the connection on, so there is no number here. If your phone drains noticeably faster, tell us the brand and model.

Mayak on a phone: what exists now

• Our own app for Android 7.0 and newer — on Google Play and as a file on the home page. As of 2 October 2026 the site has version 0.7.40, Google Play has 0.7.38.
• Four attempts instead of one. The app tries the paths by itself: direct over the new-style address, direct over the ordinary one, through an entry point in Russia, and a fallback channel. In the seven days to 20 September 2026, 1,050 connections out of 1,171 came up on the first two attempts, 95 on the fallback channel, 26 through Russia (how we counted).
• What the app does not ask for: contacts, messages, location, files, or payment details for the trial.
• iPhone. We have no app of our own yet; it is in development, and we give no dates. You can connect now with the subscription link from your account.
• One account for a phone, tablet, TV and laptop. Plans differ by the number of devices: “Start” up to 3, “Family” up to 5, “Max” up to 10. What it costs: “How much does a VPN cost”; about laptops: “A VPN for a laptop”.

What we checked

• App versions — from our version file, 2 October 2026: 0.7.40 on the site, 0.7.38 on Google Play.
• Shares of connection attempts — from our log for the seven days to 20 September 2026.
• Which permissions the app asks for — from its Android manifest, 20 September 2026.
• What is in the Russian App Store — a check of Apple's catalogue on 23 September 2026; INCY with a Mayak link on iPhone — a live connection on 22 September 2026.
• Operators — each measurement is described in its own article, with the date and place.

What we do not know

• How much battery the connection takes. Not measured on any model.
• Exact setting names in every skin. They change from version to version; checked paths are only in the brand articles.
• What the App Store looks like today. The catalogue changes: check the publisher on the app's page.
• How the connection will behave on your network. Only you can see that. If it did not work, tell us the operator, city and phone model.

Quick answers

Which VPN is best for a phone? One with an app for your system, several connection paths, and a trial without a card. Check it on your network: a ranking will not show you that.

How do I turn on a VPN on my phone? Install the service's app, sign in, allow the system dialog and tap “Connect”. On iPhone, add the subscription link to the client.

Where do I download a VPN for my phone? From Google Play or the App Store, or from the service's own site. Not from download sites or chat links.

Is there a free VPN for a phone? Free ones exist, but you pay for them with ads or data (the breakdown). With us the trial is free.

Why does the VPN on my phone turn itself off? Most often the phone puts the app to sleep to save battery. Remove the background limit and turn on always-on.

Can one VPN cover a phone and a computer? Yes, if the plan covers several devices. With us each device takes one slot in the plan.