148
submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

First of all a disclaimer: I am not upset about the removal of manual server selection as this is a free service. They don't need to provide such services at all, so something is better than nothing.

What happened:
This morning I opened the ProtonVPN app on my phone and got greeted with a message stating free accounts can now only use automatic server selection and addition of free servers in Poland and Romania.
However, I also noticed split-tunelling is now paywalled as well.

Now, this is rather weird. Split-tunelling is already in the app and is something that works only on the client side, thus not putting any extra load on the servers. Quite the contrary, actually, as it allows some apps to not use the VPN, thus use less bandwidth.
The automatic-selection-only allows for better load balancing, so that makes sense.

Now to the workaround.
They still allow manual OpenVPN and Wireguard setup even for free accounts, at least for now.
To do so, login to ProtonVPN and go to account. There's OpenVPN credentials which are used for OpenVPN authentication. Then go to downloads, select appropriate options including the specific server and download the ovpn config file.
Client: OpenVPN for Android
This app also supports split tunneling (edit config -> Allowed apps).

ProtonVPN has an article on how to set up this app, but it's really just importing the config and adding your OpenVPN ProtonVPN credentials which you grabbed before.

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[-] [email protected] 30 points 4 months ago

On Linux you can do this with full control via network namespaces. I use vopono to automate it - https://github.com/jamesmcm/vopono

But if you can afford it I'd recommend paying for Proton's services as they offer a lot together, or a low-end VPS (where you could do it yourself, although be careful to find ones that don't ban hosting Wireguard, etc. for example). Both are really useful if you want to test making something local available on the Internet e.g. ports for multiplayer games or a webserver prototype.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

Hijacking to ask a semi related question, does protonvpn support port forwarding on linux yet? Last I checked I heard no, but airvpn has been less than optimal.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

Yes and no. The new client app does have that option, but it still needs some extra setup.

But it was possible to manually set up port forwarding even before, manually using Wireguard or OpenVPN: https://protonvpn.com/support/port-forwarding-manual-setup/

[-] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

Awesome, thanks for the info!

[-] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

Yeah, for both OpenVPN and Wireguard.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago

But if you can afford it I'd recommend paying for Proton's services

I'd rather pay for Mullvads services

[-] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Its been like that for months my guy/gal.

[-] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago

I only got it today.
Perhaps just A/B testing.

[-] [email protected] -1 points 4 months ago

Hmm where do you lag on updating ? And where do you get it from (i don't think that changes anything but maybe)? I download abd update from fdroid

[-] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

I had it from Google Play store as I was too lazy to re-download it from F-Droid and then set it up again (account, profiles, split-tunneling, quick connect).

I did not update it for a while, so the app version didn't matter. I am on 4.8.32.0 which is from November 2023.

[-] [email protected] -5 points 4 months ago

🤦 update your vpn my guy . Like what just update it from now on yeah.

[-] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

For Russia it's crucial to select servers. They ban "fast servers" so quickly. I had to rollback on previous version to be able to use them. However it's not possible anymore.

I am using openvpn method on my desktop, 'cause couldn't install protonvpn-client.

I am not sad, I was mad for sometime, but not anymore. Free services are free for a reason after all.

[-] [email protected] -1 points 4 months ago

urban vpn supports Bulgaria

this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2024
148 points (94.0% liked)

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