Localsend - can't see device

jacobb

When trying to send files between two GOS phones, the other phone doesn't show.
I use Mullvad VPN but has allowed local network sharing.
I can't find any information on this issue, so it might not be a general problem.
Any suggestions for the reason and/or a solution?

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jacobb

jacobb No issues on my side. I recommend to check if stopping VPN it works and, also, to double-check if you are connected to the same WiFi network in both devices ;)

footlessGuy

jacobb check your VPN settings in the device settings. Probably block connections without VPN is enabled.

Carlos-Anso

jacobb this is likely due to the blocking of network connections outside the VPN. GrapheneOS has been gradually working to stop various leaks outside of the VPN which occur on other android operating systems.

This will likely work for you if you turn off the 'block connections without VPN' toggle under Settings > Network > VPN

If it is important for you to minimize the possibility of leaks outside the VPN it would be best to use another method to transfer files between devices. Could use Bluetooth or USB storage. Possibly some kind of service that allows file sharing via connections through the VPN, although for some people this may allow an observer to make an unwanted connection between the different network locations.

jacobb

Carlos-Anso, unticking 'block connections without VPN' worked.

Thanks.

missing-root

Localsend uses a broadcasting technique to discover devices. Works in split tunnelling, on Linux I need to use the IP directly often. May be a hardening karg that disables the *cast

nandohyphen1

Hello. I'm having the same issue. Tried turning off block connections without VPN. Also tried fully disabling my VPN (I use Proton). Nothing works, my phone still can't discover my computer. They are both on the same WiFi network. My computer also cannot recognize my phone. I had LocalSend working one time (I used it to transition from my old phone to my new one) and it worked great at first - even with a VPN connected on both devices, so now I dont know what happened.

n3t_admin

nandohyphen1 Have you checked this section for troubleshooting? Especially issues with your firewall, AP client isolation or "private network" for Windows PCs could be interfering here.
Or rather: does it work on other devices and it's just your GOS phone it does not?

nandohyphen1

n3t_admin I'm on Arch Linux, so I may have to change something in the firewall? I looked there, and under add rule, in the list of applications LocalSend isn't in the list. (If it was, I'm assuming I'd need to set it to allow). No it worked on other devices before (stock Motorola Android to GOS). And I was also able to send from GOS to an iPhone. But now I can't discover any devices.

n3t_admin

nandohyphen1 To troubleshoot this, it would be best if you could first check if it works in different WiFi networks, for example at your friends house and also cross-connections with a third device.

Let's say you add another iPhone to the mix. Now you could check:

iPhone to GOS
iPhone to Arch
Arch to GOS

and see which one isn't working. This would rule out (or confirm) that GOS is the culprit and make troubleshooting way easier. Especially if you perform this test in a different network too ;)

I had a similar issue with Pairdrop once and used this tactic to troubleshoot (it was just a bad setting on macOS though, so not a solution for you).

nandohyphen1

n3t_admin OK here are the results:
iPhone to GOS - no devices detected on either device
iPhone to Arch -no devices detected on either device
Arch to GOS - also no devices detected on either device
These were all tried with no VPNs connected.

As for trying different WiFi, I'm unable to do that right now as I dont even actually have WiFi, I just hotspot from my phone. The weird part is it used to work at one point and then just stopped.

nandohyphen1

n3t_admin I did also try it via Bluetooth with no luck. Just thought I'd add that. :)

n3t_admin

nandohyphen1 iPhone to GOS - no devices detected on either device
iPhone to Arch -no devices detected on either device
Arch to GOS - also no devices detected on either device
These were all tried with no VPNs connected.

This indicates an issue at the router/network/firewall level. So, as I suspected, this is not caused by GrapheneOS.
What type (model) of router are you running?

nandohyphen1

n3t_admin like a WiFi router? I don't have a WiFi network/router currently - just mobile data (which I hotspot my computer and other devices to). So maybe I need an actual WiFi connection? I don't see why I would though, because its worked before off the hotspot before and I have loads of data.

n3t_admin

nandohyphen1 oh, yeah it should work via hotspot actually. Did you try setting the hotspot on different devices? For example: create a hotspot on the iPhone and connect both Arch and GOS to it? That would be my next step to figure out if Graphene is the culprit here.

nandohyphen1

n3t_admin yes I did just try. Its still a no go, unfortunately.

n3t_admin

nandohyphen1 I tried it too. Set up a hotspot on my iPhone and connected my Mac to that hotspot. Guess what? Couldn't detect the device either way. So either I am stupid or this just doesn't work like it's supposed to with hotspots.

nandohyphen1

@n3t_admin I do appreciate you taking the time to help me. :)

nandohyphen1

n3t_admin that really is weird! Especially since I have used it by hotspot before. I read it was possible to use it by Bluetooth, but that doesn't work either! I'm going to keep playing around with it, but for now I'll just assume LocalSend doesn't work with a hotspot. Next time I have access to a wifi network I'll see if it works then. Thanks for your help. :)