VPN Manager for OpenVPN

    Thanks for reply and no worries about asshat appearance, its understandable.

    Sorry this was indeed Kodi 16 log... I downloaded every LibreELEC version to try and better understand my problem hence also 16.. Problems started with up to date Kodi version few days ago (all was great for over year)... I will upload Kodi 17 bit later.. tbh not sure why I had old version of your addon on this attempt. Perhaps VPNArea guide link is old. btw reason I'm using custom .ovpn files, this is actually official guide from VPNArea.. Your build in support doesn't include all servers if I remember correctly.. also maybe that's why no one reported it (if they follow official guide from VPNArea?)

    DNS errors only are present when trying connecting to vpn using addon.. There is working connection without vpn so dont understand how there is DNS problem.. ip on dhcp with auto DNS from router which is also on auto from ISP.. All other network devices connect OK..

    Also like I said other windows and android devices connect to vpn without problems(so credentials are correct etc) only raspberry pi is affected. I'm losing plot with this now really but will try again bit later and upload log..

    I appreciate you taking your time trying to guide me and replies. Thanks!

    Performed fresh/new install of:

    LibreELEC (official): 8.2.5, (LibreELEC-RPi2.arm-8.2.5.img)

    service.vpn.manager-5.0.7

    Tried only build in support for VPNarea but same problem is still present. :(


    Had a look at troubleshooting on GitHub and will attempt to connect thru command line when get chance.. however I cannot understand why this setup stopped working now.. its been fine for over year.. I assume VPNarea has changed smth or perhaps my ISP?.. :/

    I've looked at VPNArea and it looks like someone provided me with the files, it doesn't look like I did them myself.

    I've updated the template and checked the Coventry 2 location you were using and the built in support should be the same as if you supply your own. You should see a notification that updated files are available, or you can try deleting downloaded files and resetting the connection. I'll run an update to pick up all the locations when I have the energy to pick through them.

    It really does look like a DNS problem though. The trace is saying that calls to different interweb resources just time out. I've seen this multiple times. It can be caused by the ISP pushing bad params at you after the connection (unlikely if you see this across multiple locations). It can be caused by the OS not refreshing the DNS (I had read that the openvpn team consider updating the DNS in the OS to be not their job, which can be addressed by using the up/down parameters).

    If you look in the ovpn files that VPNArea provide you'll see this :

    Code
    up /etc/openvpn/update-resolv-conf
down /etc/openvpn/update-resolv-conf

    which is supposed to kick the OS into doing something. There's some stuff about this here on the GitHub wiki

    LE doesn't have update-resolv-conf or update-resolved-systemd because they don't use the services they call, and actually I think LE just wants connman to be kicked. I've not worked out a way of doing that yet (nor do I understand why it's necessary in some circumstances but not others).

    You could also switch openvpn verb to 4 (this is in the settings/advanced) and see if a DNS Is being pushed at you. You could opt to always use the VPNArea DNS by setting it in the LibreELEC config.

    If you get no joy, and VPNArea can't work it out when you're using their service with their ovpn file via the command line, then maybe trying it on a full Linux install where update-resolv-conf or whatever exists might be a good step. I think OSMC might work for you here.

    Quote from zomboided

    You could also switch openvpn verb to 4 (this is in the settings/advanced) and see if a DNS Is being pushed at you. You could opt to always use the VPNArea DNS by setting it in the LibreELEC config.

    You are a star!! Thank you so much.. verb to 4 did the trick! :) Connected just fine to Coventry2 server... and yes there were some updates files downloaded which I never seen before.. Many thanks! :thumbup:

    Hi all,

    I have an issue i've not seen on this thread, or any other, after scouring through for a while, I hope I haven't missed something obvious! Also, if im honest i'm not 100% certain this is truly an issue with this add-on, as you will see below in the description. I have just created this account to post this fault, I hope that's OK too - my troubleshooting has reached the end of my ability.

    I'm running LibreElec 8.2.5 on a Raspberry Pi B+ (RPi2.arm) and have version 5.0.7 of this wonderful add-on installed. This is all pretty bare bones, straight out of the box - currently nothing else installed (except BBC iPlayer). I have a subscription to NordVPN of which Im using on a Kodi 17.6 install.

    My issue is my DNS traffic is not using the VPN tunnel interface and/or my DNS settings are not being updated to use the VPN assigned. My VPN connects fine via the add-on, but if I SSH into it and run and NSlookup, I see the DNS server dished out from my router being used to do the lookups, not the VPN assigned DNS server.

    This appears to be a common issue and so I'm attempting to use Zomboided's potential DNS fix which I believe to be the correct thing to do if I have read the wiki right. I have placed the update-resolv-conf.sh script into "/storage/.kodi/userdata/addon_data/service.vpn.manager", applied the fix via the add-on menu and reset the VPN, but now my VPN will not connect at all. I see in the log, these last few lines of text:

    07:09:19.522 T:1762653088 NOTICE: Mon Jan 14 07:08:03 2019 /storage/.kodi/userdata/addon_data/service.vpn.manager/update-resolv-conf.sh tun0 1500 1585 10.8.8.180 255.255.255.0 init

    07:09:19.522 T:1762653088 NOTICE: /storage/.kodi/userdata/addon_data/service.vpn.manager/update-resolv-conf.sh: line 30: syntax error: bad substitution

    07:09:19.522 T:1762653088 NOTICE: Mon Jan 14 07:08:03 2019 WARNING: Failed running command (--up/--down): external program exited with error status: 2

    07:09:19.522 T:1762653088 NOTICE: Mon Jan 14 07:08:03 2019 Exiting due to fatal error

    Which would appear to be a syntax issue with the update-resolv-conf.sh script on line 30 (which is "for optionname in ${!foreign_option_*} ; do,") but I am unable to diagnose what the issue is. I get the same fault if I run the script in the terminal, or close there to (./update-resolv-conf.sh: line 30: syntax error: bad substitution)

    I hope someone may point me in the right direction to resolve my DNS fault. I'm happy to upload any logs that may be required.

    Thanks for your time.

    with this addon, am I able to specify services to use vpn tunnel only?

    For example tvheadend to use vpn tunnel only, rather than my entire network being forced to use it?

    My understanding is that with this addon when the addon id changes, the vpn manager changes the vpn provider or turns it on. I need it to always be on for selected service.

    You can use just one VPN location, which is always on, or you can switch VPN locations by addon. If the addon doesn't have a location specified for it, it'll just use the existing one. You can also do switch by Window ID.

    If you want a service (which is obviously always running) to use a particular route, then you need to specify each route the service will use in the APPEND.txt file (or the inverse?). You can see the GitHub wiki on how to do this, plus there's some words in here of someone who was trying to do the same thing Unable to get APPEND.txt working with NordVPN · Issue #216 · Zomboided/service.vpn.manager · GitHub. I've never tried this so can't give you any more help.

    Quote from zomboided

    snakebilewine Read post 795 just above...this script won't work and I don't know what the answer is.

    Thanks for the reply Zomboided.

    Are you thinking this is a wider issue, or something specific to my build? Just strange as I have the most standard, vanilla build possible. Unless its an issue specific to my VPN provider? sorry not certain I understand. I should note, I brought my Pi into my office, and got the same result (different ISP).

    Is there anything I can do to troubleshoot or progress the issue?

    I don't think it's a problem on Windows, or platforms that have the up/down scripts installed to kick a network manager. But I don't know if the experience differs across VPN providers. No trouble shooting needed, I just need to go read and understand some code. Meantime, if you're that worried, hard code your providers DNS or a free one into LE.

    Quote from bubblegum57

    You install the repo, you then install the vpn manager, you then follow the wizard filling in your vpn username & password.

    If it were that easy I would have done it lol, but no it keeps saying the open VPN executable isnt working even after installing openvpn from the website I'm on windows 10 if that helps

    I didn't know there was an exe file for this.

    On second thoughts, are you running Libreelec or Kodi from a windows 10 pc?

    I found this using google, iit says Krypton, but it must be similar

    1. First, you need to download the Zomboided Repsitory.
    2. Transfer it to your device by putting it on USB drive or using a shared network drive.
    3. Launch your Kodi app.
    4. The first thing you need to do after launching Kodi Krypton is click on the Settings Icon in the top left corner.
    5. Then, go to System Settings -> Expert Mode -> Addons.
    6. Make sure to turn on ‘Unknown Sources.’ Otherwise, you will not be able to install third-party add-ons.
    7. When the warning box pops up, click ‘Yes’.
    8. Now go back to the Kodi homescreen, and click on the ‘Settings’ icon.
    9. From the Kodi homescreen, select Addons.
    10. Click on the Package Installer Icon at the top left corner.
    11. Navigate to where you placed the Zomboided repo on your device and select i.
    12. Wait for the add-on enabled notification.
    13. Now, select Install from repository.
    14. Choose the Zomboided Add-on Repository to open it.
    15. Select Services -> VPN Manager for OpenVPN -> Install.
    16. Wait for Add-on enabled notification
    17. When you are prompted to setup a VPN provider, click ‘OK’.
    18. Choose your VPN Provider from the VPN Configuration Window that opens.
    19. Next, enter your VPN account’s Username and Password for your VPN Provider.
    20. Now go to the VPN Connections tap -> First VPN Connection
    21. The VPN Manager addon will now attempt to establish the a connection to your VPN provider. If all runs smoothly, you will now be presented with a list of all the VPN server locations your VPN provider offers.
    22. Select the VPN server that suits you most. Closer VPN servers usually mean faster speeds, but you might want to connect to a specific VPN server in case you wish to unblock a geo-restricted Kodi add-on.
    23. Finally, the a popup message will appear that has details of your new IP address and the VPN server you are connected to.

    See the first post, which links to the wiki page on download and installation and also the trouble shooting page. There are Windows sections in both that will tell you what to do.

    I am on windows 10 been to all troubleshooting pages but I dont know if I'm missing something buy nothing seems to be very clear at all. I downloaded the openvpn it linked to, there was no option about paths, so I read it says to google all about windows paths so I did that and more complex stuff, that's why I'm here trying to get some support please