I was Booted off of CFL for Buying a new cell phone

[Randy W]

Astrill claims to allow "an unlimited number of devices" within the same household, but I ran into problems when trying to connect only 3 (my computer, and the old and the new cell phones).

 

This was the explanation I got from Astrill -

Quote

Please note that you can connect an unlimited amount of devices to Astrill, but only 5 devices can be connected at the same time, and only 10 devices can be authorized to log in.
This usually happens when you are connecting more devices or using OpenWeb and switching to a different server as the previous session takes some time to be destroyed; you can also try using this link to remove unnecessary sessions your self: https://astrillcn.com/member-zone/tools/active-sessions
OpenWeb is state-less. This means the only way for it to work, is to create a session when you LOG IN to the app, not when you connect. This session stays for the whole duration of being logged in.

So when you log in, you create an OpenWeb session which must "stay for the whole duration of being logged in". Using a different protocol sets up a SECOND session, which is the one you are using. BOTH sessions must remain active, unless you stick with the OpenWeb protocol. For OpenWeb protocol, only the one session is required, and you can activate up to 5 connections simultaneously.

Edited February 5, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

The good news is that Samsung phones in China come already set up to use Google services, but only the Google Calendar Sync, Google Contacts Sync, and Google services apps are pre-installed. I saw this on Jiaying's phone, so I figured (correctly) that it would be safe to buy one myself, and install the Google Play and the Google Play Services apps myself.

The Google services only work when you are using a VPN (NOT included with the phone).

That worked fine, until I started downloading apps from the Play Store, and went back to my old phone, along with the computer. After the first batch of downloads finished, I was then "unable to connect to Google Services" on the new phone, which took me down a rabbit hole of user "advice" on how to deal with THAT problem.

A week later, I tried the "tunnel ALL apps" option on Astrill. That finally restored the connection and I was able to finish setting up the phone without having to resort to a factory reset. I prefer the Astrill "Exclude Selected Apps" option to allow access to Chinese apps like WeChat, Amaps, TaoBao, and AliPay without changing my VPN settings.

Sigh.

Edited February 5, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

The thing to watch for with Astrill is that you can exceed the 5 sessions limit with only 3 devices. They kick off the oldest session, which you may not notice until you go back to that device.

After a few back and forth emails with their support, though, it seems to be working like it should. I've been able to connect 7 different sessions, with 4 different devices. I guess I need to keep a closer eye on that "Active Sessions" page.

[Randy W]

The Astrill web page describes their various protocols. Most VPN services (e.g., Witopia) use the OpenVPN protocol, which is very easy to block, especially when they connect on the dedicated OpenVPN port 1194. Astrill allows connection from a non-Astrill client through OpenVPN, but, like they say, "Since OpenVPN does not aim to hide its traffic, it is easily detectable by automated firewall systems and frequently blocked and throttled. E.g. it is often blocked in China."

When using the Astrill client, they support a proprietary modified version of OpenVPN that they call StealthVPN, which "performs an additional obfuscation of traffic which makes it undetectable for automated firewall systems". Their basic protocol is called OpenWeb, which "is very hard to detect by DPI (deep packet inspection)."

see VPN Protocols on Astrill's web site.

Edited February 5, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)