Consider VPN in the decision between internal and external URLs

[mountainsandcode]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

Currently, the iOS app decides on using the internal or external URLs based on the WiFi SSID. This covers all situations except two constellations relating to VPN.

A) Connected to “internal” SSID and being connected to another VPN (e.g., work, Uni, etc.)

• The app tries to connect using the internal URL, but can’t reach it because DNS is typically set by the VPN

B) Not connected to “internal” SSID but connected to home VPN

• The app connects to the external URL although the internal URL would actually be available

Describe the solution you'd like

I’m aware of the fact that we could have complicated constellations with several VPNs, etc., but I would propose having a relatively simple configuration option for “When connected to VPN, use...” with the options auto (current behavior), always internal, always external

Additional context
This appears to be possible Ref

[zacwest]

The technique to achieve it there isn't great, but it's possible to inspect all network interfaces and see if there's one that's named like a VPN interface, so this is theoretically possible. I'm not sure how much we can depend on it continuing to function, nor the performance characteristics around it.

[mrclschstr]

This issue is not limited to iOS. It would be a nice addition to the Android app as well.

[cseelmann]

As a heavy wireguard user (used to run a reverse proxy, but ditched it for wireguard only for all devices), I agree with this feature request. It is a limitation to only be able to check for the SSID to validate local connections. RfC1918 checks would be an advancement as I run my own DNS that directs the external hostname to an internal RfC1918 address when connected at home (so I have a seamless experience when leaving home).

Would it not be enough to just check if the local address is available to decide if local push is turned on? We already have a status message in the same server configuration menu that local push is available, so user confusion should not be given.

[zacwest]

Local Push can only be configured via Wi-Fi SSID or private LTE network (though the app doesn't support this). This is an Apple limitation for how the feature works -- it is an OS feature.

[towerhand]

Has there been any changes to Apple's limitations for Local Push or new workarounds?