I am using an Android phone as a hotspot to connect my laptop to the internet. Both devices show an active ProtonVPN connection, but each to a different Proton server. I believe I was told that in this situation the laptop is connected through a VPN tunnel, but the phone is not. Or am I connected through a tunnel within a tunnel? Can someone clarify what’s going on?
If you are a paid user, then you will be able to have more than 1 connection at a time whereas if you are a free user, you can only have one connection at a time.
This may be completely wrong so im actually curious to hear from others if this is correct… It’s how i worked it out in my own head and if its correct then maybe its a pretty damn good explanation idk –
“I do the same thing. My understanding is that the hotspot connection is a completely different connection, from a different tower and everything. So when you turn hotspot on you are turning your phone into a router for your other device. So your phone is using “connection A” and you have your vpn on and running. Then you turn on hotspot and connection B is now available for your laptop, so your laptop connects to connection B and you use vpn on your laptop connection as well etc.
You can visualize it all by looking at these things as people - when you switch hotspot on; Phone calls ConnectB and says hey come over i want to introduce you to somebody. So ConnectB comes over and meets Laptop… and ConnectB and Laptop really hit it off and are connected now, all thanks to Phone for introducing them. Meanwhile Phone has always had and continues to have their own relationship with ConnectA.”
I pay, but the situation is a little more complicated. I’m using the phone as a hotspot.
Which server am I really connected to? The phone app shows data use consistent with my laptop use, as if connected through the phone VPN, but the laptop shows me connected to a different Proton server than the phone app.
And I just noticed that the desktop app shows zero data use, but again, shows me connected to a different server than the phone.
Am I connected through a tunnel within a tunnel?
Can you further explain this. I just signed up for the free plan and have both my phone and laptop connected via VPN right now. What does the 1 connection at a time mean?
So to answer your question more directly… Both devices use vpn but they are completely unrelated, they’re “not touching each other”… Connection B and the phone have very little interaction whatsoever, just enough for connectionB to get to laptop, so it doesn’t run through the phone vpn or anything like that if that’s what your wondering or thinking. Its like connectionB walks to phone and they give each other a high five and then continue on. AGAIN - I MAY BE TOTALLY OFF HERE.
If I remember correctly, android VPN settings dont apply to devices tethered on the hotspot. So, a VPN would still be required. You can test this easily by seeing what your IP is on your laptop without VPN and run a whois on the IP.
I did some IP look up while turning VPN on and off on both devices, and you seem to be (almost) right. It’s confusing.
VPN turned on on both devices shows my laptop connection to Total Server Solutions, which is a Proton server, and phone VPN connection to M247 Ltd, another Proton server. But laptop data I use is shown on the phone app only. Laptop VPN app shows 0 data use. I am not using the phone with any apps, just as a hotspot. So the laptop data I’m using should be logically shown on the laptop app, which shows the Total Server connection, which I confirmed with IP lookup.
So I guess the VPN apps are confused about data usage, but I can trust that my laptop is connected to a Proton server.
Not sure why the phone app shows laptop data usage and connection to M247, which is not the server shown on laptop IP lookup.
It’s pretty confusing.
The ProtonVPN phone app reflects my laptop data usage and shows me connected to M247 Ltd, a Proton server. But my laptop IP lookup shows me connected to Total Server Solutions, another Proton server, while the laptop app is showing 0 data usage.
Not sure which ProtonVPN app shows the correct information.
This may be a bug in how the app counts data usage. They should be separate. Tt seems the VPNs are working correctly though.