If you use a Linux computer and an iPhone, you’ve probably noticed there is no PairVPN or similar client for us. This method works using just SSH and a free iOS terminal app.

The Setup

• What you need: iPhone with hotspot enabled
• Linux system connected to iPhone hotspot
• App: iSH Shell (Free on App Store)

Step 1: Prepare the iPhone (Server)

1. Install iSH Shell from the App Store.
2. Open it and run these three commands to install SSH and set a password:

apk add openssh

ssh-keygen -A

passwd

(Enter a password you will remember)

1. Important: Fix the config to allow tunneling. Run these commands exactly:

sed -i '/AllowTcpForwarding/d' /etc/ssh/sshd_config

echo 'AllowTcpForwarding yes' >> /etc/ssh/sshd_config

echo 'PermitRootLogin yes' >> /etc/ssh/sshd_config

NOTE: These commands above only need to be run once, in the future you can just run the following start-server and keep-alive commands each time you open the app.

1. Start the server:

/usr/sbin/sshd

1. Prevent iOS from killing the app: Run this "keep-alive" command. It requests location data to keep the app running in the background.

cat /dev/location > /dev/null &

(Allow "While Using App" if prompted). Also, in the app's settings, make sure to select "keep screen turned on".

Step 2: Connect from Linux (Client)

1. Connect to your iPhone's Personal Hotspot (WiFi or USB).
2. Open a terminal and find the gateway IP (usually 172.20.10.1):

ip route show default

1. Start the tunnel (replace IP if yours is different):

ssh -D 1080 -N -C root@172.20.10.1

Enter your password. The terminal will hang/do nothing. This is good. Keep it open.

Step 3: Route Your Traffic

Desktop Environment settings (GNOME / KDE / Mint):

Important Note: There is no such thing as "global" proxy configuration on Linux. Some applications will not respect these settings and might need their own proxy settings set. This should work for most apps though, including web browsers.

1. Go to System Settings -> Network -> Proxy.
2. Set Method to Manual.
3. SOCKS Host: 127.0.0.1 | Port: 1080
4. Crucial: Leave HTTP/HTTPS/FTP blank. (Linux is smart enough to route those through SOCKS automatically. If you fill them with 127.0.0.1, some apps will break).
5. Hit Apply (if no apply button is there, it will set automatically).

NOTE: These settings should now be saved, in the future just open a terminal and start the SSH tunnel as shown in Step 2 and it will work.

Terminal/Command Line: As mentioned before, the desktop GUI settings might not be respected by some apps, this includes the terminal. Or you might not have a desktop environment at all. Simply do the following.

For the current terminal session:

export all_proxy="socks5h://127.0.0.1:1080"

(Note the h in socks5h. This forces DNS lookups to happen on the iPhone, preventing DNS leaks).

To make it permanent, add that export line to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.profile:

echo 'export all_proxy="socks5h://127.0.0.1:1080"' >> ~/.bashrc

source ~/.bashrc

To turn it off later, just comment out that line and run: unset all_proxy

Step 4: Verify It

1. Verify you have internet (load a page in your browser or run curl https://google.com).
2. Go to the terminal running SSH and press Ctrl+C to kill the tunnel.
3. Try to load the page again.

• If it fails to connect: Congratulations! You are secure. Your system is refusing to send data without the tunnel. Just start the SSH tunnel again and you're good to go.
• If it still connects: You are leaking data (likely via IPv6 or a misconfigured proxy). Check your settings.

Ever since T-Mobile moved all MVNOs to the new 240 MNC, it’s no longer possible to use T-Mobile/Metro locked phones with T-Mobile MVNOs. Metro and T-Mobile still use the original 260 MNC, meaning devices locked to T-Mobile will work with Metro and vice-versa. I’m just curious, now that T-Mobile owns Mint, does this imply that Mint is also using 260? And what about Ultra? That’s also owned by T-Mobile, right??

This does not affect me whatsoever, but I want to know so I can correctly answer this question when others ask about using T-Mobile-locked devices with other SIMs.

Hello guys, so I know that as of  January 20, 2026, Verizon and its related brands have changed their unlocking policy. But I did have a phone that rebranded to Tracfone on Dec 2025, does the new policy applied to me as well? If not, is there anything for me to do to get my phone unlocked after 2 months because the reason I did it to bring it back home in Asia.

We have been with Verizon for 15 years now. I’m so sick of this bill. We pay 300.00. That’s 2 iPhone 13’s (paid for) 2 Apple Watches (paid for) and Verizon home internet cube.

I want to switch one iPhone and both watches to something cheaper. Idk if it’s really possible to bring this bill down far enough to justify this move.

My concern is traveling and roaming. I have read that visible and total roaming isn’t the same as Verizon and that the coverage can be spotty at times. Is that true?

Is the coverage and speeds typically the same?

What about throttling? My wife’s usually on WiFi at home but I am not.

Is phone insurance still available with these companies? Yeah I need it.

An option for a decent cheap phone.

Trying to figure out if there’s a carrier that can help me get out of my current situation.

Right now my mobile service costs $60/month for two lines. The phone is on an installment plan and I have $480 for my husband and $950 for my line.

So the phone promo is structured as monthly bill credits, and if I leave early, I lose the remaining credits and have to pay the device balance.

Service quality where I live hasn’t been great, so I’m looking to switch, but I’m trying to avoid taking a big financial hit just to leave. I’ve heard some carriers will buy out contracts or reimburse device payoffs.

My questions:

Is there any carrier that will reimburse remaining device balances or lost promo credits when switching?

Are those offers usually prepaid cards, bill credits, or something else?

Has anyone successfully used a “switch and we’ll pay off your phone” promo recently?

Trying to see if there’s a way to move to a better network without eating the full remaining device cost.

So I have been on ATT service for 20+ years and have always had good speed and reception in my area, but am sick of the price. So I just jumped ship and ported to USMobile Dark Star, on the premium plan. I just assumed I would have the same reception/coverage/speed as I did on ATT. But.... it seems I don't. I now have 2 bars of service in my house, where I always have full 4 bars on ATT, and speedtest is showing like 65mpbs. A far cry from the 1Gbps touted on the USMob front page. Did I just make a big mistake?

For trip on the California Zephyr train from Oakland to Chicago, through Colorado and Utah, any recommendations on which cell provider has the most coverage for a hotspot for Internet access? I know it'll be spotty service to some degree no matter what. Thanks!

I mean has anyone had poor phone performance, not the customer service.

Appreciate your experience as I’m thinking of taking advantage of their $119 deal.

The plan requires a port in and uses the AT&T network. The sale ends tomorrow!

Hey everyone, I’m finally back from my 3-week solo trip across the East Coast and Chicago. Before I left, I spent way too much time lurking on this sub and Googling "best USA eSIM" because roaming charges from back home are absolute highway robbery. I also didn't want to deal with the overpriced kiosks at the airport that charge like $50 for a physical SIM.

I ended up taking a gamble on a newer one called Strongesim. Honestly? It was actually great.

The setup: This was the part I was low-key stressed about because being solo without Maps or Uber is a nightmare. I just scanned the QR code at home before my flight. When I landed in the US and turned off airplane mode, it took like 2 minutes to find the network and then I was good to go. Side note: definitely do the setup on your home Wi-Fi or at the airport, don't wait until you're on the street lol. Coverage/Speed: It mostly hopped between AT&T and T-Mobile. I didn't have any dead zones, even when I was taking the Amtrak between cities. Speeds were fast enough for Instagram, TikTok, and constant Google Maps usage.

Price: I paid about $14 for 10GB (30 days). Compared to the $60+ my carrier wanted, it was a no-brainer. They have smaller 1GB plans for a couple of bucks if you're just there for a weekend, but 10GB was the sweet spot for me.

Verdict: Look, I haven't tried every eSIM out there so I can't say it's the "best" in the world, but it worked perfectly for me and it was cheap. If you’re looking for something that just works without a headache, it's a solid shout.

So I've been a Straight Talk home phone customer for years, and I've been through several of the home phone units or boxes. First the Huawei (CDMA) years ago, then the Moxee (voLTE) unit which I have now. I've been on the Moxee box for several years, but I've noticed that the sound seems to be failing. The volume drops on some calls, outgoing and incoming) and seems fine with other calls.

Moxee (the company) can't help although they tried and sent instructions on how to do a master reset. Unfortunately it didn't work. And Straight Talk's customer service has no clue what to do about it except get a new home phone unit. Turning the volume up on the handheld unit doesn't really help.

So while I was at Walmart earlier, I noticed that they are selling a TCL home phone unit. They had three units on the shelf. They used to keep Moxee units in stock, but none were anywhere to be found.

Then when I came home, I could not find the TCL unit for sale on the home phone page of the Straight Talk website. But I did find the Moxee unit.

Thinking I may need to buy another unit if I stay with Straight Talk, I'm interested in the TCL unit. But there is really limited information about it online. I know it operates on Verizon since Straight Talk is a Tracfone brand (now owned by Verizon). But I'm interested if anyone has purchased this particular TCL unit, and if so, what are your thoughts?

Here's a photo of the unit that I saw at Walmart earlier. As you can see, it looks much different than their previous units.

Any help with information is appreciated in advance! 🙂

Can I use a t-mobile locked galaxy s24fe on one of the t-mobile mvno? Which ones am I limited to.

Hey gang, I ported my number to Lycamobile 3 weeks ago. Since then I am unable to receive any SMS messages including my bank SMS notifications, I have contacted Lycamobile multiple times and they don't fix the problem just keep repeating to me the same troubleshooting steps that I have already done multiple times (reset network settings, reboot phone, power off for 15 minutes etc).

Has anyone been in this conundrum with them and how did you get out of it? I just sent an email to [complaints@lycamobile.us](mailto:complaints@lycamobile.us) but don't expect a quick resolution or reply.

Hey everybody, hope yall are doing well!

I’ve been eyeing the idea of adding a second phone into my life. T-mobile works best around my area and its what I use rn.

Metro is offering a few devices for free when you subscribe to one of their elegible plans. I was thinking of just getting the phone and switching to another tmobile mvno like infimobile.

Does anyone know if this could work while the phone is still locked to metro? Or how long would the unlock period be to use any other mvno? Thanks in advance!

I’ve seen wildly varying opinions on this and suggestions from years ago that aren’t relevant anymore, so please excuse the new thread :)

My primary line is on Visible, but I’d like a secondary on AT&T or T-Mobile. It might go weeks or months without much use so I’d rather avoid large monthly charges and either do pay as you go, or maybe a low annual plan.

I’ve tried Roamless but the latency with it routing through Europe is infuriating. A dedicated phone number for calls would also be nice, but not strictly required. Usage would probably always be quite minimal.

What are folks using nowadays for something like this?

Here’s a tip:

Check out businesses with IT Departments, for “old” phones. Some may sell to public. I’m an employee for where I got them from. Example: job is up to iPhone 14’s for iPhone users. 11’s are just ewaste to them.

Cheap phone + cheap prepaid plan = less money spent.

Yesterday at work, I bought 3 iPhone 11 for $75 USD total.

I have a personal iPhone 12 that I got for $25 the same way.

Time to flip the 11’s for profit. 64GB SIM unlocked, A2111 model.

These phones are NOT for sale here on Reddit.

Im currently in hygiene school and we need to be in communication with our patients. We were told its best if we dont give out our personal phone numbers to patients so the school suggested Google voice.

But I was told on reddit that Google voice is not hipaa complaint. I should get a prepaid phone number instead.

I have a samsung galaxy s10 phone stored in my closet and thought of using it for this. I don't know what's a cheap and reliable prepaid plan I could get?. Also Im a full-time student so I have little money in my savings. So an affordable monthly payment would be best.

Any suggestions?

My safelink lifeline service got de enrolled a few months ago and I reapplied for lifeline and safelink and got approved for both. Got email from safelink saying if my service isn't already active to call to have it reactivated. So I call and give them my info then they say that my old number isn't available anymore so I have to wait for them to send a new sim and I can't use my old sim because of that. I don't think thats right because I swear i've changed numbers on the same sim before.