Late notifications for Signal/Molly when using always-on VPN

fltr

I notice delayed Signal/Molly notifications (10 mins or longer) when using an always-on VPN. This happens with FCM/GPS and with UP (tested with Molly). The only solution for the moment seems to use split tunneling and exempt the UP app (ntfy, sunup) from VPN. But to use split tunneling one has to disable the VPN kill switch. Is this a known problem, and are there better solutions?

W1zardK1ng

fltr its the issue with your VPN or the server you are connected to, are you using a custom dns with it? If so turn of that and see.

dhhdjbd

i use molly-foss (accressant) + mullvad vpn and i dont have this issue
(The websocket notification one i think)

fltr

There's no delay with websocket for me too when using VPN, but websocket consumes a lot of battery power. That's why I tried Molly with Unified Push.

fltr

I'm using ProtonVPN's DNS, which comes by default with the app, no custom DNS. "Netshield", their DNS filtering for malware etc makes no difference. I can try another ProtonVPN server.

fltr

I have tried different servers and protocols but so far haven't been able to get fast notifications reliably. Sometimes it works initially but after a while the long delays come back again. Does it work for you, and if yes, did you change any of the standard settings (always on, kill switch on, auto protocol which I guess would mainly be wireguard over UDP, netshield enabled)?

chester

I have the same issue and it's not just with Molly. I feel like there is some issue with notifications via VPN and Android in general. I had the same issue when using Calyx on a different phone. The only things that MAY have helped is putting the VPN on unrestricted battery and opting for Open VPN vs. Wireguard but I'm not even sure if it's placebo or what.

fltr

That's interesting, I also got the best results so far with OpenVPN. And yes, the VPN app is already on unrestricted battery.

router99

Also notice this issue with Molly and I'm using Proton. Sometimes I send messages and it takes a while before it is received by the person I am communicating with (two check marks).

fltr

While it seems to solve the problem, the drawback of using OpenVPN is of course its high power consumption, undoing all the benefits from moving to UP, and it's slower speed compared to Wireguard.

fltr

Has anyone tried using wireguard with persistentkeepalive to keep the VPN connection from lapsing? I guess that's only possible in the wireguard app (or the rethinkdns app) where one can import and edit wireguard conf files but not in the apps of the VPN providers, though.

23Sha-ger

fltr
Yes, I usually keep it at 20s. No significant battery penalty with it on or off, but all notifications right on time.
Especially important when you get a call on Signal/Molly.
Provider apps suck, you should use WGTunnel.

fltr

23Sha-ger Do you add a script persistentkeepalive=20 for each tunnel configuration or do you use the tunnel monitoring setting (ping to 1.1.1.1) that the app provides?

fltr

Which VPN client do you use that allows this option? The standard wireguard client or rethinkdns?
Edit: Noticed you added the client, will give it a try

23Sha-ger

fltr
No scripts and no pings, just add this line manually after you download the config.

[Interface]
PrivateKey = xxx
Address = x.x.x.x/32
DNS = x.x.x.x

[Peer]
PublicKey = xxx
PersistentKeepalive = 25
AllowedIPs = 0.0.0.0/0
Endpoint = xxx

fltr

23Sha-ger Actually I just found that WGTunnel has a "persistent keep alive" setting under "peer" when one edits a tunnel configuration. Very convenient - can import a list of wireguard configurations as a zip file and then just add the number of seconds for each.

paprikatongue

I use orbot, tor for android. You can choose which apps you want routed. Also molly has built in functionality for orbot, just go to network settings

fuhgeddaboudit

My wife and I have identical phones, both configured by me, both with ProtonVPN, netshield on, kill switch enabled.

My notifications are instant. I don't have play store / services installed.

She has play store and play services installed. Her notifications are delayed. Her delay is probably due to battery optimization and/or play store permissions set only for notifications and sensors. Play services permissions are network, notifications and sensors, battery is optimized.