Hi all,
I would like to use a linux phone with Ubuntu Touch or PostmarketOS to make a sort of mobile modem which, when my laptop connects to the phone’s hotspot, would have Pihole for DNS and a VPN. Is this possible, and which general steps would you recommend to go about it? I have installed PostmarketOS on a Poco F1 and connected to my VPN using openvpn in the terminal, but then when I open a browser on the same phone and check my ip address it shows the address of the wifi I’m connected to, not the VPN. So it seems I have no idea about the architecture of this endeavor.
I hope to have this working by Christmas when I go to visit my parents. The intended internet connection would be
home wifi —> linux phone [some level of privacy]—> my laptop wifi
Thank you in advance!
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This is possible but complete overkill.
Travel router as recommended is the quicker solution.
You can also do this with Android (GrapheneOS for example) out of the box.
Sounds like a travel router with extra steps.
Here is one for $40. Save you all the headache. Just plug in your VPN info and gg.
I’m a Linux user, I like all the extra steps ;)
I think this project requires for your device’s wifi card(s) to be simultaneously serving as a wifi hotspot (technical term is Access Point), and be connected to a wifi. Not every device supports this, and I doubt phones do, but you have to check.
Good point! I think you located the problem, thank you!
Using it in tethering mode over a USB cable might be a better option, I use it all the time instead of a wifi hotspot
This is a great idea, I’ll give it a try. I have never tethered an internet connection via USB… is it easy? I’m using debian.
It’s very easy, consuming USB tethering support is built into all Linux distros.
You just enable it (on the Android phone), plug it in, and then your computer will detect it as an ethernet connection.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Android_tethering
Android is easy and requires no config on Debian’s side. Iphone’s require some support, although I think many distros preinstall the needed tools: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/IPhone_tethering
USB tethering from Linux (or a Linux phone) should be possible as well, via NetworkManager: https://fedoramagazine.org/internet-connection-sharing-networkmanager/
