iOS: VPN over TCP. Any good service available?

Question

Here's a very succinct description of my situation: I use an iPhone (and an iPad) in an environment where ports other than 80 and 443 are blocked.

Therefore, it is impossible to use Siri, Maps, as well as an array of other native apps and protocols (IMAP, for example).

There is absolutely no way for me to unblock these ports or use an alternative network. Even though this is not too inconvenient, it still is an annoying context.

I found a solution that worked for a while: since I was still considered a student by my university, I was able to use the school's VPN using Junos Pulse (Juniper's app on iOS). Unfortunately, I am not anymore and can't go for this option. So I'm trying to come up with a replacement.

I've tried many VPN apps available on iOS but all of the ones I've tested resort to either L2TP or PPTP and, therefore, can't go through the network's firewall.

I don't want to jailbreak my device, so I suppose OpenVPN is not an option.

I am therefore looking for one of the following things: a VPN service that would work with iOS over port 443 (like my ex-university's one; I am willing to pay a couple of dollars each month) or a VPN server software (or even hardware, but these are seriously out of my league) that I could set up at home. Or maybe something else I don't know about?

Answer 1

The iPhone has a VPN option in settings --> general --> VPN. I looked here and I don't see any option to change the port number. There are a couple of apps in the App Store that supposedly give free VPN service.

This and this are both questions similar to yours.

I personally don't use VPN so I wouldn't know, but it sounds like Jailbreaking and installing OpenVPN is the only option.

About Jailbreaking:

I Jailbroke my iPhone twice before and both times it worked like a charm. The best way to go about it is to read this page. Using a tool such as redsn0w or absinthe is the most trustworthy method (though, if you have a newish device (iPhone 5, iPad mini), you would have to use evasi0n).

YOU MUST BACKUP AND SYNC!!! I cannot stress this enough. Write it on your forehead before you jailbreak, and when you do it, backup at least 3 times and sync 3 times. Follow all of the steps to jailbreaking (DFU...and so on...) and take a look at cydia afterward. Your best bet for having a stressless jailbroken device: DO NOT INSTALL RECKLESS AND STUPID APPS. I know that it is soo cool to be able to have all of those cool icons, and how neat it is that you can view your notification center in the lockscreen, but... ONLY INSTALL THE BARE MINIMUMS. Your life will be much less contemplated. Trust me. Its worth it.

PS: I once installed an app that displays the current temperature as a badge on the weather icon. The icon wouldn't go away after I uninstalled. After many sleepless nights and equal wasted brain cells, I fixed it. It was NOT worth it!!!! Do not make the same mistake.

I hope that this answer helps you on your journey through the world of jailbreaking if you so choose to do so. Good luck.