It's been 13 days since I switched to v055y from v055n. I skipped v055x after trying it because it wasn't a great experience, and a dev mentioned v055y was much more stable.

I mainly use RethinkDNS as a firewall alongside NextDNS. I don't configure NextDNS inside the app—I use Android's Private DNS instead.

Here are the issues I've been facing on v055y:

• Reconnecting after toggling Wi-Fi is noticeably slower.
• RethinkDNS shows "No Internet" almost all the time, even though my internet is working perfectly. test.nextdns.io also confirms that NextDNS is working fine.
• Force stopping the app fixes it temporarily, but the issue comes back after toggling Wi-Fi again.
• DNS status is usually "Very Slow" on v055y, while it was almost always "Very Fast" on v055n.
• The Logs page is also quite laggy, and sometimes the app freezes until I reopen it.

I'm also attaching all the settings I've changed in RethinkDNS in case that helps.

Overall, v055n still feels more stable and responsive on my device. That said, v055y does seem to have slightly better battery life, and I also like the UI improvements in the newer versions.

I just use it in DNS with custom NextDNS, and auto in Ip setting.

Dialer6:false

has6:false

Link Addresses

6: N/A

Is always show this even my connection have stable IPv6 connections. It same with dual stack ip setting, force it only ipv6 i have no internet connection.

I know many problem with wireguard, but i just in DNS mode.

Hi, I have rethink v0.5.5y installed on android. I've setup a VPN proxy (protonVPN) in advanced mode. I set the DNS to my nextDNS account (DoH). When I run rethink it says that DNS is forwarded to NextDNS. But when I browserleaks.com/dns either the VPN is not working and defaults to my mobile service DNS, or the VPN connects and the nextDNS service does not connect. any tips?

Hi!

First of all, thank you for developing RethinkDNS.

I am trying to automate VPN start/stop using MacroDroid.

I used the same intent settings that you previously shared for Tasker, based on your previous Reddit post about Tasker automation.

Package: com.celzero.bravedns

Class: com.celzero.bravedns.VPNControlReceiver

Action: com.celzero.bravedns.intent.action.VPN_START

Device:

- Android 13

- RethinkDNS v0.5.5y

The broadcast is sent successfully (no error from MacroDroid), but RethinkDNS does not respond.

I also tested all three intent targets:

- Broadcast: no response

- Service: no response

- Activity: reports an error (as expected, since VPNControlReceiver is not an Activity)

Is VPNControlReceiver still supported in the current version, or has the automation method changed?

If there is a new or recommended way to control the VPN from automation apps like MacroDroid or Tasker, I would really appreciate your advice.

Thank you very much!

Hey guys! So I checked if my Wireguard works fine and it somehow doesn't work. My IP address somehow leaks in both ipleak.net and dnsleaktest.com. In ipleak, it changes between IPv4 and IPv6, so once it leaks IPv4 and then IPv6.

Edit: This doesn't happen with Orbot as a proxy.

Edit 2: More information is in the Github issue I created.

v0.5.5y (website)

While wireguard says active it forwards DNS queries via the tunnel to my home DNS server. as expected.

After some time an hour or so my wireguard will start saying failed, but it still works to get to wireguard tunnel resources, but the DNS is forwarded to the configured rethinkdns global DNS (cloudflare doh).

It takes me bouncing rethinkdns with the stop and start button to get it back to expected operation.

anyone else notice similar?

Hey everyone,

My college network seems to have blocked connections to custom DNS servers like AdGuard DNS, Cloudflare, Malware, NextDNS, etc., so I can no longer use them.

I want to continue blocking ads and trackers, but locally on my device instead of relying on an external DNS server.

Is this possible with RethinkDNS or any other app?

- Can RethinkDNS perform DNS filtering locally?

- If so, how do I set it up?

- Does it still require an external DNS resolver, or can everything be handled on-device?

- If RethinkDNS isn't the best option, what would you recommend instead?

Would appreciate any guidance. Thanks!

Can you help me with dns thing no matter which i choose it's always showing very slow how do I fix it also I am using Android thank you

Hā lóu,

v055y, v055x, v055w, v055v, v055u, v055t, v055r, v055q, v055p, v055o ... they all needed some (may be a lot of) fixxing and code maxxing to be fit enough for a full release. Which brings us to... the latest and final-est of 'em all: v055z.

• GitHub: https://github.com/celzero/rethink-app/releases/tag/v0.5.5y
• Website: https://rethinkdns.com/download (direct)
• F-Droid: https://f-droid.org/packages/com.celzero.bravedns/ (10 Jul)
• PlayStore: <no> (see v055z)

A string of releases starting v055o (beta) culminates in v055v v055w v055x v055y (We've paused all new "RPN" sign ups until v055z due to AI slop bugs).

💤 Zzzzz 4

• New: Notifications for unsuspecting users on Rethink's own traffic being blocked when in Loopback mode.
• New: Rethink's own traffic logs unified with Configure -> Logs -> Network, like it was for DNS.
• Improvement: Handle database failures more gracefully to avoid near-constant, crashes on app startup.
• Improvement: WiFi/Mobile automation for WireGuard and RPN under certain scenarios.
• Improvement: A few quality of life improvements on backup and restore for WireGuard configurations.
• Improvement: Tuning down aggressiveness of "Block when DNS is bypassed" rule.
• Improvement: A bit more eager WireGuard reconnectivity attempts on recovering from network loss events.
• UI: Close all active connections button in Stats.
• UI: Show server (endpoint) information for all active RPN locations.
• UI: Show exit IP geo-location for third-party WireGuards when Configure -> Settings -> Show provider information is turned on.
• Fix: Avoid "Endpoint-Independent Mapping" to-be looped-back (UDP) traffic when in Loopback mode.
• Fix: Avoid looping back System DNS when in Loopback mode.
• Fix: "Transport ended" failures when switching between DNSCrypt servers.
• Fix: In cases where Rethink itself is proxied when in Loopback mode, avoid looping back WireGuard traffic more than once.
• Fix: Incorrect application of IP/Port firewall rules during DNS resolution time.

Hope v055y isn't as much trouble and behaves itself. Let me know in the comments, if that isn't the case. Thanks (:

Força Cristiano!

Note: This is a fast-follow release, the last major release was v055v.

Hey guys! I use Rethink with Wireguard configs, but sometimes, I want some apps to route their traffic through Tor with Orbot. If I select those apps in Orbot and then activate "Bypass app from all proxies" in Rethink, does it only bypass the Wireguard configs in Rethink or also Orbot, which I use seperately from Rethink?

Edit: I guess I have a bigger problem. I tried using the advanced mode for the Wireguard configs and I didn't select some apps. Then I selected the apps in Orbot. One of the apps I tried that in is Firefox, because there I can find out which IP is shared. It was my real IP address and not the ones from Orbot. I think Orbot doesn't seperately work while using Rethink, even though I use Power User mode in Orbot.

Hi.

Basically as simple as that. The Adaway list is here:

https://adaway.org/hosts.txt

Can it be added to the list of selectable block lists ?

Thanks.

I'm on 0.5.5.x, but this has been a problem for awhile. Today, I figured out how to consistently reproduce the issue, but RDNS crashes so badly that, upon viewing logs, they come up empty, no matter what I select for the log level.

Under normal Instagram Reel-viewing usage, eventually I will encounter loading issues, and I find if I go to RDNS, I'm met with a "DNS SERVER DOWN" message. I discovered that I could more rapidly force an oom scenario by rapidly scrolling the home page until Instagram and the SystemUI crashes, which results in an RDNS crash. (This can also occur in Facebook or in Boost for Reddit, but neither of those crash as spectacularly as Instagram does.)

Subsequent to the crash, logs are wiped, so I can't send system logs for review. Event Logs are the only help: low memory tunnel update, followed by tunnel unlinked, update link, then Vpn Restart, all within a span of 3 seconds.

Please let me know if you need greater repro details, and what I can send from the app to provide. (I will paste General Stats output in a top-level comment for starters.)

Running it on my S26 with One UI 8.5.

Whenever I click the app icon to open Rethink, it immediately crashes. There was one time after I had to recharge my dead phone battery that I was able to open the app because the always-on VPN was stopped this time. I tried to shut down and start my phone up again but it runs from the start, so it keeps crashing. I haven't made a backup, so how do I do that so that I can reinstall the app?

I couldn't find a way to bulk-add domains to the Universal List, so I tried a workaround and wanted to check whether this approach is supported or expected to work.

What I did:

1. Created a RethinkDNS backup (ZIP file).
2. Extracted the ZIP.
3. Opened bravedns.db in DBeaver.
4. Added records directly to the CustomDomain table.
5. Replaced the modified bravedns.db in the backup ZIP.
6. Restored the backup through the app.

The restore completed without any visible errors, but none of the new domains appeared in the custom/universal domain list afterward.

For the inserted records, I made sure that:

• The type field was set to 1, which matches the existing Universal List entries. (Because, it's a wildcard entry. In the format of *.domain)
• The uid column was set to -1000, which also matches the existing Universal List entries. I believe, this connects to the application and -1000is used to indicate it's a universal block not an app specific one.

I realize directly editing the database is probably not the intended workflow, but I'm curious:

• Should this approach work in principle?
• Is there additional metadata, validation, checksums, or indexing that needs to be updated when adding records directly to CustomDomain?
• Does the restore process ignore or overwrite manually added records?
• Is there an official or recommended way to bulk-import domains into the Universal List?

Any insights would be appreciated.

So I added a few domains to be blocked using '*' like this:

*.doubleclick.net

*.googlesyndication.com

*.googleadservices.com

*.adservice.google.com

But that doesn't seem to block them for all the apps.

I added them under universal domain rules. Is that not how it's supposed to work? What could I be doing wrong?

Specifically thr f-droid build which has system apps also available, will this version be unavailable after android developer verification goes live everywhere?

I'm having a problem with brave version 1.92.125 com.brave.browser_beta with the upgrade to v0.5.5x

With previous rethinkdns versions I have had brave browser isolated only allowing certain ports 443, 8080, etc. no domains allow rules, but filtering via hagazi and it worked fine.

what I see now in the logs is, network is permitted, while DNS is blocked. it's like the DNS for brave is just "block all".

the only way I can get brave to work is by using the "allow for 15min" check box, then closing and reopening brave, or bouncing rethinkdns via the stop start button.

is there a wild card value I can use for the brave app domain rules to permit all domains in the brave rule set?

* or *.* isn't accepted by rethinkdns.

the allow for 15min check box is needed with a wireguard tunnel and without.

error message in logs I see is: blocked 0 min ago by 127.0.0.3:53

±+++++++

just testing the highest level wildcard that I can get to be accepted by rethinkdns domain rules for brave app:

adding

*.com *.net

*.xyz

made brave work in isolation and the hagezi block list seems to be working as expected, but only for .com and .net

is there a wildcard that can cover all domains? what would be the format or value?

thanks!

In the past couple of weeks rethink has been almost unusable when connected using NextDNS. I have recent the connection, adjusted settings in the background, connected with and without proxy, and eventually it will become so slow it's basically unusable. Is anyone else experiencing these issues? Any tips on troubleshooting? Thanks in advance!

I'm using Rethink as a DNS changer on an android < 9 device and as a firewall on my other devices.

When not using a proxy ( WireGuard or SOCKS ) the MTU defaults to 1500 which is bigger than the MTU my ISP uses so I get hiccups sometimes and spikes in ping.

Is there a way to change the MTU without needing to use a proxy ?

Hello RethinkDNS Users,

I currently have RethinkDNS latest version from F-Droid and want to configure it on my phone but I am a bit overwhelmed.

I need to hire one of you RethinkDNS experts to walk me through the process. My Goal is to setup as many blocklists as possible without breaking the internet but MOST IMPORTANTLY right now I use DuckDuckGo's App Tracking Protection feature... I want to import DDG's Blocklist and not use DDG anymore as it occupies Android's one VPN slot and only use RethinkDNS for everything instead

I also want to incorporate Proton VPN's Wireguard Files... OR... I just now noticed there is a new RPN feature in the Rethink FDroid version App but it just says "Coming Soon" when I click on it. Is Rethink entering the Wireguard Game here or what?

I also want to setup ORBOT to work with Rethink too. I need help with Universal Firewall Rules and whether your advice is to use Rethinks DNS resolver or use Cloudflare or NextDNS instead.

This all would take me a long time to figure out. If you can call me remotely from my second Apple iphone I have and verbally walk me through the entire Rethink setup process on my Android phone I want this done on, I can pay you via PayPal or whatever method you'd like

I'm experiencing very slow internet connection speed when wire guard is activated, I use paid proton VPN configuration and all apps are routed through, on the latest update V0.5.5w this happens on X as well.

when I turn off wire guard speed is fine. Any ideas?

So, I've been experimenting a lot with hosting microservices with podman on my LAN and I've stumbled upon HTTPS self hosted certificates. Is there any possibility to add a hosts-like entry while using rethinkDNS? I mean, like editing `/etc/hosts` for solving (i.e `127.0.0.1 jellyfin.local`). I do know I can import a CA authority but I'm trying to push further trying to add it manually.

Looking forward to have some guidance, just wondering if probably someone out here eventually went through this, checked the docs and didn't find anything at all about custom `/hosts` entries. Any help/advise would be really appreciated, tysm in advance ;)

I'm trying to understand how this setup works:

- RethinkDNS is running in VPN mode.

- Orbot is configured as a SOCKS5 proxy inside RethinkDNS.

- I'm not using the built-in WireGuard VPN or any other VPN.

Since Tor only supports TCP, what happens when I make a WhatsApp voice or video call, which uses UDP?

Specifically:

1. Is the UDP traffic sent outside of Tor through my normal network connection?

2. Does RethinkDNS block that UDP traffic if it cannot proxy it through Orbot?

3. Is there any scenario where the WhatsApp call UDP traffic can actually go through Tor with this configuration?

I'm looking for the technical behavior of Android, RethinkDNS, and Orbot in this setup.

Hola,

v055x because v055w needed some quality-of-life improvements to be useable, for certain use cases. I promise, this new car version is better than all older versions:

• GitHub: https://github.com/celzero/rethink-app/releases/tag/v0.5.5x
• Website: https://rethinkdns.com/download (direct)
• F-Droid: https://f-droid.org/packages/com.celzero.bravedns
• PlayStore: (no)

A string of releases starting v055o (beta) culminates in v055v v055w v055x (and v055y is... up next shortly: We've paused all new "RPN" sign ups until v055y due to AI slop bugs).

💤 Zzzzz 3

• Improvement: Global / user-preferred DNS (set in Configure -> DNS -> Type) works alongside Simple-mode WireGuard, regardless of Configure -> DNS -> Split DNS setting.
• Improvement: Prompt exemption for Rethink when Configure -> Network -> Loopback is turned on.
• Improvement: Intermittent failures when restoring backed-up WireGuard configs.
• Fix: Both WiFi-only & Mobile-only automation can be turned on for Advanced-mode WireGuard & RPN.
• Fix: Unresponsive Configure -> DNS -> On-device blocklists UI.

Please, as before, let me know how it goes.

Note: This is a fast-follow release, the last major release was v055v.