PPTP implementation coming soon to Ubuntu Phones

Jan 6, 2016 19:20 GMT  ·  By

Many Ubuntu Phone users asked Canonical to implement VPN (Virtual Private Network) support on the Ubuntu Touch mobile operating system, and initial OpenVPN support landed on Christmas Eve last year.

However, there was no UI (User Interface) available at that point in time, which will be integrated into the Ubuntu System Settings app of Ubuntu Touch. Thus, Pete Woods just released a few minutes ago, January 6, 2016, a prototype UI that you can install as we speak on your Ubuntu Phone device.

"As some of you may already know. Support for OpenVPN was landed into rc-proposed on 24/12/2015. Unfortunately, this doesn't include the official UI that is part of ubuntu-system-settings," said Pete Woods. "So here I'm including a prototype UI in a click that will let you try it out."

Here's how to install the OpenVPN UI on your Ubuntu Phone

First of all, you should make sure that you're using the rc-proposed channel on your Ubuntu Phone, where the OpenVPN implementation is available, as well as to be on at least r202 for Arale (Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition) or r213 for Krillin (BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition).

Then, you will need to download Pete Woods' OpenVPN UI click app, enable developer mode in Settings -> About, and install it on your Ubuntu Phone device following the instructions provided below. To set up a VPN connection, first copy the required certificates on the device using the standard Ubuntu file manager.

code
adb push com.ubuntu.developer.pete-woods.vpn-editor_0.2.0_all.click /tmp
adb shell "pkcon install-local --allow-untrusted /tmp/com.ubuntu.developer.pete-woods.vpn-editor_0.2.0_all.click"
The "VPN Editor" app will be available on the Apps Scope, fire it up and create a new VPN connection. Choose an authentication type and select the certificates you've uploaded earlier. In the near feature, the "VPN Editor" app will receive PPTP support, so make sure that you follow our Linux news section regularly for updates.