struggling to get Orbot to work, failing silently

rocky-planet

Had some troubles with Orbot.

Turns out that sometimes it says its connected, for all apps, but in reality it isn't. Even the little onion icon is shown up top, there's no hint.

Refreshing, restarting, etc, doesn't seem to have a reliable effect, although I am now running a fresh install of Orbot on a new profile and Vanadium shows sites connecting over Tor just fine. I wouldn't trust it though.

I lost privacy for a few hours yesterday (nothing disastrous, but still, its not the point) with absolutely no indication that something was wrong.

I should note that I also have Tor browser on that original profile, in case there is some interference.

I have seen elsewhere that there have been graphene users having issues.

Anyone else? Is this just a glitch, do others find it trustworthy on this os?

rocky-planet

Actually, is there a way to restrict internet access on a profile to be Tor-only? So even if an app like Orbot fails, it will 'fail safe' (ie. cut access) for all apps on the profile?

Probably9857

rocky-planet is there a way to restrict internet access on a profile to be Tor-only? So even if an app like Orbot fails, it will 'fail safe' (ie. cut access) for all apps on the profile?

If you are using Orbot as a VPN, "Block connections without VPN" would do exactly this.

If you are saying that even with that setup you don't trust Orbot to do what it claims, then I don't know...

rocky-planet

Probably9857 Block connections without VPN" would do exactly this.

Thanks, exactly what I was hoping for. Where is this setting?

Probably9857 If you are saying that even with that setup you don't trust Orbot to do what it claims, then I don't know...

I can only tell you that the thing is just acting really flaky. I reported on github .

If your "Block connections" option is in Android/Graphene, I would experiment with it. If the Orbot app defaults to clearnet connections within its own VPN - which I find hard to believe, given its devs - then Android would presumably keep connectivity alive (it wouldn't care about the nature of the connection, just that one existed).

I don't know, its really at the limits of my understanding.

Probably9857

rocky-planet Where is this setting?

Settings > Network & Internet > VPN

Add Orbot as a VPN if you haven't already. Then click on the gear icon next to it.

Enable "Always on VPN" and "Block connections without VPN"

rocky-planet

Probably9857 No, that's already done.

Its just acted really flaky on this profile.

Checked it a few times today, seemed to be working, but unless I am actively checking my IP location in Vanadium, there is no outward sign that anything is different than when it failed to carry my traffic through the VPN yesterday.

Unsettling.