[APP][ROOT/NONROOT][OFFICIAL] AdAway v6.0.3

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Faerch

New member
Jul 24, 2019
3
0
Hi,

Can anybody help me block "Around the internet" box on Tapatalk boards in Adaway.
When I block it in Ublock Origins on my PC, i get this line "www.tapatalk.com###footer > div".

How would I translate that to a Adaway block string?
 

Danny1976

Senior Member
Sep 27, 2009
725
189
Sanford
I'm going to make an assumption, you're running canary magisk probably latest version 25210. Please correct me if I'm wrong .
Never mind you say so. Restore boot to non root uninstall 25210 install 25209 and re root, don't take update till you see it is 25211.
10 broke all mods
Uninstalled 25210 and installed 25209 and I still get the same error. Have other people fixed it that way?

Edit: it's working now. I guess it needed another reboot after some modules were installed.
 
Last edited:

zgfg

Senior Member
Oct 10, 2016
8,514
6,237
Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
Uninstalled 25210 and installed 25209 and I still get the same error. Have other people fixed it that way?

Edit: it's working now. I guess it needed another reboot after some modules were installed.
Glad to read that it works now

Always, when you install/remove/disable/enable a module, phone must be rebooted (Magisk takes actions on modules only on reboot)

Also, Magisk mounts the systemless copy of your hosts file (AdAway writes to):
/data/adb/modules/hosts/system/etc/hosts
to
/system/etc/hosts

only on reboot - hence if you add something to Allow list, you should reboot to have the given host really allowed

The same holds for updating hosts sources - your new systemless copy of the hosts file will not be mounted to the system's hosts file until you reboot

For that reason I keep all auto-updates in AdAway disabled and every second day or so I manually open AdAway and let it update hosts sources - then I reboot the phone

Then,also, in the root/hosts phone, AdAway does not need to be given Auto start and Battery not-optimized permissions:
- you manually run the update of hosts sources and then you reboot
- on reboot, Magisk mounts the latest update of the hosts file and Android takes it for the built-in DNS resolver

After that, Magisk does nothing (until it will be updating the hosts file next time)

---

Of course, for the non-root/VPN mode it's the opposite

AdAway runs in the background to maintain the VPN

Also, on updating the hosts sources (or adding to Allow list, etc), AdAway will immediately use the newly updated internal hosts file - no need to reboot there
 
Last edited:

Danny1976

Senior Member
Sep 27, 2009
725
189
Sanford
Glad to read that it works now

Always, when you install/remove/disable/enable a module, phone must be rebooted (Magisk takes actions on modules only on reboot)

Also, Magisk mounts the systemless copy of your hosts file (AdAway writes to):
/data/adb/modules/hosts/system/etc/hosts
to
/system/etc/hosts

only on reboot - hence if you add something to Allow list, you should reboot to have the given host really allowed

The same holds for updating hosts sources - your new systemless copy of the hosts file will not be mounted to the system's hosts file until you reboot

For that reason I keep all auto-updates in AdAway disabled and every second day or so I manually open AdAway and let it update hosts sources - then I reboot the phone

Then,also, in the root/hosts phone, AdAway does not need to be given Auto start and Battery not-optimized permissions:
- you manually run the update of hosts sources and then you reboot
- on reboot, Magisk mounts the latest update of the hosts file and Android takes it for the built-in DNS resolver

After that, Magisk does nothing (until it will be updating the hosts file next time)

---

Of course, for the non-root/VPN mode it's the opposite

AdAway runs in the background to maintain the VPN

Also, on updating the hosts sources (or adding to Allow list, etc), AdAway will immediately use the newly updated internal hosts file - no need to reboot there
Thanks for the extensive explanation and educating me. Not many people take the time to educate others and its always good to learn something new. Really appreciated!!! Thanks
 

joefuf

Senior Member
Jun 22, 2010
312
28
Experiencing an issue with AdAway 6.0.3 since I installed the March 2023 security patch where RCS is not working on my Pixel 7 Pro. Even if I have no block lists enabled and the app is just on, it will return an error similar to what this bug captured.


Attempts to send an RCS message with Google Messages kicks back the message with an error: "Not sent, tap for options"

I am running the rooted version. After uninstalling and reinstalling, I am not presented with an option to install the VPN version either.

Not sure if it is related but I had similar Magisk issues that I can see were talked about recently on this thread. I had 25210 and rolled back to 25206. All of my other root functions and modules work fine.

I have attempted to add several DNS addresses to the allowed list, but none of them make a difference


Is this a common or known issue?
 

osm0sis

Senior Recognized Developer / Contributor
Mar 14, 2012
15,310
34,658
Halifax
GT-i9250
Google Nexus 4
Experiencing an issue with AdAway 6.0.3 since I installed the March 2023 security patch where RCS is not working on my Pixel 7 Pro. Even if I have no block lists enabled and the app is just on, it will return an error similar to what this bug captured.


Attempts to send an RCS message with Google Messages kicks back the message with an error: "Not sent, tap for options"

I am running the rooted version. After uninstalling and reinstalling, I am not presented with an option to install the VPN version either.

Not sure if it is related but I had similar Magisk issues that I can see were talked about recently on this thread. I had 25210 and rolled back to 25206. All of my other root functions and modules work fine.

I have attempted to add several DNS addresses to the allowed list, but none of them make a difference


Is this a common or known issue?
We had that issue on Lineage on the OnePlus 9 Pro, and it was binder errors they had to hack around from upstream CAF. It was only after a certain amount of uptime, however. No issues with AdAway default list now that the Lineage devs have resolved that.
 

joefuf

Senior Member
Jun 22, 2010
312
28
We had that issue on Lineage on the OnePlus 9 Pro, and it was binder errors they had to hack around from upstream CAF. It was only after a certain amount of uptime, however. No issues with AdAway default list now that the Lineage devs have resolved that.
So you determined that it was an app issue or a block list problem?

I had been just using my own custom block list until now,


but even that is resulting in the issue.

I've been across several phones and updated with all of the security patches for the last three years, but this is the first time I've encountered the problem.

I had to uninstall for now, but man do I hate how intrusive mobile ads are. This is the first time I've been without AdAway in a long time. I didn't realize how bad the mobile experience is without it.
 

Nergal di Cuthah

Senior Member
Sep 20, 2013
2,019
1,078
Google Pixel 6 Pro
I had to uninstall for now, but man do I hate how intrusive mobile ads are. This is the first time I've been without AdAway in a long time. I didn't realize how bad the mobile experience is without it.
I am running the rooted version. After uninstalling and reinstalling, I am not presented with an option to install the VPN version either.
It didn't give you the option of vpn because instead of uninstalling it (which keeps data) you should have cleared data for adaway, then once it's resetup as a vpn import the lists that you exported before clearing data (a step i could have mentioned at thr beginning of this post but i didn't ).

Edit: found this, helps with vpn but not rooted adaway
https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/a7czep/_/ec20ayi
 
Last edited:

joefuf

Senior Member
Jun 22, 2010
312
28
It didn't give you the option of vpn because instead of uninstalling it (which keeps data) you should have cleared data for adaway,
So I cleared Storage, uninstalled, and rebooted, but when trying to reinstall 6.0.3, it still skips past the Root or VPN step. Is there something else to try? I downgraded to 6.0.2 which gave me the prompt, but had the same RCS issue. It must be something in the March 2023 update then because I've never had this happen before, yet I am surprised to be the only user posting about it. It worked fine on this phone for the first three weeks I had it before the update.
I guess I can try AdGuard. Haven't used any other ad blocking app in a long time.
 

Nergal di Cuthah

Senior Member
Sep 20, 2013
2,019
1,078
Google Pixel 6 Pro
I guess I can try AdGuard. Haven't used any other ad blocking app in a long time.
I was more suggesting to white list in vpn mode those apps mentioned in the adguard thread.
ROOT MODE
If you revert to no hosts and reboot does it let you rcs? In that state adaway is doing nothing so i should guess it would work. I'd test myself but don't use google messages or anything with rcs at this point.
You keep saying march 2023 update, do you mean of your android or adaway. Adaway has not been updated in eight months.
Screenshot_20230317-141252.png
Edit: Can you post the host sites you're using. I'm wondering if ads.google are required by rcs since it can send you adverts iirc.
 
Last edited:

joefuf

Senior Member
Jun 22, 2010
312
28
I was more suggesting to white list in vpn mode those apps mentioned in the adguard thread.
ROOT MODE
If you revert to no hosts and reboot does it let you rcs? In that state adaway is doing nothing so i should guess it would work. I'd test myself but don't use google messages or anything with rcs at this point.
You keep saying march 2023 update, do you mean of your android or adaway. Adaway has not been updated in eight months.
I am referring to the Pixel March 2023 security patch. I received this Pixel 7 Pro at the end of February, rooted with Magisk, and installed/configured AdAway just as I'd had it on my Pixel 6 Pro and my 3a XL before that. No issues with RCS until this week when I flashed the March 2023 update and rooted again (had a small issue with Magisk 25210, but was able to uninstall and return to Magisk 25206 to accomplish this).

Back to AdAway, I can't seem to get a clean uninstall of 6.0.3 that will allow me to reinstall and choose between root or VPN. There must be an app data folder somewhere that I am missing that I need to delete.

I had to drop down to 6.0.1 which I haven't had on this phone before. Made it a VPN setup and excluded all system apps except browsers. It sent and received a few RCS messages fine at first, but now it is waiting to deliver when a contact is online. Sent messages to two different people. Took a minute to send, but finally did.
 

Nergal di Cuthah

Senior Member
Sep 20, 2013
2,019
1,078
Google Pixel 6 Pro
Ok (sorry p6p hasn't gotten march yet so i might be less helpful til rumored march 20)
In chat setting does it say connected. I assume you've not changed phone numbers or sims. Do you have fall back to sms mms turned on (it was default off when i momentarily switched to messages).
I assume you've turned chat off and on. And i assume when you rolled magisk back you also turned back the kernal boot. Running out of troubleshooting tbh.
 
Last edited:

zgfg

Senior Member
Oct 10, 2016
8,514
6,237
Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
So I cleared Storage, uninstalled, and rebooted, but when trying to reinstall 6.0.3, it still skips past the Root or VPN step. Is there something else to try? I downgraded to 6.0.2 which gave me the prompt, but had the same RCS issue. It must be something in the March 2023 update then because I've never had this happen before, yet I am surprised to be the only user posting about it. It worked fine on this phone for the first three weeks I had it before the update.

I guess I can try AdGuard. Haven't used any other ad blocking app in a long time.
I think that AdAway v6.0.3 maybe checks if it was granted root - if yes, then it does not prompt to choose root or non-root

When you uninstall AdAway, it also wipes its Data but the root grant nevertheless remains in Magisk db

Hence wipe AdAway Data or uninstall AdAway, but then additionaly open Superuser list in Magisk and remove AdAway

Then (install and) configure AdAway again, it should prompt then for root or non-root mode
 

osm0sis

Senior Recognized Developer / Contributor
Mar 14, 2012
15,310
34,658
Halifax
GT-i9250
Google Nexus 4
So you determined that it was an app issue or a block list problem?

I had been just using my own custom block list until now,


but even that is resulting in the issue.

I've been across several phones and updated with all of the security patches for the last three years, but this is the first time I've encountered the problem.

I had to uninstall for now, but man do I hate how intrusive mobile ads are. This is the first time I've been without AdAway in a long time. I didn't realize how bad the mobile experience is without it.
Neither. Like I said, it was a ROM issue from upstream CAF that the ROM developers had to hack around. Once that was fixed everything worked fine. I only ever used AdAway default lists but I don't think AdAway had anything to do with it in my case.
 
Last edited:

joefuf

Senior Member
Jun 22, 2010
312
28
Ok (sorry p6p hasn't gotten march yet so i might be less helpful til rumored march 20)
In chat setting does it say connected. I assume you've not changed phone numbers or sims. Do you have fall back to sms mms turned on (it was default off when i momentarily switched to messages).
I assume you've turned chat off and on. And i assume when you rolled magisk back you also turned back the kernal boot. Running out of troubleshooting tbh.
Yeah, it says RCS is connected in Google Messages. Never changed my phone number or SIM card. I can fall back to SMS/MMS, but then I have to turn off/on RCS and disable AdAway to try to get RCS to reengage again.

When I rolled back Magisk, I just uninstalled Magisk, reinstalled the 25206 apk, patched and reflashed the init_boot.img, and I was good with modules again.

I've read about this RCS disable feature, but I have never used it or needed to use it


Not sure if that's what needs to be done or if that is for something else entirely. My old P6P is long gone.

I think that AdAway v6.0.3 maybe checks if it was granted root - if yes, then it does not prompt to choose root or non-root

When you uninstall AdAway, it also wipes its Data but the root grant nevertheless remains in Magisk db

Hence wipe AdAway Data or uninstall AdAway, but then additionaly open Superuser list in Magisk and remove AdAway

Then (install and) configure AdAway again, it should prompt then for root or non-root mode
Interestingly, I went through all of these steps with 6.0.3 installed, and after I wiped storage on the AdAway app (even before I uninstalled the app), it disappeared from the Superuser section of Magisk, so there was nothing to toggle off. I uninstalled again, reinstalled, and it still doesn't prompt for root or non-root. Just skips into the root app upon open and prompts for root permissions.
 

joefuf

Senior Member
Jun 22, 2010
312
28
I note that messages was recently updated

have you tried adaway enabled older version of messages?
Have not. I'm on the beta of Google Messages, so my app gets updates like every other day.

I'm a little hesitant to try that kind of troubleshooting. Without going into it, I have like 20gb of texts on my phone, backing up and restoring everything going back to like 2013 every time I wipe or get a new phone. So Messages will have to cache it all which takes a few hours after a roll back.

I can live with the VPN version for now. Would like to know how to clear user data to get 6.0.3. if the March update comes out for other phones in the next few weeks and it becomes and issue, then I suppose that'll be our answer. If it's still just me, then I guess I'll have to try a new Messages app.
 

joefuf

Senior Member
Jun 22, 2010
312
28
Does it do this on stable? I had no idea you were on beta. I'd look at the change log since you upgraded to android's march 2023 to see if the problem reveals itself.
I'm pretty technical, but even looking at the March 2023 Security Bulletin, I don't really know what I'd be looking for to determine if there's anything in there that might have caused a conflict with Messages/RCS and AdAway.


If there's a changelog for Messages Beta releases, I'm not aware of it.

Strangely, when I woke up today and several times throughout the day, AdAway 6.0.1 running VPN mode with the latest Messages Beta installed started having the same issue. I couldn't send or receive RCS messages. Had to disable the AdAway app to get anything through.

I unenrolled from Beta for the stable version. Currently have messages.android_20230220_00_RC03.phone_dynamic installed. With the same 6.0.1 VPN version, I'm have the same issue. This version was released on March 7, so that predates the release of the March 2023 Pixel update.

Any other ideas?
 

Top Liked Posts

  • 2
    You could try the more up to date displax mod of usnf (2.4.0 mod 1.2) and make sure you've denylisted messages

    Is it possible that an app that's needed got debloated (spitballing again sorry, i do have the update now but dont know anyone i could rcs with. I guess you could pm me your number but that's probably a no no on xda (and kinda a no no personally).
    I can do without Universal SafetyNet Fix realistically. It's just for Google Pay which I hardly ever use because I don't like having any PIN/Pattern lock on my screen. I'm too trusting and prefer just being able to swipe up without even looking to unlock my phone. It's currently uninstalled and I've been fine. Now that I think about it, I guess I haven't tried that combo, so maybe I will try to run AdAway again and see if it is okay as long as Universal SafetyNet Fix is gone.

    Forgot to mention Debloat in my post, but all I removed was Google stuff - YouTube, YouTube Music, Google TV, GMail, and Google Fi. I'm on Verizon. Never had an issue with that, and I've been using it since like ~2018 if I had to guess.

    I'll go one more A/B test round with this config before I start bugging you by texting you every thirty minutes, haha. Appreciate the offer.
    1
    Sorry, I cannot help you with RCS messages (not using) but I'm curious about your saga

    Could you please clarify:

    1) Are you using AdAway in the root mode?
    If you go with a root file explorer like MiXPlorer and open /system/etc/hosts and /etc/hosts files, are them large ones with thousands of lines and do you read on top that they are patched by AdAway?

    2) Blocking ads does work or not for you?

    3) If you pause AdAway (main screen, button on the bottom in the middle) - AdAway screen will change the colour - and upon you reboot, do you still have problems with RCS

    This last one is not related to RCS but if blocking ads generally don't work for you:

    4) Do you maybe have a (textual) file like /etc/nsswitch.conf on your phone?
    Or you could find a similar config file (in that folder?!) - file that defines the order of precedence in resolving hostnames, like:
    hosts: files DNS
    or
    hosts: DNS files


    PS, Test by putting native Private DNS to both, Auto or Off
    Sorry, I had a busy few days.

    I took the time to backup and wipe my Pixel 7 Pro, flashing the March 2023 update to my phone with the Google tool. I think I ended up doing this like four times for various reasons.

    Today, as I was preparing to leave for a week away from home, I had been texting P2 just fine for the last few hours after restoring Magisk and AdAway (root) when I just had this feeling... And yup, RCS was broken again.

    So I disabled AdAway, waited a bit, and that didn't help so I had to reboot. It happened again, so I removed Systemless Hosts from Magisk and uninstalled AdAway. So far, I have been okay.

    Now, I am suspecting that something in the March 2023 Security Update plus Systemless Hosts module from Magisk is the culprit. I nuked this thing so cleanly and multiple times, so I see no way that it can't not be a result of something I am doing.

    The only modules that I have are
    1. Debloat v17.3.3 by veez21
    2. Systemless Hosts directly from Magisk
    3. Universal SafetyNet Fix v2.4.0 by kdrag0n

    I was able to tell that AdAway was affecting my Hosts file when I had it enabled. It was successfully blocking ads. I do not have a /etc/nsswitch.conf file on my phone.

    I tried to use a throwback solution and downloaded DNS66, but that seemed to crash or something on my phone because after loading my block list and opening an app of any kind that used internet, I got "Reconfiguration Error" and I couldn't do anything in the app when I reopen it; it's just frozen.

    At one point, before reflashing, I was able to get AdAway v6.0.3 to allow me to choose VPN even though it was root from the initial install, but I can't seem to retrigger that. I thought it was after removing Systemless Hosts or disabling the module but not removing it, but now that's not helping. Just goes into the root format and doesn't function because it doesn't have the necessary components. And denying it root permissions doesn't do it either.

    Has anyone else updated to the Pixel March 2023 security update on their phone yet? Not sure how small of a population there is here and how many of that population has Pixel phones. Still, after everything was working just fine for so long across so many devices, I'm surprised I am the only one having issues. Can't seem to find any other reports of the "Not sent. Tap for options" error with RCS in the wild.
    1
    You could try the more up to date displax mod of usnf (2.4.0 mod 1.2) and make sure you've denylisted messages

    Is it possible that an app that's needed got debloated (spitballing again sorry, i do have the update now but dont know anyone i could rcs with. I guess you could pm me your number but that's probably a no no on xda (and kinda a no no personally).
  • 7
    Glad to read that it works now

    Always, when you install/remove/disable/enable a module, phone must be rebooted (Magisk takes actions on modules only on reboot)

    Also, Magisk mounts the systemless copy of your hosts file (AdAway writes to):
    /data/adb/modules/hosts/system/etc/hosts
    to
    /system/etc/hosts

    only on reboot - hence if you add something to Allow list, you should reboot to have the given host really allowed

    The same holds for updating hosts sources - your new systemless copy of the hosts file will not be mounted to the system's hosts file until you reboot

    For that reason I keep all auto-updates in AdAway disabled and every second day or so I manually open AdAway and let it update hosts sources - then I reboot the phone

    Then,also, in the root/hosts phone, AdAway does not need to be given Auto start and Battery not-optimized permissions:
    - you manually run the update of hosts sources and then you reboot
    - on reboot, Magisk mounts the latest update of the hosts file and Android takes it for the built-in DNS resolver

    After that, Magisk does nothing (until it will be updating the hosts file next time)

    ---

    Of course, for the non-root/VPN mode it's the opposite

    AdAway runs in the background to maintain the VPN

    Also, on updating the hosts sources (or adding to Allow list, etc), AdAway will immediately use the newly updated internal hosts file - no need to reboot there
    Thanks for the extensive explanation and educating me. Not many people take the time to educate others and its always good to learn something new. Really appreciated!!! Thanks
    7
    Warning:

    If using Systemless Hosts + AdAway (root):

    - Stay with Magisk Canary 25209 or other (older) Magisk Stable/Canary versions

    - Mounting systemless changes to /system/* is broken in Magisk Canary (981ccabb) 25210 - Systemless Hosts (and modules like JamesDSP, V4A AML, etc) will not work

    No problems with Magisk Delta

    Seems that the problem is related to the issue reported for Magisk Canary (25211 with the fix not released yet):
    6
    Just FYI:

    Yesterday I wanted to read one Google/Android technical document but found that domain was blocked

    First we had a discussion (in the other thread), it looked like the given link to the document was broken since few others were also not able to access

    At the end I found that domain was indeed blocked by my AdAway and particularly by the one hosts source (and only that one - not by any other of 11 hosts sources I use):
    blocks:
    developers.google.com

    IMO, there is really no point of blocking the Google's domain for developers with technical docs and guides

    But this is not the first time that I found the same 4PDA hosts source used to block false positive and otherwise useful domain(s) - coincidence or not, it was also during this last year

    Anyway, I had removed now that hosts source from my list. Just another reason to stick with only a few but accountable hosts sources, not to pick whatever else hosts sources could be found on the Net
    6
    I rooted with Magisk Canary 25206. Had the issue above. Did a complete uninstall of Magisk and AdAway. Re-rooted, no joy.

    I updated later to Magisk Canary 25207. This just crashed and left me a bit stuck. I installed Magisk Canary 25207 debug and that version worked, but AdAway still did not.

    Today I installed the latest OP10 pro security update. While I was at it I upgraded to Magisk Canary 25210. Now my systemless hosts was totally busted.

    I had enough of the Canary channel and I uninstalled Magisk (fully) and uninstalled AdAway.

    I re-rooted by patching my boot image with Magisk stable 25200. My phone is now rooted and Adaway works!!!

    As I came here to say this, I saw posts about staying away from 25210. In my opinion 25206+ caused my issues. This isn't a fact. I also installed a security patch which might have reset/ unbroken something... But I don't think so. I think systemless hosts had other issues prior to 25210.

    No worry. 🙂
    Canary builds are not for everyone and every setup.

    Nothing ever said you have to be running the most current of any thing.
    Back in the day, CyanogenMod (the ashes that LineageOS came from) had nightly (weekly?) builds and Milestone builds.
    The Milestone builds were the solid/stable release.

    --

    As for the Magisk issue, it was fixed already.
    The next version of Canary will include the fix.
    Keep in mind, this is the "Fun" part of using test builds.
    We get fixes faster but, we also find errors/issues faster.

    Magisk PR (Fix mkdir #6690) - Link


    Cheers. :cowboy:
    PS.
    For the record, I still run Android 11 on my daily use phone. 🙃
    5
    Uninstalled 25210 and installed 25209 and I still get the same error. Have other people fixed it that way?

    Edit: it's working now. I guess it needed another reboot after some modules were installed.
    Glad to read that it works now

    Always, when you install/remove/disable/enable a module, phone must be rebooted (Magisk takes actions on modules only on reboot)

    Also, Magisk mounts the systemless copy of your hosts file (AdAway writes to):
    /data/adb/modules/hosts/system/etc/hosts
    to
    /system/etc/hosts

    only on reboot - hence if you add something to Allow list, you should reboot to have the given host really allowed

    The same holds for updating hosts sources - your new systemless copy of the hosts file will not be mounted to the system's hosts file until you reboot

    For that reason I keep all auto-updates in AdAway disabled and every second day or so I manually open AdAway and let it update hosts sources - then I reboot the phone

    Then,also, in the root/hosts phone, AdAway does not need to be given Auto start and Battery not-optimized permissions:
    - you manually run the update of hosts sources and then you reboot
    - on reboot, Magisk mounts the latest update of the hosts file and Android takes it for the built-in DNS resolver

    After that, Magisk does nothing (until it will be updating the hosts file next time)

    ---

    Of course, for the non-root/VPN mode it's the opposite

    AdAway runs in the background to maintain the VPN

    Also, on updating the hosts sources (or adding to Allow list, etc), AdAway will immediately use the newly updated internal hosts file - no need to reboot there
  • 3347
    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: