Azilink to tether phone to win10

Ok, this started out cause I was experimenting with Tiny10, an extreme n-lited version win10. Its tiny and includes little to nothing. It has problem recognizing usb connected drives. No problem with SATA drives. Anyway one thing that wouldnt work on it was Easytether, what I usually use to tether windows to my phone. Missing something or other and windows now has bunch self protections built in so good luck changing system files. So tried installing small community edition for openvpn and small adb toolkit. Got them installed but was having problems trying to use Azilink. I wasnt sure if it was the usb thing or what. So installed win10LITE, a hacked version I had downloaded few years ago. I know Easytether works in it. Ok installed the 64bit version openvpn and the adb toolkit. Openvpn with the Azilink ovpn file would go half way and fail. Got to reading, there is basically no info on Azilink with Windows, just brief mention back from XP and Vista days. But lot info on openvpn, and since its mostly openvpn with little help from adb thats where I had to look. It was designed for early android phones that had no built in tethering app. But obviously still works to do end run on phones with tethering app locked. Mostly linux people still using it and some mac users. Windows people want click and go, works out of box. Azilink isnt click and go.

Anyway it was a permissions issue apparently, need to go to the openvpn.exe file and into compatibility tab and check the box to run as administrator. Yea sounds easy when I say it like that, but I am not super uptodate on windows and especially commandline windows. Havent used it much since DOS days. Its sort of like linux terminal but different with own quirks and tricks. Windows really wasnt designed for commandline. Anyway once I did that, then right click the azilink.ovpn file and open with openvpn option. It takes some tinkering, lot of tinkering since no uptodate guide, but it works. Pops up terminal with output same as when I run it in linux with root privileges.

So end of May 2022 and yes Virginia, Azilink still works, both in linux and windows. I am sure it works in mac but I dont own a mac computer. Now whether I could make it work with Tiny10, dont know, not much in mood to reinstall it to find out. Especially without some way to make it recognize usb drives. Installed this win10LITE is around 10GB and Tiny10 installed is around 5GB. Just know if you get hold of same version Tiny that I did, you have some work ahead of you. Though no problem running portable version Firefox and Kindle for PC, etc. Just be aware its tiny for a reason. MS tends to try and make all the bloat interconnected so hard to remove it without affecting something important. It does give a hint of what windows could have been if designed as an efficient small operating system and not a marketing/data collection vehicle. Locked down to serving only one master, its really not bad.

Anyway for anybody searching for info on tethering modern version windows using Azilink and openvpn, thats it, it does work. Not hugely different than running it in linux but yea different enough. And like you can make a script in linux, you can do a batch file in windows to combine everything and one click connect. Its just not all handed to you on a silver platter. Do I really need two ways to tether, no, probably not, but just like I felt it advantageous to figure out Easytether in variety of linux distributions, so felt I ought to figure out how to use Azilink in windows. Fun little puzzles that may reap rewards in future. Or at least keep the old brain active.

Spent time today making a batch file, that when double clicked on (windows does double clicks) tethers to phone using adb/openvpn/Azilink.  Not straight forward in slightest.  Windows batch files have their own logic and way doing things.  I used two batch files, the first running the adb port forwarding command.  In windows this has to be done through adb shell.  Then second batch file running openvpn connection to Azilink app on phone.

That calling of second bat file from first lets the adb command finish before openvpn tries to connect.  Still seems like there should be a simpler way but it does work to keep the cart from getting in front of the horse.  Double click first bat file and I am tethered.  Azilink setup never had a gui frontend, so really need a script to simplify using it to tether.  Openvpn does have a gui option in windows, but I couldnt somehow get permissions right where the commandline version worked.  And one still has to run that adb port forwarding command before running openvpn.  So doing it all from a script (batch file in windows) is best way.

Oh tried it in win11. Works, even got the openvpn gui version to work. Still have to do that adb port forwarding before using openvpn. I happen to be using windows and think of it, will post my two bat files. Double click the first, runs and calls the second and you are connected. Interestingly I actually prefer Azilink/openvpn/adb in windows to Easytether. But they both work fine to tether locked Android phones. Like mentioned, you just need the minimal version adb and small community version openvpn. No need for the big bloated versions to make Azilink work.