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

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DecypherT

Senior Member
Jul 14, 2013
181
52
@j1gga84, Adaway works and ad block plus in most cases does not.
Also ad block plus didn't work on my nexus 4, it shutted off 3G constantly after enabling it.

Send from my Nexus 4
 
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Croatoan®

Member
Jul 8, 2013
9
1
@j1gga84, Adaway works and ad block plus in most cases does not.
Also ad block plus didn't work on my nexus 4, it shutted off 3G constantly after enabling it.

Send from my Nexus 4

I have latest adaway and I have only problem with one app (Caynax A6W). It'says that I buy PRO version or stop blocking ads.
I have two questions:
1) How can app (without root) know if I use adblocker even in airplane mode?
2) Can I whitelist this app (it doesn't have intrusive ads) ?
 

Shinyhead

Senior Member
Jun 18, 2010
220
42
Fullerton
I have latest adaway and I have only problem with one app (Caynax A6W). It'says that I buy PRO version or stop blocking ads.
I have two questions:
1) How can app (without root) know if I use adblocker even in airplane mode?
2) Can I whitelist this app (it doesn't have intrusive ads) ?

1. most likely it is checking to see if valid data is coming back from the ad url or checking if the ad url isn't a local ip
2. you can whitelist the app just have to find all the urls to whitelist
 
Last edited:

bleached45

Senior Member
Nov 16, 2010
1,032
470
Michigan
For those of you that don't know, the looping issue with it trying to apply hosts and getting stuck is somehow related to the hide reboot dialog option. If you make sure the box is unchecked, then clear the app cache in android app settings and restart the app (I'll be fully honest, I don't remember the exact process, I may have reverted (disabled) hosts after that and rebooted) it should work. I have 2.8 on kitkat running nicely. Can confirm ads are blocked and YouTube works.
 

DecypherT

Senior Member
Jul 14, 2013
181
52
I have latest adaway and I have only problem with one app (Caynax A6W). It'says that I buy PRO version or stop blocking ads.
I have two questions:
1) How can app (without root) know if I use adblocker even in airplane mode?
2) Can I whitelist this app (it doesn't have intrusive ads) ?

Some apps detect an ad blocker. Don't know how.

1. What do you mean with, 'without root'? Adaway needs root and root is not per app based. Your complete phone is rooted or it isn't. Perhaps you mean SU permission?

If it detects your ad blocker I don't know what to do.

There could be a way, but that way isn't to be shared here. Sounds a bit weird I know.




Send from my Nexus 4
 
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dagosjt

Senior Member
Dec 12, 2006
300
26
Roma
For those of you that don't know, the looping issue with it trying to apply hosts and getting stuck is somehow related to the hide reboot dialog option. If you make sure the box is unchecked, then clear the app cache in android app settings and restart the app (I'll be fully honest, I don't remember the exact process, I may have reverted (disabled) hosts after that and rebooted) it should work. I have 2.8 on kitkat running nicely. Can confirm ads are blocked and YouTube works.

Thanks, I can confirm you are right.I had the looping issue and solved following your indication, that is I unchecked hide reboot box, disabled hosts, cleared cache and finally everything worked fine!
 
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Pons

Senior Member
Sep 2, 2010
3,932
2,067
I have latest adaway and I have only problem with one app (Caynax A6W). It'says that I buy PRO version or stop blocking ads.
I have two questions:
1) How can app (without root) know if I use adblocker even in airplane mode?
2) Can I whitelist this app (it doesn't have intrusive ads) ?
Pretty much this:
1. most likely it is checking to see if valid data is coming back from the ad url or checking if the ad url isn't a local ip
2. you can whitelist the app just have to find all the urls to whitelist

And @
Some apps detect an ad blocker. Don't know how.

1. What do you mean with, 'without root'? Adaway needs root and root is not per app based. Your complete phone is rooted or it isn't. Perhaps you mean SU permission?

If it detects your ad blocker I don't know what to do.

There could be a way, but that way isn't to be shared here. Sounds a bit weird I know.

1. I think he means an app which doesn't use/request/gets denied root. And answered above (most likely).
 
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Croatoan®

Member
Jul 8, 2013
9
1
Some apps detect an ad blocker. Don't know how.

1. What do you mean with, 'without root'? Adaway needs root and root is not per app based. Your complete phone is rooted or it isn't. Perhaps you mean SU permission?

If it detects your ad blocker I don't know what to do.

There could be a way, but that way isn't to be shared here. Sounds a bit weird I know.

Send from my Nexus 4

I meant SU permission :) Adblock plus can be relatively easy detected on PC. But how can app on android read host file without SU permision. On PC program can't "see" my host file, but on android it looks like app can see host file :( Adaway is excellent at blocking ads, but you always have a function what you want in future. It would be nice to see whitelisting app.
 

Garry1313

Senior Member
Sep 3, 2011
67
5
I have installed it on my USC S3, post applying the host files, it asks for restart. When Opened after restart, it shows ad blocking disable. Tried many times but to no resort.

Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk 4
 

michele72

Senior Member
May 30, 2010
93
40
Nexus 6
Xiaomi Poco F1
Couldn't get this to work, so I successfully experimented with the preferences, I hope that this could help people experiencing the same problems:
- goto preferences
- target hosts file
- select the second option "data/data/hosts"
- go back to the main screen download updates, it will detect that a simlink is missing, choose to create it and reboot.
- everything works perfectly now.

The reason why for most phones the first default option "system/etc/hosts" doesn't work, is most likely due to permissions (for instance system mounted as r/o etc).
 
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gorilla p

Recognized Contributor
Nov 30, 2011
3,698
2,854
STL
Xiaomi Mi Pad 4
OnePlus Nord N10 5G
I was skeptical this would work but I followed the instructions and it worked fine.
1 I made sure busybox was installed.
2 I downloaded adaway 2.7 (not 2.8) and installed
3 ran the first time and let it fail
4 go to apps, force close, clear data
5 reopen ad away and select download and apply updates (don't check for updates first)
If it doesn't work at first, try force closing, clearing data and retrying a couple times.
Working for me on rooted 4.4 on my N4.
 
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  • 1
    I use Adaway non-rooted via VPN on a xiaomi redmi note 13 pro+. It works fine, except that it does not automatically start after a reboot. Any ideas why not?

    I did:
    • Selected "Background autostart"
    • Set Battery saver to "No restrictions"
    • Set Always-on VPN in preferences
    • Set Block connections without VPN" in preferences
    Ever since I set the Always-on VPN, I get a message after reboot (before providing the unlock code for the first time): "Disconnected from always-on VPN — Change network or VPN settings".

    Adaway is supposed to start automatically after a reboot, right?

    Thanks for helping!
    Most probably an android problem. Maybe open an issue report on GitHub.
    1
    I have been using Adaway, both rooted and non root versions, for several years. My phone broke last week, and while I wait for a replacement I am using a borrowed stock Oneplus 9. It is running Android 14, with no other VPN apps. When I install Adaway, it installs the root version, so I get a systemless host error. It used to install the correct version automatically, is there any way to force it to install the non root version?
    It's always blatently (NEVER automatically )asks me on a data clear, just tried it and got
    Screenshot_20240415-164536.png
    Clear data and choose vpn if you want vpn
  • 3364
    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: