Issue with VPN Interfering During iPhone 16 Pro Transfer

I recently upgraded from the iPhone 14 Pro to the iPhone 16 Pro and encountered a persistent issue during the device transfer. After attempting to transfer data from my old phone, I was forced to set up the new iPhone from scratch and restore from a backup. However, once the restore was complete, my new phone had major connectivity issues—both cellular and Wi-Fi connections were intermittent. Data wasn’t being sent, iMessages would sometimes work, and I couldn’t connect to websites.

After troubleshooting for hours—resetting network settings and even factory resetting the phone—I realized that the problem was linked to the VPN settings on my old phone. The VPN was active during the backup, and when transferred to the new phone, it caused the new iPhone to apply those saved VPN settings even though the VPN app itself hadn’t been installed yet. This created a network configuration issue, with the VPN status continuously switching between "disconnecting" and "off" in the control panel, preventing any internet access.

**Solution:**

I manually removed the VPN configuration from the new phone’s settings, which immediately resolved the issue. Once I re-established my connection to the internet, I downloaded the VPN app and set it up properly. Everything worked fine after that.

**Tip:**

If you’re upgrading to a new iPhone and use a VPN, make sure to turn off the VPN on your old device before performing a backup. If you’re already dealing with this issue on your new device, go to Settings and manually remove the VPN configuration. This should restore your internet connection.