Eddie Android edition 1.0 released

[Staff 9973]

Hello!

 

We are very glad to inform you that Eddie 1.0 for Android systems has been released.

 

Eddie Android edition is a free and open source OpenVPN 3 GUI released under GPLv3. Source code is available here: https://gitlab.com/AirVPN/EddieAndroid

 

Main features:

• Free and open source application based on OpenVPN 3
• Only official application by AirVPN
• Robust, best effort prevention of traffic leaks outside the VPN tunnel
• Battery-conscious application
• Low RAM footprint
• Option to start and connect the application at device boot
• Option to define which apps must have traffic inside or outside the VPN tunnel through white and black list
• OpenVPN linked against mbedTLS library
• Android 5.1 or higher required
• fully localized (current available languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Turkish)

The traffic leak prevention has proved to be stronger than the one implemented in OVPN for Android. A thorough OpenVPN error detection allows Eddie to "lock" the network in case of unrecoverable disconnection (for example when communications to the VPN server get broken).

 

Direct link to the Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.airvpn.eddie

 

Direct link to download Eddie Android edition from our Eddie web site: https://eddie.website/repository/eddie/android/1.0/org.airvpn.eddie.apk

 

A quick tutorial is available here: https://airvpn.org/topic/29660-using-airvpn-with-eddie-client-for-android/

 

The APK will soon be available in F-Droid repository too.

 

This is a starting point: development of a new version which includes stricter AirVPN integration is already ongoing and we are confident to provide you with updates in a very near future.

 

Kind regards and datalove

AirVPN Staff

[Nasdaq 11]

Thanks a lot guys!

 

Works perfectly!

[pseudotimestretch 2]

Great news! I hope one day to see the same thing in iOS

[pripankaj 0]

thanx for sharing.......

[madrat 19]

Sigh. Not compatible with 5.0.1. I hate it when things are not backward compatible. It's always upgrade everything for big bucks every few years. Even though this phone works just fine. It sucks!

[Staff 9973]

Sigh. Not compatible with 5.0.1. I hate it when things are not backward compatible. It's always upgrade everything for big bucks every few years. Even though this phone works just fine. It sucks!

 

Hello!

 

That was a painful but due choice. In Android 5.0.1 known bugs in Android ConnectivityManager may affect network pause/resume/failover. Because of such bugs, we would have been unable to release an application capable of robust leaks prevention in various circumstances and we might have met additional problems. Samsung phones with Android  versions older than 5.1 also suffer of additional bugs affecting VPN operations and VPN DNS.

 

Kind regards

[DarkSpace-Harbinger 11]

Sorry, but I'm going to have to stick with OpenVPN for Android for now.

 

VPN immediately fails upon connecting to my SSL tunnel profile, and then proceeds to leak all of my traffic anyway instead of warning me and keeping the network locked.

 

I have not attempted to use the tls.crypt profiles i use, but one of the changelogs seem to hint you only support profiles with direct connections through the main IP.

 

So, no SSL/SSH tunnels, no tls.crypt. No obfuscation.

 

If it doesn't have traffic obfuscation support I'm not using it.

 

 

OpenVPN for Android, although it has it's faults supports the SSL tunnel, tls.crypt with no problems.

 

Hopefully these fixes come with full AirVPN integration, but until then I'm holding off.

[Staff 9973]

Sorry, but I'm going to have to stick with OpenVPN for Android for now.

 

VPN immediately fails upon connecting to my SSL tunnel profile, and then proceeds to leak all of my traffic anyway instead of warning me and keeping the network locked.

 

I have not attempted to use the tls.crypt profiles i use, but one of the changelogs seem to hint you only support profiles with direct connections through the main IP.

 

So, no SSL/SSH tunnels, no tls.crypt. No obfuscation.

 

 

Hello!

 

We're glad to inform you that Eddie can work with additional SSL tunnels as usual but you don't need them with tls-crypt.

 

tls-crypt already encrypts the whole OpenVPN Control Channel. Combining tls-crypt with TCP, you will have the same result without the additional burden of the SSL tunnel and in some cases you will not even need TCP (making OpenVPN more efficient). This has been tested from China by a dozen of users living there (we thank them for their thorough tests and reports) and tls-crypt to port 443 in TCP is able to bypass blocks always.

 

That said, failure to connect to an established SSL tunnel to our VPN servers may be caused by some misconfiguration that deserves to be investigated (a trivial example, you generated an UDP config), but in any case you might like to get rid of the additional SSL tunnel which only adds burden to your Android device without adding any significant security layer. Remember that any obfuscation is weaker than real encryption of the whole Control Channel. We have chosen a stronger method than simple obfuscation and that's the reason for which our VPN service works where most other competitor VPNs fail.

 

A special note on the remark you made: "VPN immediately fails upon connecting to my SSL tunnel profile, and then proceeds to leak all of my traffic anyway instead of warning me and keeping the network locked.". First of all, you ARE notified, because Eddie sends a notification of "Disconnected".

 

Second, if no VPN tunnel has ever been established there's no way to pause or lock the VPN or the network (at least on an un-rooted device). This is an obvious limitation on ALL systems in which the app does not have root access and you will find the exact same limitation on any other OpenVPN based app for Android. The huge difference between Eddie and, say, OpenVPN for Android you mention, is that Eddie can prevent leaks in many situations under which OVPN for Android fails to do so.

 

For example, test Eddie under the condition of an ongoing VPN failure for KEEPALIVE_TIMEOUT or TCP EOF. You can simulate this condition (which will occur when communications to the VPN fail definitively for any reason, a common situation in mobility) by revoking your client certificate/key pair and then forcing a disconnection from your account "Client Area".  You will see that Eddie will properly lock, and prevent leaks, while OVPN for Android will not.

 

Kind regards

[MrAndersonX 9]

Great job guys!

 

Over the past 24 hours, I've noticed my battery life is substantially better vs. the few other OpenVPN apps I've used over the years on Android.

 

 

Any plans on adding in a nifty login interface w/ one click selectable servers like with the desktop app?

[Guest]

Eddie does not work with Mullvad or Merlin vpn servers.

 

Pls consider looking into this if Eddie is supposed to be an alternative to Openvpn for Android

[Staff 9973]

Eddie does not work with Mullvad or Merlin vpn servers.

 

Pls consider looking into this if Eddie is supposed to be an alternative to Openvpn for Android

 

Please contact the respective VPN services customer care. Eddie is based on OpenVPN 3 and OpenVPN 3 is configured by the profiles provided by each VPN service. It's not up to us to provide support for what you mention.

 

Kind regards

[Staff 9973]

Great job guys!

 

Over the past 24 hours, I've noticed my battery life is substantially better vs. the few other OpenVPN apps I've used over the years on Android.

 

 

Thank you!

We are proud to see a confirmation to our tests. At the moment we see that Eddie, on equal terms, is much more battery conscious than OVPN for Android and openvpn-connect. You can expect a 15-20% longer battery life on the same footing.

 

Kind regards

[Staff 9973]

Any plans on adding in a nifty login interface w/ one click selectable servers like with the desktop app?

 

Hello!

 

Yes, we're glad to inform you that this is planned for version 2. You will see something new during October.

 

Kind regards

[dtsakirakis 5]

Great once successfully can you add time connection status?

 

Thanks

[Staff 9973]

Great once successfully can you add time connection status?

 

Thanks

 

Hello!

 

Thank you for your suggestion. Yes, we will. Planned for version 2.0.

 

Kind regards

[Jill Valentine 0]

Do apps that must have traffic inside the VPN tunnel go in the whitelist or blacklist category? 

[Staff 9973]

Do apps that must have traffic inside the VPN tunnel go in the whitelist or blacklist category? 

 

Hello!

 

White and black list are intended in the most classical way.

 

If you define a black list: all traffic will go inside tunnel except the traffic of the apps in the black list

If you define a white list: only traffic of the apps included the white list will go inside the tunnel.

 

Important: please do not forget to send us a postcard from Raccoon City.

 

Kind regards

[Rebelyouth 1]

Hi,

Eddie for Android is really good and is better to the classic OpenVPN, the only issue to use it, in an Android device who isn't rooted,

you have to choose between a VPN or a firewall who using a fake VPN to block apps who completely use all the mobile bandwidth.

 

I'm checking on the forum, and I saw lots of people asking for a SOCKS5, but look like this will never append, so my question if possible

to include some firewall software inside Eddie, who blocking apps to consume bandwidth.

 

I see there are lots of firewalls who are opensource, and maybe this is a really big task, but on Android, this feature will be really important,

so you don't need to choose between privacy and really expensive overcharge for data.

 

Only a wish, but will be amazing if you devs can look into,

 

Thank you and keep the good works

[banshee28 2]

Have not tried this, but wanted to say Thanks! I will be trying this soon. 

[hugomueller 13]

Stunnel integration on android would be great.

[arealcoolhand 0]

The app has definitely made progress since the initial release but I still have to use OpenVPN for Android as Eddie doesn't play well with AdGuard. If AdGuard is enabled and the VPN is disconnected, OpenVPN for Android has no trouble reconnecting. Eddie, on the other hand, fails to reconnect. Just wondering how I could help fix this because I'd love to use Eddie but don't want to lose AdGuard because of it.

[Peter Pumpkinhead 0]

I'm using this on a Samsung Galaxy S5, running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, it's an unrooted device. The app works great, other than that I can't change the 'Connection timeout' from the default setting of one minute. Does anyone else have this issue, or maybe a bugfix is required?

[Staff 9973]

I'm using this on a Samsung Galaxy S5, running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, it's an unrooted device. The app works great, other than that I can't change the 'Connection timeout' from the default setting of one minute. Does anyone else have this issue, or maybe a bugfix is required?

 

Hello!

 

Thank you very much for the report, a bug fix is needed. The issue occurs only on Android 6 and has been confirmed.

 

Kind regards

[DarkSpace-Harbinger 11]

Hi, I've done some more testing with Eddie for Android. It appears to be working perfectly with anything other than SSL/SSH configurations.

 

Standard profiles, as well as those utilizing tls-crypt are working with no issue. My main concern however, is that even though the SSL tunnel didn't work, and thus left my connection open, even though i got a notification mentioning an error, opening the app to investigate registers the network as "locked" even though this is clearly not the case.

 

In such a case, it is crucial that the app inform the user that the network is NOT LOCKED, and therefore UNSECURED.

[thrmo 0]

Is Fdroid support coming anytime soon?