Guides

Auto-connect on Wi‑Fi vs LTE: which mode to pick

Disabled, Wi‑Fi Only, LTE Only, or Always — a practical guide so VPN starts when you need it and stays quiet at home.

December 14, 2025 5 min read

What Auto-connect actually does

Auto-connect decides when FollowNet starts the tunnel after a network change. It does not pick WireGuard vs AmneziaWG — that is Smart Connect or your manual protocol lock. Think of Auto-connect as the on-switch schedule, not the path picker.

Wi‑Fi Only for cafés and hotels

Most people need VPN on untrusted Wi‑Fi and are fine on their home SSID and carrier. Wi‑Fi Only covers airports and guest networks without burning Free weekly traffic on every cellular hop. Pair it with a widget glance so you know it fired.

LTE Only and Always

LTE Only helps if your carrier is the problem and home Wi‑Fi is trusted. Always keeps the tunnel up whenever iOS reports a path — useful for travel weeks, heavier on battery and Free quota. Disable it when you are back on a network you trust.

Order of operations

On captive portals, authenticate first, then let Auto-connect or a manual Connect start VPN. If Smart Connect is on, protocol selection happens after the tunnel starts — that is intentional, not a race you need to micromanage.