guardianproject / guardianproject/orbot-android
[BUG]Rethink will (auto)start for a few seconds, then get turned off after Orbot (auto)starts.
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- Kotlin
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Description
MY DEVICE = (android tablet) Samsung Galaxy S9 tablet
MY OS = Android 14 _(not_ rooted)
ORBOT = (Latest version) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.torproject.android
RETHINK = (Latest version) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.celzero.bravedns
Rethink's configuration = Default settings, except setting Rethink to "Auto-start when I turn on my device".
Orbot's configuration = Default settings, except setting Orbot to "Auto-start when I turn on my device".
**TO REPRODUCE THE BUG**
I'm using Rethink & Orbot. I have both of them set to "Auto-start" when I turn my tablet on, & for both of them to work at the same time.
**DESCRIBE THE BUG**
My problem (which started on October 22, 2025) is that when I turn on my android tablet, Rethink will start for a few seconds, then Orbot will start & as soon as Orbot starts, Rethink will stop. (I can see this both because of their "Status bar" icons displaying & (in Rethink's case) disappearing, & also because today (October 29, 2025) I pulled down the "Notifications" sub-screen & saw it happen there too.)
This isn't _too_ serious a problem, because I can (& do) open Rethink, press the "Stop" button so that it says "Start" instead, & after that they both work as intended. However, no bug gets fixed if nobody knows about it, so here's a report. Also, I rely on Rethink to completely block "Software update" from the internet, & without Rethink, I'd be out of luck there, so keeping Rethink running is important to me for that reason.
**EXPECTED BEHAVIOR**
Using Rethink & Orbot together _used_ to work fine until October 22, 2025. Therefore, the expected behavior is that they work together _without_ Rethink getting turned off & me needing to manually start Rethink in order to fix the problem. On October 22, 2025, Orbot released their latest version to the Google play store, which I updated to. Therefore, the problem is _probably_ related to Orbot's latest version.
Contributor guide
No contributing guide indexed for this repository
Research direction
Start in the Orbot Android repository by reproducing the reported startup sequence on Android 14: enable auto-start for both Orbot and Rethink, then observe whether Rethink stops when Orbot starts. Compare behavior with the Orbot version released on October 22, 2025; done means both applications remain running without manually restarting Rethink.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- android, kotlin
- Domain
- mobile-dev, security
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100