Streisand on iPhone: adding a subscription and fixing connection problems
Setting up the Streisand app on iPhone and iPad in three steps: subscription, server choice, refresh. Plus the errors that keep the VPN from turning on or opening sites.
Streisand is a free client for iPhone and iPad that works with Xray subscriptions. It fits iOS neatly, asks for no extra permissions and refreshes servers on its own. Here is the setup with Surok as the example.
Step 1. Install
Find Streisand in the App Store and install it. The app is free; no in-app purchase is needed to use a subscription. Note: Streisand is unavailable in the Russian App Store region, you need an Apple ID from another country. If you would rather not switch regions, take Happ or v2RayTun: both are in the Russian store and work with the same subscription.
Step 2. Subscription
The shortest route: open your Surok account on the iPhone, the "Connect" tab, the "Add to Streisand" button. The app opens and offers to save the subscription. By hand: copy the subscription link, tap "+" in Streisand and choose "Add from clipboard".
Step 3. Server and button
Servers appear in the list. In Russia choose entries starting with the 🇷🇺 flag: that is the Moscow entry. Press connect; iOS asks once to allow adding a VPN configuration, confirm it. The VPN icon in the status bar means it works.
Refreshing the list
Streisand re-reads the subscription on every launch and on the refresh button. When we add a country, it shows up by itself.
Errors
VPN is on, but sites don't open. Visit surokvpn.com/ip. If it shows your usual address, the chosen node does not pass on your carrier: switch to another 🇷🇺 server.
Only Amsterdam, Berlin, Warsaw without 🇷🇺 in the list. The subscription was refreshed through another VPN. Turn it off, refresh the subscription, the Russian entries come back.
iOS drops the VPN when the screen locks. Open Streisand's settings and enable "Connect on demand": the system will bring the tunnel up itself.
A bank or government site demands confirmations. Surok's subscription sends Russian sites direct, but only when Streisand's routing mode is "by subscription" rather than "everything via VPN".
Alternatives on iPhone
The same servers work in Happ and v2RayTun. If Streisand is unavailable in your App Store region, see the apps page for every iPhone option.