Install and connect VilaNet on Android

This guide takes you from the official download to a working first connection. VilaNet requires Android 7.0 or later. Google Play is the recommended install method; an official APK is available as a fallback.

Before you start

You need:

• a phone or tablet running Android 7.0 or later;
• a working internet connection; and
• your VilaVPN account email address and password.

If you do not have an active VilaVPN package, sign in to your account on the VilaVPN website to purchase or renew one before trying to connect.

1. Download and install VilaNet

Recommended: Google Play

1. Open the official VilaNet page on Google Play.
2. Confirm that the app is VilaNet.
3. Select Install.
4. Wait for installation to finish, then select Open.

You can also start from the official VilaVPN downloads page.

Fallback: official direct APK

Use the APK only if Google Play is unavailable. For version 2.12.82, the official file is:

• VilaNet-for-Android-2.12.82.apk
• SHA-256: 00c7845a74a7796d91eaeaccfa02f27d31086de52c1661f3a80c825d86aeb861

To install it:

1. Download the APK using the link above.
2. If your browser warns that the file type can install apps, continue only after confirming that the URL is on github.com/vilavpn/vilanet and the filename exactly matches the one above.
3. Open the downloaded APK.
4. If Android blocks the install, follow the system link to permit this one source to install unknown apps, then return to the APK.
5. Select Install, then Open.
6. For better security, turn off the browser's Install unknown apps permission after VilaNet is installed.

Settings names vary among Android manufacturers. Do not disable Play Protect or install an APK with a different filename or checksum. Advanced users can verify the downloaded file with a SHA-256 tool before opening it.

2. Sign in

1. Open VilaNet. It opens on the Login tab (Register is the tab beside it).
2. Enter your VilaVPN account email address in the E-mail field.
3. Enter your account password in the Password field. It is always shown as dots; the eye icon on the right toggles it.
4. Select the I have read and agree to: checkbox — the Terms of Use (EULA) and Privacy Agreement links sit directly under it and are worth reading first. Ticking the box immediately opens the data-consent dialog Allow minimal data to provide VPN service?.
5. Review the message. Select the blue Allow if you agree and want to continue.
6. Select the white Login button.

Remember me is ticked by default.

VilaNet should open the main screen after a successful login. If the account does not have an active package, the app may instead show the appropriate purchase or renewal flow.

Sign-in recording and step-by-step screenshots

The sign-in screen is the same interface on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux. The recording and screenshots below come from the English interface of VilaNet v2.14.6 (core 1.13.14-cc9ce62ff), in the same narrow layout used on Android phones and tablets (it was filmed by narrowing a desktop window down to the phone layout, which is why there is a window title bar at the top that your device does not have; everything else is identical).

This recording and these screenshots come from an official demo session marked FIXTURE: the account (tutorial-user@example.com), nodes, latency, data usage and IP are all example data, the password is only ever shown as dots, and no real server is contacted while filming. The on-screen wording and the steps match the VilaNet you installed.

What the login screen looks like. Login and Register tabs at the top; the E-mail and Password fields in the middle (their names sit inside the fields as placeholders while they are empty); below them the already-ticked Remember me and, on the right, Forgot Password?; then the I have read and agree to: checkbox with the Terms of Use (EULA) and Privacy Agreement links; and at the bottom the white Login button, the wing logo and a Diagnostics link.

The data-consent dialog that ticking the agreement opens. It is titled Allow minimal data to provide VPN service? and lists what is sent (account credentials, device model and OS version, VPN errors only, crash logs) as well as what is explicitly not logged or sent (browsing history, DNS queries, IP addresses after VPN connection, traffic content). At the bottom are a blue Allow and a red-outlined Don't Allow; the recording chooses Allow.

This dialog is opened by ticking the agreement checkbox — it is not a login failure. Choosing Allow closes it and returns you to the filled-in form with the agreement now ticked, ready for Login.

Signing in does not ask for the VPN permission: the system VPN prompt appears the first time you tap Connect, in step 4 below.

3. Choose a server

1. Open Server Nodes.
2. Choose Auto Select for your first connection. It lets VilaNet select an available server automatically.
3. If you need a particular location, choose that server instead.
4. Return to the main screen.

Start with Auto Select unless a particular website or task requires a specific location. You can change the selection later.

4. Allow VPN access and connect

1. Select Connect on the main screen.
2. On the first connection, Android should display a system VPN connection request. Read it and approve it if you want VilaNet to create the VPN.
3. Android may separately ask whether VilaNet may send notifications. Review that request. Notification permission is separate from the system VPN connection request.
4. Return to VilaNet if a system dialog takes you away from the app.
5. Wait while the status shows Connecting.
6. Continue when VilaNet shows Connected.

The exact system buttons and wording differ by Android version and device manufacturer. VilaNet cannot connect if the VPN connection request is denied.

The system request looks roughly like this:

Illustration — actual wording may vary by OS version. This is a hand-drawn illustration, not a screenshot; it only shows what kind of request to expect. Approve only a request that names VilaNet.

Connect-flow recording and step-by-step screenshots

After you sign in, the connect flow is the same interface on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux. The recording and screenshots below come from the English interface of VilaNet v2.14.6 (core 1.13.14-cc9ce62ff), in the same narrow layout used on Android phones and tablets (it was filmed by narrowing a desktop window down to the phone layout, which is why there is a window title bar at the top that your device does not have; everything else is identical).

This recording and these screenshots come from an official demo session marked FIXTURE: the account, nodes, latency, data usage and IP are all example data (for example IP Address: 203.0.113.1), and no real server is contacted while filming. The on-screen wording and the steps match the VilaNet you installed; whether a connection is actually established is shown by the status on your own device.

1. Open the main page. The card in the middle shows the status Disconnected, the connection-mode button TUN Mode and IP Address. Below it are the Pac Mode / Global Mode switch, the current server card and a blue Connect button. The ☰ button at the top left opens the drawer menu.

   

2. Tap the current server card (here Demo Tokyo, second line Tcp: 32 ms) to open the Server Nodes page. The top of that page shows your current package (here Vila Demo) and a Change control.

3. Expand the group you want. Auto-Select (3) is expanded by default and holds Fastest, Japan and Singapore, each labelled Auto Select. The protocol groups (for example AnyTLS (2)) are collapsed by default — tap the group header to expand one. Once expanded, nodes are listed under country sub-headings, each showing its name and latency.

   

4. Tap a node (here Demo Singapore, Tcp: 45 ms). The page returns to the main page by itself — there is nothing to go back to.

5. Check the selection on the main page. The server card now reads Demo Singapore, but the status is still Disconnected — selecting a node is not connecting.

6. Tap Connect. The status first turns orange and reads Connecting, then turns blue and reads Connected; at the same time the wing logo above it turns blue and the button becomes a red Disconnect. On the first connection Android first shows the system VPN connection request (see above).

   

7. Disconnect. Tap the red Disconnect. The status passes through an orange Disconnecting, returns to Disconnected, and the button turns back into the blue Connect.

How to tell it really connected

Look only at the status block in the middle of the main page. Three things change together:

⚠️ Do not judge the connection state by the colour of the server card. The selected server card is always highlighted blue — including when you are not connected. The "Disconnected" and "Connected" screenshots above are the same blue Demo Singapore card: the card is identical, and only the status text, the logo colour and the button change.

The Server Nodes list carries no "connected" marker either. The blue highlight there also means only "currently selected", and a node's second line is its latency (for example Tcp: 45 ms), not its connection state. To check the connection state, go back to the main page.

Both intermediate states (the orange Connecting and the orange Disconnecting) last about a second, so not catching them is normal.

No nodes visible on the Server Nodes page means the protocol groups are collapsed by default — tap the group header to expand. That is not a fault. Picking a node does not connect you: back on the main page you still have to tap Connect.

Settings and logout

Settings lives in the ☰ drawer at the top left. It has four icon tabs: the first holds the VPN package selection and Connection Mode (TUN Mode or Proxy Mode), plus Auto-Reconnect and the local-proxy options, and the last (right-most) tab is the account tab, which shows Account Setting with your sign-in email, and About. Logout sits at the bottom of the ☰ drawer; it opens a dialog titled Confirm asking "Are you sure you want to logout?", where Confirm signs you out to the login screen and Cancel returns.

5. Confirm that the connection works

Do not rely only on the Connected label:

1. Keep VilaNet open for a few seconds and confirm that it remains Connected.
2. Open your browser and load two familiar HTTPS websites.
3. Return to VilaNet and confirm that it still shows Connected.

The connection is working when normal internet traffic loads and VilaNet stays connected. An IP-check website can be a secondary clue, but browser privacy features can affect the address it displays.

For the complete check, see Confirm VilaVPN is working.

If something goes wrong

VilaNet cannot be installed from Google Play

• Confirm that the device is running Android 7.0 or later.
• Confirm that there is enough free storage and that Google Play downloads work.
• Open the Google Play link above again instead of using an old bookmark.
• If Google Play remains unavailable, use the exact official APK and checksum listed above.

Android says App not installed for the APK

• Remove any incomplete download and download the file again from the exact official URL above.
• Confirm that the filename and SHA-256 match.
• If a differently signed VilaNet build is already installed, preserve any useful diagnostics and account details before uninstalling it. Android will not replace an app signed by a different publisher key.
• Prefer Google Play when it is available.

Login fails

• Check that the complete email address is entered under E-mail with no extra spaces.
• Re-enter the password carefully.
• Confirm that the account can sign in on the VilaVPN website and has an active package.
• Preserve the exact error message before reinstalling. Never send your password to support.
• See Cannot sign in.

The VPN permission was denied

Select Connect again and approve the system request if it reappears. If it does not return, open Android's VPN settings and check whether a VilaNet VPN entry exists. Settings paths differ by manufacturer; record what you find before deleting or reinstalling anything.

VilaNet stays on Connecting or disconnects

• Confirm that the device reaches the internet while VilaNet is disconnected.
• Try Auto Select once.
• Record the selected server and first visible error.
• Check whether Android battery or background restrictions are stopping VilaNet, especially if it disconnects only after the screen is locked.
• Preserve diagnostics before reinstalling or changing advanced settings.
• See Cannot connect.

VilaNet says Connected but websites do not load

Disconnect once, confirm the ordinary internet connection works, and try Auto Select. Then follow Connected but no internet.

Next steps

• Learn when to use automatic selection.
• Follow the first-connection overview on another VilaNet platform.
• If the problem continues, collect the exact error and follow Contact support.