Eddie Android edition 2.5 released

[Staff 9973]

Hello!
 
We're very glad to inform you that Eddie Android edition 2.5 has been released. The new release achieves full compatibility with Android versions 10, 11 and 12. It also maintains compatibility with Android 5.1. Many parts have been thoroughly rewritten to obtain better performance and efficiency. Ability to start and connect during device bootstrap is no more limited to a specific profile: it has been extended to a variety of choices, such as quick auto connection or user defined servers or countries, according to a customizable priority list.

Master Password is now optional and VPN concurrency management has been improved.

SSL/TLS library is OpenSSL, since it can provide, nowadays, slightly better performance than mbedTLS library on several processors. TLS 1.3 is supported as well.
 

Eddie for Android is free and open source software released under GPLv3. We invite you to check from independent 3rd parties lack of trackers code signatures, for example here: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/search/org.airvpn.eddie

You can download Eddie Android 2.5 APK directly from our repository:

https://airvpn.org/forums/topic/29660-using-airvpn-with-eddie-client-for-android/

You can also download it from the Google Play Store:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.airvpn.eddie

and from Amazon Appstore:
https://www.amazon.com/Eddie-AirVPN-official-OpenVPN-GUI/dp/B07KTD6DH9/
 

Source code (and of course changelog) is available in GitLab:
https://gitlab.com/AirVPN/EddieAndroid/
 

Main features (new features in bold):

• Free and open source OpenVPN GUI based on "OpenVPN 3.7.1 AirVPN" (free and open source software library by AirVPN)
• ChaCha20-Poly1305, AES-CBC and AES-GCM support on both OpenVPN Control and Data channel
• Robust, best effort prevention of traffic leaks outside the VPN tunnel
• Battery-conscious application
• Low RAM footprint
• Ergonomic and friendly interface
• Ability 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
• Localization in simplified and traditional Chinese, Danish, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish
• Full integration with AirVPN
• Enhanced security thanks to locally stored encrypted data through optional master password
• Quick one-tap connection and smart, fully automated server selection
• Smart server selection with custom settings
• Manual server selection
• Ability to start and connect during device startup according to a priority list which includes automatic choice, your defined country and your defined AirVPN server
• Smart attempts to bypass OpenVPN blocks featuring protocol and server fail-over
• Full Android TV compatibility including D-Pad support. Mouse emulation is not required.
• Enhancements aimed at increasing accessibility and comfort to visually impaired persons
• AirVPN servers sorting options
• Customizable "Default", "Favorite" and "Forbidden" servers and countries
• OpenVPN mimetype support to import profiles from external applications
• Multiple OpenVPN profile support. The app now imports and manages multiple OpenVPN profiles
• Support for custom bootstrap servers
• Support for favorite and forbidden countries
• AirVPN broadcast messages support
• User's subscription expiration date is shown in login/connection information
• The app is aware of concurrent VPN use. In case another app is granted VPN access,
• Eddie acts accordingly and releases VPN resources
• Optional local networks access. In such case, local network devices are exempted from the VPN and can be accessed within the local devices
• Localization override. User can choose the default language and localization from one of the available ones
• Favorite and forbidden lists can be emptied with a single tap
• Ability to directly select an AirVPN area (country, continent, planet) to connect to
• VPN reconnection in case of unexpected OpenVPN disconnection. (It requires VPN Lock to be disabled)
• VPN concurrency management
• Full integration with VPN traffic leaks prevention by system in Android 7 or higher version
• Full compatibility with Android 10, 11 and 12
• User can generate or save an OpenVPN profile for any AirVPN server or country and save it in the internal OpenVPN profile manager or export it
• On the fly language change allowing to switch language without re-starting application
• Exclusive optional VPN lock in case the device cannot take advantage of Android's VPN direct management (Android 5 and 6)
•  Server scoring algorithm implementing the latest AirVPN balancing factors in order to determine the best server for quick connection
• Network name and extra information are shown along with network type Device network status management
• Fully compatible with Android TV 5.1 and higher versions
• bug fixes

Kind regards & datalove
AirVPN Staff
 

[xyz 3]

Please add it also to F-Droid. Thanks!

[OpenSourcerer 1435]

6 hours ago, xyz said:

Please add it also to F-Droid. Thanks!

While you're waiting for an answer, you may opt into adding my tiny F-Droid repo with the current official Eddie for Android version. It's downloaded directly from eddie.website. In Settings > Package sources, tap the + and enter:
repo.opensourcery.eu

I didn't bother collecting old Eddie for Android versions, even though I've got some in backups, so 2.5 will be the only one for now. Nevertheless, I hope this helps some.

[xyz 3]

Thanks for your reply OpenSourcerer. The reason I asked about F-Droid is that I'd like to install a signed package and currently it's only an unsigned download. I don't know what's the procedure to get a project accepted into F-Droid but there are other client VPN apps there.

[OpenSourcerer 1435]

The last official word on this was when Eddie 2.3 was released 2.5 years ago, without much comment other than:Not sure why, but it could be because F-Droid build and sign those builds themselves, and while doing so they sometimes remove things they deem as questionable such as crash reporting and analytics libs, even if FLOSS, and/or sets AntiFeatures accordingly. Effectively, their pipeline removes a portion of control over the build.

In any case, I've long wanted to set up an F-Droid repo for Eddie for Android. Also planned to build nightlies in the past. But given how AirVPN releases software it doesn't make sense offering them. The only updates to the GitLab repo are releases, anyway. I'd be building the same version as the official one with only the difference that the builds are mine. If I signed them myself, they'd be incompatible with the official releases, and I don't want to break this compatibility.

[xyz 3]

Thanks, this was very useful. Indeed, it doesn't look good. Maybe I will have to try OpenVPN for Android again, as in the past it worked OK for me and I use AFWall anyway.

[FPyro 2]

This new version runs very well in Android 12, runs faster and fixes many annoying glitches from 2.4, I am very happy, keep up the good work staff and developers!

4 hours ago, xyz said:

Thanks, this was very useful. Indeed, it doesn't look good. Maybe I will have to try OpenVPN for Android again, as in the past it worked OK for me and I use AFWall anyway.

I would never do it. It's not only for the horrific OpenVPN Android interface and for its instability in Android 12 with crashes and other problems, when Eddie is quite stable and faster. It's not even (only) for the integration you got from Eddie when you connect to Air, I use Eddie with profiles with other providers and I find it better and faster than the other apps. It's more basic. If you're a developer and have some spare time examine both OpenVPN Android and Eddie code. I m ready to bet that after you do it you will not dare to touch OpenVPN Android with a five meter pole and you will pick Eddie hands down. 😩

[apero 0]

On 12/24/2021 at 5:34 PM, Staff said:

 

• Ability to start and connect during device startup according to a priority list which includes automatic choice, your defined country and your defined AirVPN server

So just to be clear; this still doesn't work for the Android "TV" versions for v10+, correct?

At least, I can't get it to work, unfortunately.

[Staff 9973]

2 hours ago, apero said:

So just to be clear; this still doesn't work for the Android "TV" versions for v10+, correct?

At least, I can't get it to work, unfortunately.

Hello!

We confirm that it's not possible for Eddie to start during the bootstrap of any un-rooted device running Android TV 10, 11 and 12, and this is not an Eddie-specific limitation, simply because "Always on VPN" has become mandatory for the purpose, but at the same time Android TV has always had this feature removed.  Should we find a solution to circumvent this deliberate limitation on un-rooted devices, we will be willing to implement it, but at the moment we are not aware of any solution. OpenVPN connect, OpenVPN for Android and other apps undergo the very same limitation.

Kind regards
 

[iwih2gk 93]

I have several accounts with AirVpn.  I am using Eddie Android on some Firesticks to form a simple one hop VPN for basic privacy.  While configuring the client parameters I saw the default "server" option as automatically  ticked by Eddie.  I selected ChaCha since I am seeing great performance with it on my other computer systems using Eddie.

Can someone highlight what "server" is all about?  I have never seen that before.  Would that be faster or why is it the Eddie Android using this as default?  Trying to learn something here.  BTW  --- the client is working fine on my Firesticks.

I will say my Firesticks are seeing slower download speeds than my computers, but still no buffering or anything like that. They are clocking in around 50 meg which runs things fine in 4K or lower.  Those little sticks likely don't have the horsepower of my computers' chipsets where tunnel decryption is concerned!

[iwih2gk 93]

After reading around I find the Firestick 4K max is using an MT8696 chipset.  Its about 45% faster than the next most recent model.  I don't see any mention of AES-NI on that chipset so I am assuming chacha20-poly1305 will work better as it does on my other machines using desktop Eddie.  When I use the Android Eddie default of "server" it always seem to pick the AES versions, and on my computers chacha20-poly1305 outperforms AES by a decent margin.

My suggestion then is to use the chacha20-poly1305 absent AES-NI on any device you are running.

[aishm 0]

Hello.

I'm from Yemen. (Same as Iran IPS). I can only connect to your VPN via desktop app using either SSH or SSL... how can I use this protocol in my Android smart phone?

[Staff 9973]

@aishm

Hello!

We're sorry, that feature has not been implemented in Eddie Android edition. Have you already tested a connection in TCP? tls-crypt feature, which Eddie uses by default, should have the same block circumvention abilities.

Kind regards
 

[aishm 0]

3 hours ago, Staff said:

@aishm

Hello!

We're sorry, that feature has not been implemented in Eddie Android edition. Have you already tested a connection in TCP? tls-crypt feature, which Eddie uses by default, should have the same block circumvention abilities.

Kind regards
 

Hello.

Yes I've tried it (all ports) and they all don't work. The only thing that works is from Desktop app using either SSL or SSH. Are you sure I can't use these on my Android?

Thanks.

[Staff 9973]

@aishm

Hello!

The feature is not implemented in Eddie Android edition, but you can setup manually, even if the device is not rooted. Please see here:
https://airvpn.org/forums/topic/13486-ssh-tunneled-vpn-on-stock-android/

Note: the guide mentions OpenVPN for Android, but we have many users reporting OpenVPN for Android as very unstable on Android 11 and 12, so you can run Eddie Android with profiles in any case and especially if you have recent Android versions.

Kind regards
 

[aishm 0]

8 hours ago, Staff said:

@aishm

Hello!

The feature is not implemented in Eddie Android edition, but you can setup manually, even if the device is not rooted. Please see here:
https://airvpn.org/forums/topic/13486-ssh-tunneled-vpn-on-stock-android/

Note: the guide mentions OpenVPN for Android, but we have many users reporting OpenVPN for Android as very unstable on Android 11 and 12, so you can run Eddie Android with profiles in any case and especially if you have recent Android versions.

Kind regards
 

This worked for me successfully! I am able to connect to VPN.
It's a good solution for now (thanks very much) but it would be a lot better if you could implement it into one single app with net-lock for safety. Thanks again.