Choosing the Right VPN for UBports

UBports’ Ubuntu Touch fork runs on phones and tablets, uses the Lomiri (formerly Unity 8) interface, and is aimed at enthusiasts comfortable with a little command-line work. Out of the box, its root filesystem is mounted read-only and there’s no built-in NetworkManager GUI for VPNs, so most VPN setups happen via CLI tools either in a Libertine container or on the host after enabling developer mode and remounting the system partition read-write.

Key UBports specifics to bear in mind:

• Package manager: apt (Debian/Ubuntu base), normally in a Libertine container unless you remount / as writable in developer mode.
• Architecture: ARM64 (aarch64) or ARMHF, so choose VPN clients compiled for ARM.
• Environment: Lomiri desktop Terminal app, touchscreen-optimized, no NetworkManager GUI.
• Typical user: power user happy with CLI, doesn’t mind editing configs and managing services via systemd or openvpn directly.

Given those constraints, the most suitable VPN services are:

• ProtonVPN – official ARM-compatible CLI, supports WireGuard OpenVPN.
• Mullvad – Debian/Ubuntu ARM64 .deb package with WireGuard support.
• IVPN – offers OpenVPN/WireGuard configs you can run with the default openvpn or wg-quick.

Feature Comparison

Installation Configuration

1. ProtonVPN CLI

ProtonVPN offers an official CLI that installs via Python’s pip and apt. You’ll need developer mode enabled and sufficient space in your Libertine container or on the host after remounting / read-write.

1. Enable developer mode in UBports settings, connect via adb or SSH.
2. Remount system partition (host install) or open your Libertine container’s shell.

# Remount host rootfs read-write (if you choose host install)
sudo mount -o remount,rw /
# Update and install dependencies
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y python3-pip openvpn
# Install ProtonVPN CLI
sudo pip3 install protonvpn-cli
# Initialise ProtonVPN (follow interactive prompts)
sudo protonvpn init

After initialization, connect with:

# List profiles
protonvpn status
# Connect
protonvpn c --fastest

2. Mullvad App

Mullvad publishes ARM64 Debian packages, making it straightforward to install under UBports.

1. Download the ARM64 .deb on-device or PC.
2. Transfer it via scp into your Libertine container or host filesystem.
3. Install with apt or dpkg.

# Inside Libertine or host after remount
sudo apt update
# If dpkg is missing dependencies:
sudo apt install -f
# Install the downloaded package
sudo dpkg -i mullvad-vpn-app__arm64.deb
# Install missing deps, if any
sudo apt install -f
# Launch Mullvad CLI
mullvad status
# Connect (replace XXXXXX with your account number)
mullvad connect XXXXXX

3. IVPN via OpenVPN/WireGuard

IVPN doesn’t have a bespoke ARM client, but you can use the default openvpn or wg-quick. Download their config bundle and run directly.

# Install core tools
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y openvpn wireguard-tools
# Create a directory for IVPN configs
mkdir -p ~/ivpn  cd ~/ivpn
# On a PC, download your IVPN config bundle and transfer it here,
# or use curl on-device if you have a link
# curl -O https://www.ivpn.net/download/ivpn-configs.tar.gz
tar xzf ivpn-configs.tar.gz
# Connect with OpenVPN
sudo openvpn --config ivpn-.ovpn
# Or for WireGuard (choose a .conf)
sudo wg-quick up ivpn-.conf

Adjust the server file names and paths to match what you extracted. You’ll be prompted for your IVPN username/password if using OpenVPN.

Final Tips

• Keep your Libertine container tidy—remove unneeded packages to save space.
• If you experience network drops, check the built-in firewall (ufw) or disable IPv6 to prevent leaks.
• Use systemd or simple shell scripts in /etc/init.d/ to automate VPN connections at startup.

With these CLI-focused providers and a little UBports know-how, you’ll secure your mobile experience without relying on a heavyweight GUI. Happy browsing!