[APP][ROOT/NONROOT][OFFICIAL] AdAway v6.1.1

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pratikp16

Senior Member
Oct 28, 2010
135
16
Try deleting and re-installing AdAway. Hopefully that'll remove the symlink. (That symlink option should probably be removed).
Our you can do a dirty flash of your ROM

Tried both. No matter what i do, i still get ads. I have the following on my Oneplus 6t running the latest rom:
- magisk 19.3
- systemless hosts module enabled
- symlink of /system/etc/hosts -> /data/data/hosts (this seems to be from the module rather than due to adaway)
- Adaway 4.2.6 installed
- cannot enable the Systemless hosts checkbox in Adaway, every time i try i just get a toast notification about Magisk granting Adaway permissions and then nothing else
- target hosts file set to /system/etc/hosts

Using a file manager i can see that /data/data/hosts has a bunch of entries but this doesn't seem to be picked up. Can see ads in Chrome, Firefox and apps where i wasn't seeing them before.
 

jcmm11

Recognized Contributor
Feb 10, 2012
3,589
3,614
Google Pixel 4a 5G
Tried both. No matter what i do, i still get ads. I have the following on my Oneplus 6t running the latest rom:
- magisk 19.3
- systemless hosts module enabled
- symlink of /system/etc/hosts -> /data/data/hosts (this seems to be from the module rather than due to adaway)
- Adaway 4.2.6 installed
- cannot enable the Systemless hosts checkbox in Adaway, every time i try i just get a toast notification about Magisk granting Adaway permissions and then nothing else
- target hosts file set to /system/etc/hosts

Using a file manager i can see that /data/data/hosts has a bunch of entries but this doesn't seem to be picked up. Can see ads in Chrome, Firefox and apps where i wasn't seeing them before.
Dirty flash the ROM
 

ipdev

Recognized Contributor
Feb 14, 2016
2,546
1
5,157
Google Nexus 10
Nexus 7 (2013)
Tried both. No matter what i do, i still get ads. I have the following on my Oneplus 6t running the latest rom:
- magisk 19.3
- systemless hosts module enabled
- symlink of /system/etc/hosts -> /data/data/hosts (this seems to be from the module rather than due to adaway)
- Adaway 4.2.6 installed
- cannot enable the Systemless hosts checkbox in Adaway, every time i try i just get a toast notification about Magisk granting Adaway permissions and then nothing else
- target hosts file set to /system/etc/hosts

Using a file manager i can see that /data/data/hosts has a bunch of entries but this doesn't seem to be picked up. Can see ads in Chrome, Firefox and apps where i wasn't seeing them before.

I have. A few times since. And also uninstalled and reinstalled Adaway. But it made no difference.

If I disable the systemless hosts module then I get the old hosts file back but then when enabling Adaway I get the message about no space left on the system partition.
What module is setting that symlink?

Unless there is a reason for it, that symlink should not exist.
To remove it manually, boot into recovery (TWRP), mount system and delete /data/data/hosts

Warning! You need at least a stock hosts file in system/etc/ .

My guess, your fighting another issue.

Sidenote:
Odd as it sounds, AdAway seems to fail when my Magisk install was or became broken.
Other apps and modules may work or at least seem to work fine but, if AdAway gave me problems, most of the time it was magisk. (Probably due to the changes in magisk.)
A clean install of magisk normally fixed it.


PS.
I attached the hosts file from 6t (Beta 14) for reference and just incase you need a stock hosts file.
(It's the same as any other generic android hosts file.)
added .txt so I could attach it.

Out of curiosity, how much space is free in system?
(Most file explorers, an app like DiskInfo or df -ah from shell will show used and free space.)

I set the same symlink on my Nexus 6P and did a little testing.
I tried without and with systemless hosts enabled.
Forgot about the reboot step when not modifying the hosts file systemless. After a reboot it worked.

Remember, some apps/sites will save ads in a cache file for off-line use. If you block the ad server afterwards, you will need to clear the ad cache.
 

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DiamondJohn

Recognized Contributor
Aug 31, 2013
7,350
7,366
Sydney
Using a file manager i can see that /data/data/hosts has a bunch of entries but this doesn't seem to be picked up. Can see ads in Chrome, Firefox and apps where i wasn't seeing them before.
Have you tried pinging one of the hosts blocked in your host file?

If it is getting through, the next thing I would research is what DNS server is really being used. I had issues where hosts were not being blocked while on mobile data, but were over WiFi. I checked, and the DNS server was different under Mobile data. Once I changed that, all ads were blocked under both.
 
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pratikp16

Senior Member
Oct 28, 2010
135
16
What module is setting that symlink?

Unless there is a reason for it, that symlink should not exist.
To remove it manually, boot into recovery (TWRP), mount system and delete /data/data/hosts

Warning! You need at least a stock hosts file in system/etc/ .

My guess, your fighting another issue.

Sidenote:
Odd as it sounds, AdAway seems to fail when my Magisk install was or became broken.
Other apps and modules may work or at least seem to work fine but, if AdAway gave me problems, most of the time it was magisk. (Probably due to the changes in magisk.)
A clean install of magisk normally fixed it.


PS.
I attached the hosts file from 6t (Beta 14) for reference and just incase you need a stock hosts file.
(It's the same as any other generic android hosts file.)
added .txt so I could attach it.

Out of curiosity, how much space is free in system?
(Most file explorers, an app like DiskInfo or df -ah from shell will show used and free space.)

I set the same symlink on my Nexus 6P and did a little testing.
I tried without and with systemless hosts enabled.
Forgot about the reboot step when not modifying the hosts file systemless. After a reboot it worked.

Remember, some apps/sites will save ads in a cache file for off-line use. If you block the ad server afterwards, you will need to clear the ad cache.

Thanks for the help and hosts file! So the issue is that the /system partition is full after the recent update for the OP6T. Seems to be affecting other users as well: https://xdaforums.com/oneplus-6t/help/partition-t3865724

Sorry for bugging the Adaway thread about this!
 
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Ramihyn

Member
Aug 5, 2012
43
24
OnePlus Nord
The Wifi hotspot is simply a lowlevel network bridge, it does not work as a proxy, and especially it does not perform any nslookups. So, yes, you need to install another ad blocker on your car device.
 

zoneezonee

Member
Nov 11, 2015
44
3
Hi. I have OP 6T without ROOT. Do I may grant write permission to ADAWAY using ADB ?
Like that:
adb -d shell pm grant (com name - I dont know adaway name) android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS

Or this is imposible ?
PS. wher adaway inslal package ? package name (com.oasisfeng.greenify)?
 

Oswald Boelcke

Senior Moderator / Moderator Committee
Staff member
Hi. I have OP 6T without ROOT. Do I may grant write permission to ADAWAY using ADB ?
Like that:
adb -d shell pm grant (com name - I dont know adaway name) android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS

Or this is imposible ?
PS. wher adaway inslal package ? package name (com.oasisfeng.greenify)?

You do require root.
Quote from the OP:
...
Requirements:

This application requires:
  • Android 4.1 Jelly Bean or above,
  • A rooted device.
...
And a quotation from the Wiki:
...you need to check that you have full root and that system changes survive a reboot (S-OFF if you have an HTC device)...
 

wodgey

Senior Member
Jan 17, 2011
352
71
Xiaomi Mi A1
Redmi Note 8
Apologies if this question has been asked before.

I've installed adaway on my daily driver phone and love it. I was wondering if I could copy the hosts file from my phone and paste it over (using temporary root) the hosts file on my new Amazon tablet, to have the same sites blocked but without needing permanent root.
Thanks in advance
 

Wolfcity

Recognized Contributor
Apologies if this question has been asked before.

I've installed adaway on my daily driver phone and love it. I was wondering if I could copy the hosts file from my phone and paste it over (using temporary root) the hosts file on my new Amazon tablet, to have the same sites blocked but without needing permanent root.
Thanks in advance
If you have the latest version (4.2.6) there's an enhanced option to backup/restore all host files and lists.
Even older builds allow you to import/export your host lists. Just go to "my lists" , 3-dot menu import/export all lists. If you're on 4.2.6 you'll get a json file that can be imported to the other device.

Edit: Sorry, didn't read your post exactly, if you're not rooted permanently it's another thing as you don't have AdAway on the device. But pasting the host file should work if you don't use systemless mode.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Sent from my Moto G5 Plus using XDA Labs
 
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jcmm11

Recognized Contributor
Feb 10, 2012
3,589
3,614
Google Pixel 4a 5G
Apologies if this question has been asked before.

I've installed adaway on my daily driver phone and love it. I was wondering if I could copy the hosts file from my phone and paste it over (using temporary root) the hosts file on my new Amazon tablet, to have the same sites blocked but without needing permanent root.
Thanks in advance
@Wolfcity's edit is correct - that should work
 
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mark_at

Senior Member
Feb 25, 2018
311
98
Innsbruck
The Wifi hotspot is simply a lowlevel network bridge, it does not work as a proxy, and especially it does not perform any nslookups. So, yes, you need to install another ad blocker on your car device.

Thanks for the information.
I thought so.
A pity that blokada or DNS66 do not work as perfect as adaway does. But I do not want to risk rooting my car radio device.
 

jcmm11

Recognized Contributor
Feb 10, 2012
3,589
3,614
Google Pixel 4a 5G
@Wolfcity
I can confirm that you're both correct.

For some reason exporting didn't work but a simple 'cat /system/etc/hosts > /sdcard/hosts.backup' worked perfectly for the backup.

Then it was a simple case of using root explorer to dump it onto my tablet. :)
You could have just used "cp /system/etc/hosts /sdcard/hosts" or just used root explorer to dump /system/etc/hosts without copying it to sdcard first.

Export is a different format.
 

wodgey

Senior Member
Jan 17, 2011
352
71
Xiaomi Mi A1
Redmi Note 8
You could have just used "cp /system/etc/hosts /sdcard/hosts" or just used root explorer to dump /system/etc/hosts without copying it to sdcard first.

Export is a different format.
Yeah, you're right. Lots of ways to copy a file.

There was no file created, in the location specified started. (Adaway-export wasn't written to either my internal storage or my sdcard)

It's all good though as my way worked for me.
 

PerfectSlayer

Senior Member
Hi all,

No news about v5 here or new feature here.
I spend a lot of hours to merge and fix all the translation PRs and provide some support on GitHub.
I hope it will solve the menu drawer issue for most of you (otherwise, you really need to fix the translation first on transifex).
So, boring update it is but update nonetheless =)

Changelog:
  • Fix TravisCI build issues
  • Update translations

Download:

AdAway 4.2.8 on AndroidFileHost (md5: 93b51d2fc8ecadc46a4309f3af0faa09)
 

ipdev

Recognized Contributor
Feb 14, 2016
2,546
1
5,157
Google Nexus 10
Nexus 7 (2013)
Hi all.
Awhile back, plain-text http links were eliminated.
Android Security update.

Personally, I use minimum host blocking.
I'm not the best at updating it. ;)

http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.txt was one of the default host sources.
Since http plan text will not work with the newer updates. I got around it by making a static mirror.

The last time I updated it, I asked if I could share a mirror link.
Got "I don't care." as a response.

I tried to create a dynamic mirror link.
Tried using PHP and HTML5, both kicked my butt.
Most likely a dumb user error. Damned if I could find it. Got close with PHP though.


Just got around to updating my static link again.
If anyone in interested - winhelp2002.mvps.org-mirror

Appreciate it if someone could help me create a working dynamic link.
Please PM me if you can help.


Cheers all. :)
 

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  • 1
    Non root uses VPN, hence make sure you don't run another VPN in parallel
    If it helps, an example of that mistake of trying to run (non-rootable) two VPNs at a time would be to try to use both of these at the same time.

    AdAway (non-root system-wide hosts-based ad blocking)
    NetGuard (non-root system-wide hosts-based ad blocking)
    adblocker_netguard_vpn.jpg
    1
    I've been using the app for many years now, but have had massive problems in the last few weeks. Latest Android 14 with February patches. Network connection suddenly stops working after a while and only works again after manually stopping/starting the app. Notifications are not delivered. Restarting / reinstalling or updating the sources only fixes the problem temporarily. Problem occurs on several devices.

    Found some Bug reports on devs github, but no solution.

    Non-rooted Devices...
    1
    So what do you suggest for 'not rooted' devices?
    For developers to fix it?

    Tik Tok has connection problems...
    Screenshot_2024-02-28-20-36-58-088_com.zhiliaoapp.musically.jpg
    1
    1. Yesterday I installed AdAway and set it up as my VPN app.
    2. Today I installed an app that SAID it has no ads but it has ads.
    • <ht tps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.quantum.updater>
    AdAway does NOT block those ads.
    • AdAway doesn't block the full-page ads
    • AdAway doesn't block the bar ads
    Why not?
    What did I do wrong in my setup?
    1
    Do it by logDNS. Check the Wiki:

    Start the log and open your preferred site.
    Whitelist what has to be whitelisted.
    Followed the guide. It's simple enough until I try to find the hostname I am supposed to white list - there are probably 50 entries just clicking on one article. Plus the names don't give any clue what they are related to. I tried white-listing about a dozen different entries but none allowed the comments to be read. At this point it's still easier to turn off Adaway and scroll the articles then turn it back on when I'm done.

    Thanks for the guide though.
  • 3363
    icon.png
    AdAway

    AdAway is an open source ad blocker for Android using the hosts file.


    Google Play Store notice

    According the Google Play Developer Policy, especially the "Device and Network Abuse" section, ad blocker like AdAway violates the "Apps that block or interfere with another app displaying ads." rule and can't be distributed on distributed on the Play Store.
    As Free and Open Source Software, AdAway is available from F-Droid Store or this XDA thread :good:


    Requirements

    This application requires Android 8 or above and does no more require root.

    For older Android versions, a rooted device is required.


    Changelog

    If you don't want to read each announce post of this thread, you can:


    Downloads

    Stable versions are available on GitHub releases and F-Droid Store:
    Beta versions are available on GitHub releases only: AdAway 6.0.2b

    The app provides an in-app updater for both GitHub and F-Droid builds.
    Keep in mind beta channel is limited to GitHub builds, and F-Droid releases usually have a several days latency.


    Problem? Read this

    * If you use Chrome and still see ads on web pages, remember to disable the "data saver" or "reduced data usage" browser option.
    * Check your APN settings for any proxy, the proxy itself could be allowing ads. Disable the proxy.
    * After you install or make any change to AdAway, you must reboot for those changes to take effect.
    * If you are still having issues please read and understand all the info in the wiki before asking for help here.

    Otherwise, this is the right thread to discuss about it or file a bug report here.


    Contributors

    PerfectSlayer, Vankog, jawz101
    Source Code: https://github.com/AdAway/AdAway
    170
    Hi all,

    A new year is coming and I wish you all to have nice holidays :victory:

    Just few words about this ending year. There was about 12 releases in 2019 which brings you a new UI, a lot of bug fixes, Android 10 support, Gist and GitLab hosting support and better Magisk support.
    All of this is possible thanks to the community to help users to discover the app, learn how to use it and report any new bug and also your moral, nice words and thanks you can send to me, and financial support.
    Thanks a lot for all donators, GitHub sponsor and the Pixel 2 you sent me to test Android 10 support.

    For the next year, I hope to release the next version (V5), at least in beta to start. It's been 9 months since its first lines of code and things are working quite nicely.
    It aims to make the app simpler to use for the main use cases, support rooted and non rooted devices and remove old hacks/workaround which are no more needed on recent setups.

    But before this big next update, I still have time to fix current issue with a new release :p

    Changelog:
    • Fix GitLab hosting support (commit date parsing failed)
    • Translation update

    Thanks:

    Special thanks to @gallegonovato for its helpful bug report and @Vankog for translation update.

    Download:

    AdAway 4.3.2 on AndroidFileHost (md5: 78fde09a0e92044c45e901bb1cec8e2e)
    159
    Hi all,

    Long time no see! It's been more than two months since the last update.
    I can't say I was not active on the project as I start working on a new version (5.x.y) as a side project.
    I won't share the source code yet as it is not ready at all and I don't want to give an ETA but this new version targets the following goals:
    • 1. Revamp the UI
    • 2. Clean up old support
    • 3. Address one of the main drawback of the app

    1. The card based UI does not feel right. Welcome card takes too much space, update button / status has a lot of critic. I guess I can do better.
    I started a new simpler and lighter design which provide the most useful information on home screen and all main actions to trigger in one tap (no more burger menu).
    It is still under heavy development but I hopefully get a friend onboard, specialized in graphics and design, to help me :highfive:

    2. In order to simplify the development, I clean up the app and remove support for old features.
    I bump target SDK version so I finally get Java 8 language feature (it was released 5y ago…) and move to topjohnwu root library (instead of home made one). It means systemless support is now handled by Magisk and other root solutions will still work.

    3. Think of what prevent most of users to use AdAway? Now it's gone!
    It's not gone forever. It's still here but there will be a fallback to workaround it.
    I won't tell more until the first public beta but I guess you get the point :fingers-crossed:

    In the meanwhile, here is a new version!

    Feedback:

    Is anyone using a hosts list hosted on Gitlab? It keeps showing "Unknown update status".
    GitLab, like GitHub do not set LastModified HTTP header so update status is not supported... yet!

    Changelog:
    • Add Gist and GitLab hosting support for hosts file
    • Add option to set default IPv6 redirection
    • Improve reboot command
    • Improve UI for overlays
    • Update translations

    Thanks:

    Special thanks to @MSF Jarvis and ralayax for theirs contributions and @andy356 for its helpful bug report.

    Download:

    AdAway 4.2.5 on AndroidFileHost (md5: ab81225745afaaa7646024109de299c0)
    148
    Hi all,

    Feedback:

    Hmm, not working for me for this URL, v4.1.0 shows something like not updated in -360 days (some large negative value). Can you please see if you can reproduce?
    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/alternates/fakenews-gambling-porn/hosts
    It works well here. I failed to reproduce as I change the HTTP client library and how I use it.
    But update date for the source you link definitely works now.

    All the F-Droid apps I know of have manual push updates to the store.

    Isn't automatic build basically for nightlies?
    Not really. You could choose a lot of different mode.
    For example, F-Droid server watches AdAway GitHub repository to find tags which match a specific versioning pattern.

    I exist still... do you know what i have to do to transfer ownership? if i edit project it doesn't let me change the primary author so i assume i have to PM some higher up to make this happen?
    Thank you so much! :highfive:

    This is now done, @PerfectSlayer is the OP of this thread.
    Thank you too!


    Changelog:
    • Add hosts source download cache
    • Add snackbar notification to update host from DNS request listing
    • Update UI from Material Design to Material Theming
    • Update gradle, plugins and dependencies
    • Fix crash parsing not defined host source last modified date
    • Fix native modules build script (required for F-Droid build server)
    • Fix Transifex issues

    Thanks:

    Special thanks to all recent donators! Your help is really appreciated :good:

    Download:

    AdAway 4.2.0 on AndroidFileHost (md5: 023169e7c345ef7297095793024f8478)
    144
    Hi all,

    I talked enough about it the past weeks and here it is: the first beta for the next version of AdAway.
    As you know, the main feature is the removal of root requirement but it also comes with a lot of improvements like an easier to use UI, a builtin updater, new cache and databases to improve reliability or even a quick pause/resume adblocking button that 3rd party apps can control.

    It took me literally a year and 330+ commits to build it (the first commit of this branch was April the 7th) and I hope it will be worth it.
    It should allow the app to be viable in the future with root being more and more difficult to achieve at each new Android release and Google hardening SafetyNet checks.

    I will try to answer to the most expected questions here so you still can post a link to this FAQ later to lost users.

    FAQ:

    Does this version replace the v4.x versions?
    No. This is still a preview version and does not replace the stable one.
    It is available to test it and report issues and feedback before being promoted to stable.

    Can I upgrade and revert safely?
    Yes. Both v4 and v5 use the same settings export format.

    Why does this version targets Android 8+ Oreo only?
    Like the v4, v5 is expected to offer support for latest devices.
    Android 8 and above represent more than 60% of device distribution and will grew through time.
    If you use an older device, root solutions work very well and v4 is here for you (like v2 and v3 stayed for legacy devices).

    How the hell does it work without root?
    This version provides two adblocking methods: the usual root one using hosts file and a new one using local VPN.
    The VPN solution allows to filter and alter connections of your devices without root access.

    Is using a VPN safe?
    In the case of AdAway, yes. It uses VPN API but does not connect to a VPN server.
    In the case of VPN client app, it depends.
    To give you more details, a VPN client app uses the VPN API to create a virtual network interface on your device and redirect all your traffic into it.
    If you imaginge the VPN like a pipe (the right word is tunnel), client VPN app outputs all your traffic on a VPN server which is able to check what you are doing on the Internet.
    With AdAway, your network is not redirected to a VPN server but your device internet connection (same as no VPN). VPN API is only used to get traffic into it to break the connections to ad servers.

    Is VPN use battery?
    Yes, like everything you do on device.
    Witouth root, a VPN service will be running permanently to filter your traffic.
    Good news is it will only filter DNS traffic. Not all traffic is redirected into it so it won't be as expensive as you can fear.

    Did you come up with this idea alone?
    Absolutely not! I spent a lot of hours trying to find altenatives to hosts based adblocking (like routes or private DNS). But nothing was better than VPN based adblocking.
    So we (MrRobinson and I) approched Julian Klode, developer of DNS66 more than three years ago to see if we can merge our apps. It wasn't that easy as we don't develop our apps the same way so I ended up by integrating the DNS66 adblocking method into AdAway. It is fine for Julian, his app is Open Source and he himself built it from the core code of AdBuster app (an VPN based adblocking app).

    Should we stop using DNS66 for AdAway?
    Not at all. DNS66 is a great app and provides some features that AdAway doesn't have (yet?), like DNS settings.
    DNS66 is a great app, keep using it if you like it!
    If both apps used the same adblocking method a year ago when I start this version, I keep adding feature to the VPN adblocking method and most of them won't be in DNS66.
    If Julian ports them back to DNS66, it's great if it can help his app and users!

    Is it me or the app put on weight?
    Yes, the app significantly grew due to new libraries like VPN related ones and Android Jetpack.
    It also stores more data on device: a http cache, a host database, a hosts copy, etc...
    I think 15~20mo of storage is still fine.

    Changelog:

    Without further ado, check the summarized changelog (it was hard to summarize a one year development)

    • Add new home screen
      • Provides all main controls from one screen
      • Displays currently blocked, allowed and redirected domains
      • Displays current hosts sources status and control to force apply
    • Add non root ad-blocking feature
      • Uses a builtin local VPN to filter DNS request to blocked domains
      • Based on the work of dns66 by julian-klode
      • Allows to excluded system applications and per user applications
    • Add builtin updater with changelog display
    • Add feature to quickly pause and resume ad-blocking
    • Add wizard screen for first run setup
    • Add feature to display and filter all blocked, allowed, redirect domains
    • Improve preferences screen
    • Add broadcast receiver to control ad-blocking from third party applications
    • Update Android target to Android 10
    • Improve root and shell support
    • Split translation files to easier understand their context
    • Add GitHub action test and build tasks

    Download:

    AdAway 5.0.0 beta (sha2: 200fd7789b174735d3af5925b4e568b09475bb3f39a79d24d6617af4b19cd19d)

    If you like my work, feel free to support me. Check my sign for donation links. Thanks all! :highfive: