This tutorial will show you how to configure L2TP VPN connection on
macOS but first let's check our requirements and recommendations.
Requirements
To set up L2TP VPN on macOS, you will need:
- A macOS device that supports the L2TP protocol. L2TP is not supported on macOS Sierra and higher.
- A secure FastVPN connection (Don’t have one? Sign up here!);
- Access to your FastVPN Account Panel.
L2TP VPN Setup instructions
1. Click the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of the screen and choose the System Preferences... option.
2. Within the System Preferences menu, locate the Network icon and click on it:
3. Create a new connection profile by clicking the square '+' (Plus) button on the lower end of the box on the left side.
Note:
Administrative privileges will be required to proceed further. To get
administrative privileges, follow these steps: Locate the Lock icon in the lower-left corner of the panel labeled Click the lock to make changes
and click on it to continue. When the login dialog appears, enter your Mac
login username and password in the corresponding fields (if you are
unable to proceed with this step and you do not have access to an
administrator account, you may need to contact Apple support). Once you
have entered your login details, click the OK button to continue.
After you enable administrative privileges, the Lock icon in the bottom left corner will be unlocked:
4. When the dialog box appears, enter the details as given below and click the Create button to continue:
-
Interface: select VPN from the drop-down
-
VPN Type: L2TP over IPSec
-
Service name: any name you prefer that helps you easily identify the VPN connection
5. Once the new connection profile is created, fill in the following fields to configure:
- Configuration: Default
- Server Address: select your preferred server from the server list from the FastVPN Account Panel (e.g. mel-a06.vpn.wlvpn.com)
- Account Name: your FastVPN account username from the FastVPN Account Panel
Click on Authentication Settings and proceed to the next step:

6. In the resulting dialog, enter your FastVPN account password from the FastVPN
Account Panel. In the
Machine Authentication category, click the
Shared Secret radio button and enter
vpn in the
Shared Secret field. Click the
OK button to continue:

7. You will be returned to the previous menu. Click on the Advanced... button in the lower-right corner next to the question mark icon:
8. In the Advanced settings panel, locate the Options tab. Put the check mark next to Send all traffic over VPN connection and click the OK button in the lower-right corner to continue:
9. Put the check mark next to Show VPN status in menu bar
located on the left from the "Advanced..." button. Once done, save the changes by clicking the Apply button in the lower-right corner of the panel:
10. Test your newly created connection by clicking on Connect just below the "Authentication Settings..." button:

11. After the VPN connection is established, check the Status indicator at the top of the window for any error or warning messages.
12. Once the VPN client is successfully connected, look for the Status: Connected message with the Connection Time and IP Address details as shown below.
13. For a quick way to access your VPN connection, locate the VPN indicator on the top of the screen. Look for the Connect VPN (L2TP) option
and click to open a context menu. From this menu, you can quickly start
and stop your VPN session without navigating through the System Preferences menu:
Quick fixes
If you do not get the Connected status
message, make sure that you have entered your username and password and
they are spelled correctly. Please note that our authentication system
is case-sensitive, so a single incorrectly capitalized letter in either
your username or password will cause your connection to fail.
If you need any further assistance, please contact our
Support Team.