-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 81
13. Trouble Shooting
If you see "VPN Manager for OpenVPN is not currently supported on this hardware platform." then it most probably means you're trying to run this on an Android platform. Stop trying, it doesn't work.
If you see a message telling you that the VPN you're trying to connect to has been deprecated, then you can raise an issue with the latest set of .ovpn files that are needed to update it, or you can download the .ovpn files you need from your provider and use the User Defined wizard.
I can't fix a deprecated VPN unless the latest .opvn files are sent to me so if you're not able or willing to do that, please don't raise an issue telling me it's broken - that would be why the VPN is marked as deprecated.
This add-on relies on the openvpn , killall and pidof executables being installed and working in order to function.
If you see an error message telling you, for example, "The OpenVPN executable isn't working" then the problem is just that.
It's really unlikely you'll see this on LibreELEC as the executables are packaged with the LibreELEC install. If you see this on other Linux platforms then you need to revisit the Installation wiki page and use the command line to try and debug the problem.
If you're running Windows, then it's probably just that you failed to check the box which adds to the openvpn executable to the path. Check this by opening a command prompt and typing 'openvpn'. If it returns a bunch of info then the openvpn binary is on the path. If it claims it cannot be found then you can google all about Windows paths to fix this. You'll need to know the directory that the openvpn binary is installed so you can add it to the path.
If you see an error message telling you "The OpenVPN executable isn't writing out a log.", then you most likely need to change the openvpn log file location in the Settings/Advanced tab.
If the connection to a VPN fails and the dialog box isn't helpful, then you have the ability to view the VPN log, either as part of the connection process or via the Advanced tab on the settings menu. If the VPN log isn't much help, then the Kodi log, also available on via the Advanced tab could also have more information as to what's failing.
If it says auth error (ie authentication error), then it's very very likely a problem with the credentials that you've supplied. Check that your VPN provider doesn't use a different ID and password to those you use to authenticate with their website. Check that you've entered the data correctly and if you're using a remote app, that it's not added a space to the end of the text fields. If you're being asked to supply a key and a cert, pay attention to the dialog and determine whether you need to supply a single key and cert for all connections, or if each connection has their own unique key and cert.
If it's not an auth error, you should start by googling the errors that you're seeing. TLS errors are common and are usually related to problems with your network (e.g. TLS negotiation error).
If your ISP or network firewalls are blocking access, you chould also try connecting using alternative ports or TCP (assuming you're using UDP as the default), providing your provider supports other protocols and ports (check their website).
Another easy thing to check would be your system time and date as one user commented that his time and date were (very) incorrectly set, causing certificate errors. The add-on has been updated to fix the time with something better, but this may not always work.
If you're running on a build of Linux that's not LE, then check that you've met all of the IP provider requirements. Not meeting these requirements can cause connections to not start or connections to hang.
Some newer versions of LE running on 32 bit platforms have a bug which prevent connection with a certificate error when the certificate expires past 2038. An example of this problem is documented here. This is not an add-on issue, this is a problem with the SSL libraries in combination with the certificate being used. The fix is to use an older version of LE, (or get your provider to change their certificate...)
If the connection works, but then takes some time to determine the location, then it could either be an issue with your network, a problem with your DNS or a issue with the VPN you're using not allowing access to the service used to determine the location.
If an IP location service cannot be accessed, another one will be used. Alternatively, you can force which IP provider to use. If all of them fail, then chances are other connections will fail and your VPN is not usable/needs to be debugged.
A common issue with some Linux distros is the DNS not being set after connection. See this issue here and this link here. If you have this problem you can use the Potential DNS fix option to attempt to fix it.
If the Potential DNS fix option fails, then determine why this is and whether you have the right dependencies installed on the right path. If you can identify another way to force the DNS files to be updated then you can fix it yourself by creating an APPEND.txt file to add additional VPN parameters. You also might want to review your firewall settings for port blocking issues, and use the tools appropriate to your platform to see what DNS servers are being used.
This thread and this thread also may help.
If you have connections that are prone to failing then consider using connectivity checking.
The next stage of debug, especially where you're using User Defined profiles is to call openvpn via the command line directly. If you don't know how to do this, google 'ssh kodi putty'. Navigate to the addon directory (for LibreELEC this is /storage/.kodi/addons/service.vpn.manager/), cd to the directory of the provider that you're using (e.g UserDefined)and you should see a bunch of .ovpn files. You can open one of these in a text editor to see that it looks good, and you can try and use it directly using openvpn <profile_name>.ovpn. This will eliminate the possibility that the add-on is doing something wrong and allow you to focus on problems with the .ovpn file.
For User Defined, if you find that the .ovpn files are bad - maybe a path or tag has resolved incorrectly - then you should edit the copy in the User Defined directory you uploaded them to (for LibreELEC this is /storage/.kodi/userdata/addon_data/service.vpn.manager/UserDefined). Once you've done this, using the Reset VPN provider files option will clear the directory. Attempting to validate a connection again will cause the files to be re-copied with any tags updated. If you edit the copy in the addons path, this edit will be lost if the files are regenerated, or the add-on is upgraded.
If you cannot connect to a provider with the User Defined option, then please don't raise an issue with this add-on (I'm not going to become your network administrator), take it up with your VPN provider.
If you have a problem that you want to get help with then it's likely you'll have to gather a Kodi log. Debugging problems without a log is challenging and will likely mean you just don't get any help.
Switch on the debug option in Settings/Advanced/Debug. Reboot your Kodi box (this clears the log). And then recreate the issue you're seeing. Once you've done this, you'll need to copy the log off of the Kodi box. DO NOT SWITCH ON KODI DEBUG as it will swamp the log and render it difficult to interpret.
The location of the log will depend on the hardware and operating system you're using. You can use Google to work out where the log is located based on the hardware you're using.
Alternatively there's an option in the Settings/Advanced tab to copy log files onto a local source (e.g. network drive or USB key). If you don't understand how to add a source, then you can use Google to work that out too.
When you have the log, use a service such as pastebin and provide a link to it. Logs provided as attachments or zips are unlikely to get viewed for obvious reasons.
LibreELEC also has some nice built in automated log gathering. You can read about it here.