You are being watched...
A fairly new trend in (for example) retail is tracking customer's movements by snooping Wi-Fi signals. If your Wi-Fi is turned on, even though it is not connected to any network, your phone will periodically broadcast a unique number (the MAC address), as well as all the Wi-Fi network names and addresses it remembers ever connecting to. With newer Android versions this can happen even if Wi-Fi is turned off, due to a feature called "scanning always available", which helps your device better determine its location.
At the very least, businesses can use these signals to track your visits. But these signals can also be used by a malicious entity (store owners, for example) to track your exact physical location in any area under their Wi-Fi surveillance. In a store, this data can be used for optimizing another one of those annoying store re-arrangements, forcing you to walk by all the product you don't want, to get to those you do want. Or detecting products you're tempted by, but ultimately not buying.
Of course they can also track your trip to the register, and couple your device's MAC address to the payment information (and thus many details about who you are). The tracking hardware and software vendors, the store (or chain) owner, their business partners, they can now all track where you are every time you come into range of one of their systems, and fully profile who you are, what you do, your financials, and your daily patterns!
That's just one small example - the possibilities are endless. A crook could hide a tracker at a bunch of houses, and in an automated fashion learn the patterns of everybody living in all those houses, without even having to do any surveillance - picking the ideal time to heist the family jewels becomes trivial. Authorities can use this information to correlate physical evidence with your location as well, and all the nastiness that comes with that.
Not even mentioning that your device's habit of announcing who all it's friends are and their names, makes it easier for hackers to perform a man-in-the-middle attack, tricking your phone to connect to an access point under their control.
Pry-Fi
One solution is shutting off Wi-Fi completely (including the background network scanning), but you would lose benefits like automatically connecting to known Wi-Fi networks and improved location awareness for your apps. It also does nothing to help the situation for others.
Pry-Fi will prevent your device from announcing all the networks it knows to the outside world, but it will still allow background scanning and automatically connecting to Wi-Fi networks. While you are not connected to a Wi-Fi network, the MAC address will constantly be pseudo-randomized, following a pattern that still makes the trackers think you are a real person, but they will not encounter your MAC address again. This will slowly poison their tracking database with useless information.
When you do connect to a Wi-Fi network, unless you specify otherwise, your MAC address will also be randomized - the same MAC address will not be used the next time you connect to this or any other network.
War!
Though of course the companies involved with these trackers claim they wouldn't use the data maliciously, the possibility is there, and we all know that if something can be abused, ultimately it will be. There do not appear to be any laws against these practices yet, nor is it likely Wi-Fi will be redesigned any time soon to get rid of the information leaks.
But we can make an effort to reduce the usefulness of the tracking data for the exploiters. Pry-Fi comes with a War mode, which when enabled tries to make your Android device appear like dozens of people. Just wandering around an area under Wi-Fi location surveillance for a few minutes can ruin the tracking data for the period of your stay.
Proof-of-Concept
This is proof-of-concept code, and how for it will go in the future depends on interest and how well it works. It has been tested on several devices and seems to work, but it is very young still. The magic the app does to achieve its purpose is ever subject to changing Android security policies and OEM customizations, so even though it works now, there really is no saying if it will still be possible in future firmwares.
Download
You can get Pry-Fi from Google Play
If Play is not working out for you, the APK is also attached below
TEST
Attached you will also find a 'beta-test' version. This one is compiled to work on all Android 4.0+ devices (instead of 4.2+ of the current official release). I have made all the changes needed to make it compile and technically run on pre-4.2 firmwares, but I have not tested it on an actual 4.0 or 4.1 firmware yet. Let me know if it works for your pre-4.2 firmware!
Issues
This is a very young app and its main feature is doing something that by all counts no app should be doing - as such, it will probably always have issues.
The app was developed against and tested on the following devices:
- Google Nexus 5 @ Stock+root 4.4.2
- Samsung Galaxy S4 @ Stock+root 4.4.2
- Samsung Galaxy Note3 @ Stock+root 4.4.2
- Samsung Galaxy Note2 @ OmniROM 4.4.2
- HTC One @ Stock+root 4.3 (S-OFF or otherwise writable /system needed)
- Sony Xperia family - NOT COMPATIBLE
- Oppo devices - NOT COMPATIBLE
Note that your firmwares should be fully up to date - that includes the TrustZone component in case of Samsung.
Known issues
- Requires SuperSU ?
It's tested against SuperSU, and uses some features that may not be available in other root management apps. Depending on both your Android and root management app version it may or may not work with other solutions, but I certainly recommend against it.
- Using the Android Wi-Fi settings is weird
Pry-Fi does a lot of event-based Wi-Fi on/off switching and connecting/disconnecting. So if you go to settings and turn Wi-Fi on or off, add a network, etc, the interface may start looking as if it has gone mad for a few seconds. Don't worry, this is expected behavior.
- Connecting to a Wi-Fi network (either a new one or a previously known one) is slower
Yes. Indeed.
- Forgetting networks
You can't just forget a network from the normal Android Wi-Fi settings. If Pry-Fi is enabled, you need to use the in-app network management tool to forget a network.
- Multiple known networks
Since v1.10, multiple known networks should be supported.
- Hidden networks
It doesn't currently work with hidden SSIDs, and it won't in the future.
- Wi-Fi Direct (to-do)
Behavior is undefined. Pry-Fi probably heavily interferes with this. Needs more testing/development.
- Beam, S Share, etc
Some methods that quickly share data between two Android devices that are close, tapped together, etc, make use of Wi-Fi Direct, and may thus be negatively affected by Pry-Fi.
- Authentication errors
If the Wi-Fi settings keep claiming authentication errors, your device may not actually support changing the MAC address, and Pry-Fi may not be for you... this doesn't have to be the issue, but it is one of the indicators.
Changelogs
2014.02.02 - v1.20
- Force toolbox calls. Typical case of busybox symlinks causing unexpected failures. Probably the primary cause of people losing Wi-Fi completely
- Service receivers are now en/disabled dynamically. Saves a few CPU cycles and a bit of memory when Pry-Fi is installed but disabled.
2014.02.02 - v1.10
- Support for multiple simultaneously known SSIDs
- Spoofing MACs *also* while connected to a network is now a feature you need to enable separately, as this is the feature that causes most issues yet is arguably the least important tracking-wise.
2014.02.01 - v1.02
- Fixed crash/freeze in case of SU denied
- Changed non-SuperSU error to a warning
- Fixed various reported crashes
- Added Superuser permission (doh)
2014.02.01 - v1.01
- (Hopefully) Fixed an issue with the optional IAP
2014.02.01 - v1.00
- Initial public release
--- reserved ---
This app only works with SuperSU. Would it be able to work with Koush's Superuser in the near future?
Sent from my Nexus 4
Whilst not its main purpose, it will also work great at airports with time based free WiFi. Schipol uses the MAC address to assign a timeframe to devices.
Anyway, working well on HTC One - 4.4.2.
0.0 said:
This app only works with SuperSU. Would it be able to work with Koush's Superuser in the near future?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe. Currently has to do with some changes to AOSP that haven't fully panned out yet. Once I'm clear on that, I might put in some time to make it work with Superuser. But I'm certainly not going to delay a release to make it compatible...
Up and running on my s2 with slimkat. So glad I'm aware of guys like you and the work you do. Thank you.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Just fine here on my Nexus4.
One thing though is that Playstore has v1.00. I've downloaded v1.01 from here and it updated flawlessly. I just thought you'd like to know it.
Anyway thank you for all your hard work to our benefits.
• OMNI 4.4.2 NIGHTLY • AK.042.XGENESIS •
HTC One, CM11, up and running. Have multiple networks at home so can test with that if needed. I'm ready for a little wifi war.
Thanks for this tiny and helpful utility. However, I initiated it, then started my (home) wifi up, then could not login to the network, although I have re-entered the correct password. Turning this off, again allows me to access the wifi. What should I do? (I am on Samsung Galaxy S4, I9500 @ 4.3)
Working great on s4 4.4.2 Probam
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Thanks!!!
Working great on note 2.
4.3 alliance
4.4.2 Resurrection Remix
4.4.2 Omni
Hope this will still work in future android development
Verstuurd vanaf mijn GT-N7100 met Tapatalk
Which features will not work on HTC One with root SuperSU, but with S-ON?
This app broke my WiFi on GalaxyS4 (i9505) with Omega ROM v19. I already tried to flash the ROM again, flash new kernel, flash the modem via ODIN again and WiFi fix, but nothing helped. I'm out of ideas what could happen. I cant put the WiFi on anymore.
thangbom said:
Thanks for this tiny and helpful utility. However, I initiated it, then started my (home) wifi up, then could not login to the network, although I have re-entered the correct password. Turning this off, again allows me to access the wifi. What should I do? (I am on Samsung Galaxy S4, I9500 @ 4.3)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Something is breaking some of Samsung's extra encryption... this would take a lot of tinkering to figure out, there's no direct answer I can give you right now. Turn it off for the time being.
muamers said:
This app broke my WiFi on GalaxyS4 (i9505) with Omega ROM v19. I already tried to flash the ROM again, flash new kernel, flash the modem via ODIN again and WiFi fix, but nothing helped. I'm out of ideas what could happen. I cant put the WiFi on anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If all else fails, flash a full stock firmware and see if that restores operation.
reeder said:
Which functions will not work on HTC One with root SuperSU, but with S-ON?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S-ON is not supported at all.
Confirmed working on Galaxy Note N7000 running Kitkat 4.4.2 with SuperSU 1.91
- OmniROM nightly 2014-02-01 (ART)
- Carbon ROM nightly 2014-01-31 (Dalvik)
In the play store description it was mentioned "developed for phones". I tried it nevertheless with a Galaxy Tab2 10.1 GSM (P5100) running OmniRom KK nightly and it changed successfully the Mac address also.
?
Yes. Reconnect to known WiFi takes a bit longer, but still working..
Just about to backup my apps and setting ... will try a clean instal first.
How do I exactly check if it's working?
I'm on HTC One Cyanogenmod 10.2 Rooted S-ON and there seemed to be no error till now :/
Same for me. Please share if you are able to fix this. Unfortunately I am away from a laptop for the coming week
At least the app does what it should.nobody can track me through Wi-Fi now...
muamers said:
This app broke my WiFi on GalaxyS4 (i9505) with Omega ROM v19. I already tried to flash the ROM again, flash new kernel, flash the modem via ODIN again and WiFi fix, but nothing helped. I'm out of ideas what could happen. I cant put the WiFi on anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Related
Sorry I couldn't find the exact match with my issue so I thought of creating a new thread.
I updated my Xperia Neo ROM but I'm having difficulties with GPS/LOCATON service. It works fine on a 3G network but it couldn't load my location whenever I am connected to a wifi network. I've tried using different apps on my phone but still wouldn't work. It just keeps on searching/loading.
It used to work fine before with stock ICS 4.0.4 ROM/KERNEL. Is switching back the only fix? Please help. :crying:
I have the same issue, gps location is not working for my new rom either (unoffical jellaxy cymod 10 - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1875015) is there a fix/patch to flash??!
djrsa said:
I have the same issue, gps location is not working for my new rom either (unoffical jellaxy cymod 10 - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1875015) is there a fix/patch to flash??!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPS on wifi is now working on my NEO. I think it's my wifi connection or just my area.
A possible cause and fix
PrinceRayman said:
Sorry I couldn't find the exact match with my issue so I thought of creating a new thread.
I updated my Xperia Neo ROM but I'm having difficulties with GPS/LOCATON service. It works fine on a 3G network but it couldn't load my location whenever I am connected to a wifi network. I've tried using different apps on my phone but still wouldn't work. It just keeps on searching/loading.
It used to work fine before with stock ICS 4.0.4 ROM/KERNEL. Is switching back the only fix? Please help. :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Remember that Android has 3 different location services:
Real GPS, this requires only the ability to "see" the sky where the GPS locations are flying over your head, plus up to 15 minutes to download the weekly schedule of where they are flying (the 15 minute download can be replaced by a 5 second web download, but you will still need the 1.5 to 3 minute download of latest updates). Additionally, it may waste a few extra minutes looking for the wrong satellites if it things you are in a different part of the world than you are (this depends on the rom, radio firmware and GPS chip).
Cell tower location service: This sends the number of the nearest 2G/3G/4G to an online service which looks up where that tower is, giving a rough location.
Wi-Fi access point location service: This sends the name and/or MAC address of the nearest Wi-Fi access point to a Google service, which returns where other users were last time they saw that Wi-Fi access point with GPS on and Google Maps Wi-Fi location sharing on.
From this I guess one of 2 things are wrong:
:silly:Your Wi-Fi network is not in Google's database (unlikely since it was recognized with your previous firmware).
The option to share Wi-Fi location data with Google maps is off after the update, :fingers-crossed:try turning it off, then on.
I have a Galaxy SIII mini which has been hacked 4 times in the last 8 months that I have had it. Usually, the first 3 times, were kids doing pranks, turning on my bluetooth,etc but this last hack was malicious. Started turning on my GPS, bluetooth, and camera flash light then progressed to changing my system language and finally making it so that my sim couldn't connect to any cell towers. I have tried app locks, but this last time inspite of two seperate app locks, he succeed with ease to change my settings. I also subscribed to a VPN with a NAT firewall and that didn't help at all either. Now I have redid the OS again, this time installing CM 11 and I welcome any suggestions on how I can stop this from happening all of the time. Thank you.
Gaon101 said:
I have a Galaxy SIII mini which has been hacked 4 times in the last 8 months that I have had it. Usually, the first 3 times, were kids doing pranks, turning on my bluetooth,etc but this last hack was malicious. Started turning on my GPS, bluetooth, and camera flash light then progressed to changing my system language and finally making it so that my sim couldn't connect to any cell towers. I have tried app locks, but this last time inspite of two seperate app locks, he succeed with ease to change my settings. I also subscribed to a VPN with a NAT firewall and that didn't help at all either. Now I have redid the OS again, this time installing CM 11 and I welcome any suggestions on how I can stop this from happening all of the time. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what kind of hack are you talking about? is someone using your phone, or remotely accesing it?
remotely accessing it. no one has physical access to my phone.
You should set a encryption password for your phone and use the app : Lockdown pro to restrict access to everyone who don't know the password.
Stay tuned for my first CM11 theme soon.
What do you mean by encryption password? You mean to encrypt my phone?
I did install that app. One thing that I really like about it is it's ability to stop the installation of apps which is what I think that the hacker is doing: installing some sort of app on my phone.
Settings > Security Settings - Encrypt phone > see instructions there .
@Gaon101
Stay tuned for my first CM11 theme soon.
After doing more reading online, I believe that the hacker(s) may have their own 'cell network' and may be exploiting my phone whenever it connects to it. How can I prevent this from happening if that is the case?
Hello,
i detected by the linux-tool "iwconfig" that the mac-address of the hotspot is changing on every new hotspot activation. There is also a bug-report for it:
https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=57452
In the comments is stated that doomlord fixed that problem. Is there any kernel in here for the nexus 5 from doomlord or others, which have this problem solved?
Very annoying with WICD forgetting the password and Windows always creates a new network.
Thanks for help.
Hi,
that's a serious problem for me too.
I would like to use the online services in my Mazda MZD Connect System.
Unforunately the system identifies an Hotspot by its MAC Address.
So whenever i switch the Hotspot off and on again a new entry is created in the car entertain system and i have to enter the password again.
This renders the function nearly unusable.
As i read yesterday, VW drivers have the same issue.
As there is only one line in the source randomizing the last three bytes of the WiFi Hotspot MAC, it would be enough to simply comment it out.
But building a complete new ROM on my own is far beyond my capabilitys yet.
Currently all Nexus phones are affected as well as CM 13.
ElementalX Kernel didn't help either.
HTC doesn't randomize the MAC nor does en iPhone.
But i won't change my phone just for a Car Entertain System.
Another option would be a little Mobile-WiFi standalone Hotspot with an additional SIM Card.
But this would mean extra costs each month which i would certainly like to avoid.
So here my questions:
Is there any Kernel to switch off MAC randomization?
Or any tweak to freeze one MAC?
Or a way i could start a script on switching the Hotspot on to override the MAC?
Or an completely different approach?
Any help is appreciated.
Dear community, please help me. I'm going insane over this issue...
In my town there are several free & open WiFi spots to which you can connect without password. My problem is that this free WiFi is also within reach from my apartment and I want to make my phone & tablet to prefer my domestic closed&encrypted WiFi. I'm perfectly aware of the possibility to set WiFi-priorities. Problem is: those are only used when searching for a new connection. If my devices are connected to the public WiFi, they will never switch to my private one unless the connection breaks or I disable & enable WiFi in Android.
Right now, my rather silly "workaround" is to always delete the public WiFi from the list of known WiFis when I'm at home and re-add it when I go outside. But this procedure is getting quite annoying. I want Android to use this WiFi, just not when I'm at home...
I can't be the only one with this problem. Is there any way? Root and/or Xposed based solutions would be okay too....
I already tried the app "WiFi Prioritizer" from Google Play and it came pretty close to what I was looking for, unfortunately its background process was killing my battery.
What version of Android your phone and what the tablet has?
Στάλθηκε από το GT-I8190 μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
Currently my Samsung i9100 runs AOSP NeatROM (Kitkat 4.4.4) and my Nexus 7 (2013) runs CleanROM (Lollipop 5.0.2).
It shouldn't matter though. I'm looking for some kind of universal solution that could work on any Android version... :-/
From what I have read and understood, your problem is that when you want to connect to a specific network (your home network) you can't because your device scans and connects to the '' free'' ones simply because you were connected to them before or you are still connected to one. From what I know and also have worked for me, is to simply tap on the network you want to connect each time(an analogue should pop up and ask whether to ''forget' the tapped network or to connect to it if you are already connected to another one.). Also I don't know if a module exists for this purpose on xposed framework.
Maybe there's another way to do it, but since I don't have bought the app (it's called IF BY IFTTT) I can't tell if it does or doesn't do what you want. What it does is that makes selected actions automatically by running in the background. I think that it can do almost ''anything'' (like to upload the latest photo you took from gallery to Instagram without your actions).
I hope I helped
No no, I can connect to my home network manually, that's not the problem.
My problem is that Android doesn't do it automatically, when it is within reach and the phone is still connected to another (the free) network.
What Android SCHOULD do is automatically drop the connection to the open Wifi, as soon as my higher priority home network is within reach.
I didn't said that you can't connect to your home network, I simply said that it doesn't seems to do it automatic. I have also prioritised my network preferences and still my phone doesn't connect to the first one if it is not disconnect from the other (by the way the two networks I have tried it to are my home ones). In conclusion in my opinion this option is where you want to connect first, not for changing the connection automatically based on the received signal(although it does if you completely lost the signal to the connected source). Probably in your case the free Wi-Fi is close enough to you and your phone or tablet doesn't disconnect from it which in my opinion is perfectly fine since my phone does exactly the same.
Oh sorry, maybe I misunderstood you before.
But yes, you summarized it completely correct. Only that this behavior is not perfectly fine for me, as I'm sick and tired of being connected to open, slow and unencrypted connection at home
I have the impression that Android's WiFi management is pretty bad
You can try the app that I mentioned earlier but I am not sure if will do what you want. I suggest get in touch with the developer and ask him. I am happy I helped.
PS.1 If I helped don't forget to use the thanks button as it helps me and lets community know that I have contributed.
PS.2 I don't take credit for the app, I just suggest it because I think it may work.
Have fun
Thanks for your help, I will try the app later today, it sure looks interesting. My only fear is that it will be a battery killer.
EDIT: This app didn't really do the trick for my needs... I'm back to always deleting the open WiFi out of the list of known WiFis... Too bad that there doesn't seem to be a good way to do what I need
After I updated my sprint galaxy s6 edge to marshmallow OTA, VPN is not working for me. I have tried more than 5 different VPN apps, but none of them work. They say they are connected, but as soon as I switch to a new app, they stop working. VPN worked fine before I updated, but now it is not. Please help!
Yoshi20017 said:
After I updated my sprint galaxy s6 edge to marshmallow OTA, VPN is not working for me. I have tried more than 5 different VPN apps, but none of them work. They say they are connected, but as soon as I switch to a new app, they stop working. VPN worked fine before I updated, but now it is not. Please help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got this problem too, on chinese 9250
Go to Settings > More > VPN
Set up your VPN in there. I've set up VPN on my Galaxy S6 and S7 using L2TP IPSec with a signed certificate from GoDaddy.
I had it working on the S7 with a PSK also. Both phones are running Android v 6.0.1 Marshmallow.
It's strange but the VPN connection settings are different. My S6 is a Sprint phone, and I can't assign it a Certificate Authority. But the Verizon S7 won't let me save the VPN connection without a CA. I have to install the certificates in different ways for each phone as well. Very odd.
Anyway good luck.
MrKrunch said:
Go to Settings > More > VPN
Set up your VPN in there. I've set up VPN on my Galaxy S6 and S7 using L2TP IPSec with a signed certificate from GoDaddy.
I had it working on the S7 with a PSK also. Both phones are running Android v 6.0.1 Marshmallow.
It's strange but the VPN connection settings are different. My S6 is a Sprint phone, and I can't assign it a Certificate Authority. But the Verizon S7 won't let me save the VPN connection without a CA. I have to install the certificates in different ways for each phone as well. Very odd.
Anyway good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you tell me how to do this please?
same problem for me Samsung s6 edge android 6..0.1 VPN apps work.... cyberghost / opera max/ and the rest .
PS after Zamber88 suggestion go to settings>> battery>app power saving > turn off for opera max or other vpn app.
PPS: if that is not enough do this: Settings >>Battery >> Battery Usage >> more (right up cornet button) >> Optimize battery usage >> select All apps and choose your VPN app and turn off .
also if in OPERA MAX when u use mobile data u get the error "enable background data " is because of the power saving.
CASE CLOSE !
That's a really strange issue. We did a lot of testing on MM with Nexus devices and everything works as intended. We even have a S6 Edge with MM that works fine (SM-G925F with one of the Unknown build listed on sammobile IIRC).
All I can come out with now is that you could try checking if there aren't any battery saving features interfering with the VPN apps.
Solved.
S6 edge.. disabled powersaving features. Vpns are working fine. Strange but cant figure out how powersaving is meddling with vpn. Solved.
Its not power saving . its restrict background data . just off the restrict background data and will work fine
zamber88 said:
That's a really strange issue. We did a lot of testing on MM with Nexus devices and everything works as intended. We even have a S6 Edge with MM that works fine (SM-G925F with one of the Unknown build listed on sammobile IIRC).
All I can come out with now is that you could try checking if there aren't any battery saving features interfering with the VPN apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if anyone can help me over here, but I'm not finding anything in the Nexus forums. Since @zamber88 did MM testing with Nexus, maybe you can help me with my Nexus 6. I have a 10 day trip to China coming up in a couple weeks and really need to get VPN working.
Google searches haven't helped, except to point me here. I have purchased VPN Unlimited and tried it with their app and an OpenVPN app. I got a free Galaxy J7 as a spare through the T-Mobile promotion a while back, and both apps work on it with no changes at all. Neither work on my Nexus 6, despite turning off power saving and restricting background data for both apps.
When I select a server, the J7 the Allow connection pops up, I OK it, and connect. On my Nexus 6, the refused to grant permission pops up. See the attached screenshots.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
JimSmith94 said:
I'm not sure if anyone can help me over here, but I'm not finding anything in the Nexus forums. Since @zamber88 did MM testing with Nexus, maybe you can help me with my Nexus 6. I have a 10 day trip to China coming up in a couple weeks and really need to get VPN working.
Google searches haven't helped, except to point me here. I have purchased VPN Unlimited and tried it with their app and an OpenVPN app. I got a free Galaxy J7 as a spare through the T-Mobile promotion a while back, and both apps work on it with no changes at all. Neither work on my Nexus 6, despite turning off power saving and restricting background data for both apps.
When I select a server, the J7 the Allow connection pops up, I OK it, and connect. On my Nexus 6, the refused to grant permission pops up. See the attached screenshots.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try to cover all of the bases from easiest to most cumbersome. Given you have some time on your hands this should helpful. Read through the list before doing anything and once you start doing stuff note it down as you're going so that we'll be able to pinpoint any other problems that could pop up. If you succeed then you'll have an answer pretty much ready for posting .
Reboot. Sometimes freshly installed VPN apps fail exactly like the screenshots show.
Try setting up a VPN connection with another app. Shameless plug: Opera Max, Opera VPN (note: there's an issue in Max which makes some VPNs disconnect after a couple of minutes so make sure to kill it before running any other VPNs).
Scan the device with Avast, AVG and Avira to rule out any worms.
Rule out any other apps interfering by booting into safe mode and try connecting again (with your app and, Opera Max for a sanity check).
If you don't want to commit to steps that will follow (or the step before this one succeeded) remove apps from least to most needed retesting with your app and Max after each uninstall.
Upgrade to Android Nugat. It shouldn't break anything and could potentially fix this issue. Either ways it's always a good idea to upgrade when updates are available. It's not like you're on iOS .
Now it's a god time to make a backup (frankly, anytime is good for a backup). If you went over with uninstalling apps making one will be easier. If you have root on your device you probably have TWRP, make a backup with it and download it to your PC. You could also make a Titanium backup if you're not big on setting up basic apps but it's optional. If you don't have root just backup all sensitive data (photos, videos, settings if it's possible to export these in-app). Also note down all apps you can't live without. Google Play has a history of installed apps but going through it is a pain and the "Copy settings from another device" option when setting up a fresh device is helpful but will not restore in-app settings. Also I would advise to not use it given that the culprit can sill be lurking in your apps.
MAKE THAT BACKUP, there's no going back from here . Do a factory reset. After that as mentioned before don't restore settings and set up a "new" device. Set up your accounts and check if both VPN apps work (they should by this point). Now start installing your basic app setup and after configuring each one make sure that the VPN still works.
If somehow this didn't help make sure you're not running a ROM that's botched by flashing the official system image (and upgrade to Nugat as a bonus). If you know what I'm talking about then you will know how to do it, if you don't know AND the issue still reproduces the there's something really strange going on.
By now you should have your issue solved, hopefully in the first three steps at most. There's one other thing to take into account. The great firewall does not like VPNs and there's a fair chance that Unlimited VPN will not work so be prepped to have a backup plan. You could try with Opera VPN (no idea if it works, not my project, would be nice to get feedback) and also get a trial for any service that looks interesting to you on this list.
Hope this helps and that you'll have a safe trip .
UPDATED minutes after posting:
One simple step I missed: reboot. In most cases it solves exactly the issue you're having. No idea why it happens but probably there's a 2y bug opened and tagged as low prio in the Android project .
Thanks for the quick reply!
1. Besides VPN Unlimited, I've already tried OpenVPN for Android and OpenVPN Connect. They both use .ovpn files from VPN Unlimited. I just installed Opera VPN and whether I swipe through the intro screens or skip them, I can't click on "GOT IT"; nothing happens. I think this might be the crux of the problem as some of the buttons in the other VPN apps don't respond either. I'm "almost" positive it's not a screen overlay problem because I used to use f.lux that did that, got rid of it, and haven't had any problems since.
2. I run Lookout Security & Antivirus and just scanned again to be sure. Nothing found.
3. I tried safe mode earlier, only to learn that you can't install or run any aftermarket apps.
4-7. Nougat hasn't been released yet and I'm too dependent on systemless root and Xposed, I'm still stock rooted on MM 6.0.1 with the September security update. I do run TWRP and Titanium Backup and make sure their backups are up to date before I try anything dangerous.
8. Unless you can think of why I can't click on "GOT IT" in Opera VPN, I guess my next step is to sideload the latest OTA again and try all of the VPNs before installing TWRP, SU, and Xposed. That's about all that's left.
JimSmith94 said:
Thanks for the quick reply!
1. Besides VPN Unlimited, I've already tried OpenVPN for Android and OpenVPN Connect. They both use .ovpn files from VPN Unlimited. I just installed Opera VPN and whether I swipe through the intro screens or skip them, I can't click on "GOT IT"; nothing happens. I think this might be the crux of the problem as some of the buttons in the other VPN apps don't respond either. I'm "almost" positive it's not a screen overlay problem because I used to use f.lux that did that, got rid of it, and haven't had any problems since.
2. I run Lookout Security & Antivirus and just scanned again to be sure. Nothing found.
3. I tried safe mode earlier, only to learn that you can't install or run any aftermarket apps.
4-7. Nougat hasn't been released yet and I'm too dependent on systemless root and Xposed, I'm still stock rooted on MM 6.0.1 with the September security update. I do run TWRP and Titanium Backup and make sure their backups are up to date before I try anything dangerous.
8. Unless you can think of why I can't click on "GOT IT" in Opera VPN, I guess my next step is to sideload the latest OTA again and try all of the VPNs before installing TWRP, SU, and Xposed. That's about all that's left.
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1. Some of the buttons don't respond? What about Opera Max? Opera VPN is fairly new in the game and it still can have issues (though I haven't found any during the brief time I was testing how it works with Max). This sounds really strange. Does it happen in other apps?
2. Rerunning the same Antivirus app will not double the likelyhood of finding a thread . Try with Avast too. You can safely uninstall it after that.
3. What aftermarket apps you have in mind? APK's installed not from the Play Store? It shouldn't impact testing if Unlimited VPN works fine. All background stuff shouldn't run by definition in safe mode.
4-7. Nougat is released. After beta 4 they started releasing OTAs and images for the final release on the beta channel and now it's going to go global. There are factory images for Nexus 9 which I upgraded recently and we have a Nexus 6 but after checking it looks like got the OTA from the beta channel, so it will take a while for the official release to roll out to 6 (though 6P and 5X already have it). Also you're right, there's no systemless root for it yet. We're rolling standard SuperSU on test devices in the office (no need for Android Pay or banking apps there).
8. I'll reach out to the VPN guys for info on gathering debug information for this. Meanwhile try with Opera Max or even Betternet. Do these also fail to connect? Also does it reproduce on mobile and on WiFi?
Got a response from the VPN guys. Most probably your network blocks VPNs. Try pinging http://api.surfeasy.com/ from mobile and WiFi. If it doesn't go through then your network provider is blocking it. Probably it will be the same case for other VPNs. The issue is known and they'll probably add an error message in the next release .
zamber88 said:
1. Some of the buttons don't respond? What about Opera Max? Opera VPN is fairly new in the game and it still can have issues (though I haven't found any during the brief time I was testing how it works with Max). This sounds really strange. Does it happen in other apps?
2. Rerunning the same Antivirus app will not double the likelyhood of finding a thread . Try with Avast too. You can safely uninstall it after that.
3. What aftermarket apps you have in mind? APK's installed not from the Play Store? It shouldn't impact testing if Unlimited VPN works fine. All background stuff shouldn't run by definition in safe mode.
4-7. Nougat is released. After beta 4 they started releasing OTAs and images for the final release on the beta channel and now it's going to go global. There are factory images for Nexus 9 which I upgraded recently and we have a Nexus 6 but after checking it looks like got the OTA from the beta channel, so it will take a while for the official release to roll out to 6 (though 6P and 5X already have it). Also you're right, there's no systemless root for it yet. We're rolling standard SuperSU on test devices in the office (no need for Android Pay or banking apps there).
8. I'll reach out to the VPN guys for info on gathering debug information for this. Meanwhile try with Opera Max or even Betternet. Do these also fail to connect? Also does it reproduce on mobile and on WiFi?
Got a response from the VPN guys. Most probably your network blocks VPNs. Try pinging http://api.surfeasy.com/ from mobile and WiFi. If it doesn't go through then your network provider is blocking it. Probably it will be the same case for other VPNs. The issue is known and they'll probably add an error message in the next release .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I installed Opera Max and it was the only app that gave me a helpful error message, so thank you and the coders for that! The message said something like it couldn't establish a VPN connection due to an Xposed module. I disabled Xposed, rebooted, and all of my VPN apps worked. Further searching found this thread saying that Xposed's Immersive Mode was the cuprit. http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z2/help/vpn-to-t2850981
I re-enabled Xposed and disabled only Immersive Mode and VPN still works. Hopefully this will help others in this thread too.
JimSmith94 said:
I installed Opera Max and it was the only app that gave me a helpful error message, so thank you and the coders for that! The message said something like it couldn't establish a VPN connection due to an Xposed module. I disabled Xposed, rebooted, and all of my VPN apps worked. Further searching found this thread saying that Xposed's Immersive Mode was the cuprit. http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z2/help/vpn-to-t2850981
I re-enabled Xposed and disabled only Immersive Mode and VPN still works. Hopefully this will help others in this thread too.
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Click to collapse
I missed that you mentioned Xposed earlier. We implemented Xposed detection to prevent abuse so it's good to hear that it helped you to resolve your issue . Thanks forwarded to the developer behind it . Enjoy your trip!