v1.3.1

Installation & Upgrade

Choose the right APK, install Throne for Android, upgrade from 1.x or NekoBox, and keep the app up to date.

This page explains which APK to download, how to install it, how to move from an older version, and how updates work. Throne for Android needs Android 7.0 or newer. It runs on phones, tablets and Android TV devices.

Choose the right APK

Each release has one APK per processor type (ABI). There is no universal APK that runs on every device, so pick the file that matches yours:

APK Typical devices
Throne-<version>-arm64-v8a.apk Almost all phones and tablets from recent years
Throne-<version>-armeabi-v7a.apk Older 32-bit phones, many Android TV boxes and sticks
Throne-<version>-x86_64.apk Emulators, some Chromebooks and PCs

There is no build for 32-bit x86 devices.

What counts is the Android system, not the processor. Many TV boxes have a 64-bit processor but run 32-bit Android, and they need armeabi-v7a.

To find the ABI of your device, open a device information app and look for the ABI or the instruction set. If you have a computer with adb, this command prints it:

adb shell getprop ro.product.cpu.abi

If you are not sure, try arm64-v8a first. If Android says the app is not compatible, or does not install it, use armeabi-v7a.

Download and verify

Download the APK from the Downloads page or from the GitHub releases page. Release tags start with v, for example v2.0.0.

Each release also contains SHA256SUMS, the SHA-256 checksums of its APKs. Checking the checksum is optional. It confirms that the file was not changed or damaged during the download. Put the APK and SHA256SUMS in the same folder on a computer, then run the command for your system.

Linux:

sha256sum -c --ignore-missing SHA256SUMS

The output must show OK for your file, for example Throne-2.0.0-arm64-v8a.apk: OK.

macOS:

shasum -a 256 Throne-2.0.0-arm64-v8a.apk

Windows:

Get-FileHash .\Throne-2.0.0-arm64-v8a.apk -Algorithm SHA256

On macOS and Windows, compare the printed checksum with the line for your file in SHA256SUMS. Upper and lower case do not matter.

Install

If Throne for Android 1.x is installed, read Upgrading from 1.x or NekoBox first.

  1. Open the downloaded APK, for example from your browser's downloads or from a file manager.
  2. If Android blocks the installation, allow the app you opened the file with to install apps. On Android 8 and newer, tap Settings in the message and turn on Allow from this source. On Android 7, turn on Unknown sources in Android's security settings.
  3. Go back and tap Install.
  4. Open Throne and answer the first-start questions. See Permissions & Background.

For Android TV, see Android TV.

Upgrading from 1.x or NekoBox

Throne for Android 2.0.0 is rebuilt on the desktop core. It is signed with a new key and uses a new data format:

  • Android cannot install 2.0.0 over Throne for Android 1.x. The installation fails until you uninstall the old version.
  • 2.0.0 starts with no profiles, groups or settings. It cannot read the data of the old app.
  • It cannot restore old backups: throne_backup_….json files and the .zip files on WebDAV. It restores only .thrbackup files, the backup format of Throne desktop.
  1. In the old app, copy the URL of each subscription and keep it in a safe place, for example a private note. To find it, open Group in the drawer, tap the edit button (pencil icon) of the group and copy Subscription Link. Do not use Share Subscription: it copies an sn:// link that 2.0.0 cannot read.
  2. Export the profiles that do not come from a subscription: open the menu of the group and choose Export → Export to file. The file contains the profiles as share links. For some types, such as WireGuard, SSH, ShadowTLS, Mieru, chain and custom-config profiles, the old app writes sn:// links, which 2.0.0 cannot import. Note the settings of these profiles, so that you can create them again.
  3. If you use Throne desktop with the same profiles, you can instead create a backup there (Settings → Basic Settings → Backup and Restore) and restore it on the phone later. See Moving between desktop and Android.
  4. Uninstall the old app.
  5. Install 2.0.0 as described in Install.
  6. Add your subscriptions again (Add profile → Import from clipboard → Create new subscription group), import the exported file (Add profile → Import from file), or restore the desktop backup (drawer → Tools → Restore).

NekoBox for Android: the original NekoBox app has a different package name, so Android installs Throne next to it. Throne cannot read the data or backups of NekoBox. Move your subscriptions by their links. Only one VPN app can be connected at a time.

Stable and preview builds

Stable releases are published on GitHub as normal releases, for example v2.0.0. Preview builds are published automatically as GitHub pre-releases with tags like v<version>-pre.<number>. They contain the newest changes and are meant for testing, so they can have bugs.

A preview build shows a warning when the app opens: "This application is a preview version and may contain many problems. If you do not want to test it, please go to GitHub to download the release version!" The warning appears again at every start until you tap Don't show again. After an update to a newer preview, it appears again.

Stable and preview builds are signed with the same key, so a newer build installs over an older one without uninstalling. To receive previews in the in-app updater, turn on Allow updating to beta versions.

In-app updater

The builds from GitHub can update themselves:

  1. Open About in the drawer and tap Check for updates. The line below it shows the channel: "Channel: stable releases" or "Channel: stable and pre-releases".
  2. If a newer version exists, Throne shows "New version available" with the version, the download size and the release notes. Tap Update.
  3. On Android 8 and newer, Throne asks "Allow installing updates" the first time. Tap Open settings, allow Throne to install apps, then go back.
  4. Throne downloads and checks the APK. Then Android asks you to confirm the installation.

The connection stops while the app is replaced and starts again after the update.

The update settings are in Settings → General, in the Updates group:

Setting Default What it does
Allow updating to beta versions Off Also offers pre-releases (preview builds).
Check for updates daily Off Checks once a day and shows the notification "Throne … is available". The notification has a Skip this version button.

Before anything is installed, Throne checks the download:

  • its size and SHA-256 checksum, as listed in the update manifest of the release (throne-update.json);
  • that it is Throne and newer than the installed version;
  • that it is signed with the same key as the installed app, and with the Throne release key.

If a check fails, nothing is installed. If your copy was not signed with the Throne release key, for example a build from another source, the updater says "The download is signed with a different key than this build, so Android cannot install it as an update. Back up, uninstall this build and install the release from GitHub."

The updater also works like this:

  • It installs the APK for the ABI you installed, for example arm64-v8a. It never switches to another ABI.
  • Some releases cannot be installed from the app: releases without an update manifest, and releases without an APK for your ABI. Throne then says "This update cannot be installed from the app (…). Download it from the release page." and offers Open in browser.
  • When Use proxy is on (Settings → Subscriptions) or the service mode is Proxy only, and Throne is connected, the check and the download go through Throne's local proxy. When no profile runs, they connect directly. With Disable mixed inbound on, they do not use the local proxy.
  • TLS certificate errors are never ignored for updates, even when Ignore TLS errors is on.

F-Droid build

The source code has a second build variant, fdroid, meant for F-Droid. It has no in-app updater: About → Check for updates and the Updates settings are missing, and the app does not ask for permission to install apps. Throne for Android is not on F-Droid yet. A listing was requested in #37.

Android installs an update only when it is signed with the same key as the installed app. So a build signed with another key and a build from GitHub cannot update each other. To switch, back up your data (drawer → Tools → Create backup), uninstall the app, install the other build and restore the backup.