I’d like to ask a question and explanation on why do I need to configure the Private DNS requirement to use Blokada Plus? Why can’t I just set it to Auto/Off (default settings) to use it? Why is it necessary for the VPN to function?
I find it annoying that a lot of times whenever i turned off the VPN/Blokada Plus and leave the Private DNS with the xxx.cloud.blokada.org somehow my net got cut off with “Private DNS cannot be accessed” or even got cut off without that pop-up (also not to mention the massive sudden spike ms pings on games app even without the VPN turned on).
Thanks in advance for all the help and information.
Thanks for reaching out with your question.
While it’s not essential for standard VPN functionalities, Blokada’s main feature is its ad- and tracker-blocking. We’ve moved to cloud-based filtering with Blokada 6, hence the need for our DNS service to fully enable all its features.
Regarding the network issues you mentioned, it would be helpful to know how you’re disabling Blokada Plus. Are you using the switch on the app’s home screen, or another method?
Also, after you encounter these issues, could you wait a few minutes to see if the connection recovers on its own? How often would you say this problem occurs when you toggle the VPN on and off?
Thanks for the reply, i see so its necessary for the ad- and tracker-blocking feature. Regarding the network issues, I’m turning on/off the VPN using the toggle from control center of my Android phone (I’m using a Xiaomi device POCO M4 Pro with Android 13). I find it more easy and quick to use that toggle instead of opening the app and closing it right after whenever i need to use the VPN.
Also, usually it wont recover on its own until i switch back the Private VPN on the settings to Off. Only until then i could use my net again. It happened very often, especially whenever my phone automatically switch from one network to the other (wifi to wifi, wifi to cell, and vice versa).
But its not like i cant use the VPN thereafter, cs after i turned the Private VPN to Off to regain access, i can still just switch it back again to the Blokada Private DNS and use the VPN again. Its just that its very annoying to do this over and over again whenever it happened (and it always did).
Is there any plans from the team that could resolves this in the future? I’m sorry cs i obviously dont know anything about the tech behind it, I’m just hopeful to not have to do this over and over along the period I’m using Blokada. Thanks for the time!
Thank you for providing more details on how you’re using Blokada.
It seems like this might be a device-specific issue. The Private DNS feature relies on the DNS client provided by the Android OS, and it looks like it’s not reconnecting properly in your case. Unfortunately, we don’t have direct control over this aspect of the Android system.
To help mitigate this issue, I’d recommend a few steps:
Make sure your device is updated with the latest system updates available.
As a workaround, try toggling airplane mode on and off when you face this issue. This can sometimes help reset the network connection.
Also, experiment with toggling Blokada Plus on and off from within the app itself, to see if that makes any difference.
Make sure you’re not running any other VPN or firewall types of apps, they might conflict with Blokada.
I hope this helps, keep us updated on how this works out for you