I’m using the wired USB tethering to share internet with my computer. I also have an always-on VPN with killswitch enabled on my Pixel with Android 15.
The problem is that the VPN connection is being bypassed completely and giving the computer the normal WiFi connection. How can I fix this?
You can only do this with a rooted device and an app specifically for that. Or you can use travel router to accomplish this - depending on your needs.
Run a VPN on the computer.
I don’t think there’s a fix without rooting.
Same thing happens if you try to run VPN over hotspot.
Yes, you must do it from the computer.
I was searching to see if anything had changed. Guess not.
I travel a lot and oftentimes have to deal with georestrictions hindering my ability to manage day to day tasks.
I carry two phones. 1 rooted with VPN hotspot connected to my home and one non rooted so I don’t have issues with public transit apps which must have something to hide because they check EVERYTHING to make sure you’re not rooted.
Anyway… VPN hotspot is your friend.
To me as a developer the common sense assumption when “block connections without VPN” is on, would be that the hotspot goes through it too. I think even to average people that would be the common sense assumption. So when Google decides to go against common sense and gaslight you it usually means its a feature that would benefit the average consumer significantly if they had convenient access to it.
Just like call recording and It’s no different in this case.
I think the reason is that from the cellular carriers perspective phone VPN’ed hotspot usage cannot be distinguished from non-tethered traffic, many carriers want to be able to bill/track hotspot usage separately…
I’ve heard the concern is not Google but cellular providers. Cellular providers don’t want people “abusing” unlimited plans by sharing the data to other devices. A lot of carriers at least in the US charge extra for mobile hotspot data and have exclusions in their phone data policies about unlimited data being shared to other devices. Then a VPN might obscure things even further from phone networks about how their data is being used.
So it seems like Google is bending the knee to phone networks here.
Thats the general consensus but I do think its a cop out.
Google kind of does whatever it wants without worrying about other companies. Im sure they have more leverage one way or another to not care one bit about what mobile carriers think.
Also the way that works is via TTL which Google could still easily reimplement in a way that allows for their garbage pricing models to continue working.
Even if they couldn’t they could allow it on wifi hotspots only.
Well at least it works with a rooted phone. Or just buy a travel router