Restore your network, reset or remove Oblivion Desktop

Restore ordinary internet before reinstalling

These checks work without downloading anything. Keep Desktop disconnected and use a site that normally opens on your network. If you still have the app, try opening it, disconnecting normally, and choosing Quit once. If it is already removed or cannot open, go straight to your system’s settings below.

Before changing a value, record it. Restore the configuration you used before Desktop; preserve any proxy or DNS required by your work or school. If you cannot identify the original configuration on a managed computer, ask its administrator.

Windows: check manual proxy and setup script separately

1. Open Settings → Network & internet → Proxy.
2. Record Use a proxy server, its address/port, and Use setup script with its script address. These are separate settings. Match them to Desktop’s host/port; a local address such as 127.0.0.1 can identify a local proxy, but may also belong to another app.
3. Turn off only the leftover manual proxy or setup script you know belongs to Desktop, then Save. An address can remain displayed while its switch is off; check both the switch and the saved value. Keep automatic detection and unrelated organization settings as they were.
4. Reopen the browser and test. If the setting turns itself on again, check whether another Desktop copy or startup entry is running. Do not start by editing the registry.

The Windows proxy guide explains both controls. Desktop’s Windows proxy code can use a PAC/setup-script address as well as manual proxy values; checking just one control can miss the other.

macOS: inspect the active network service

Open System Settings → Network → your Wi-Fi or Ethernet service → Details → Proxies. Record the values, then remove or disable only a leftover proxy from Desktop. In the service’s DNS settings, restore your previous servers if they were changed. On Monterey, these sections are under System Preferences → Network → service → Advanced.

The project’s DNS note says handling became automatic in 2.40. Do not apply its older manual 172.19.0.2 recipe to a current installation. If you previously added that entry for the workaround, restore your earlier DNS configuration. See the macOS recovery steps for details.

Linux: restore the desktop proxy you changed

Check Network Proxy in GNOME Settings, or Network → Proxy in KDE System Settings. Restore your recorded configuration and retest. The current app can change SOCKS and other proxy fields; do not assume a work proxy was preserved. Do not delete kioslaverc to start over: use the UI first, or follow the KDE backup and restore steps.

If you used TUN, a leftover route or DNS setting needs different diagnosis from a desktop proxy. See network modes if you are unsure which you used. Try normal disconnection, then check the active adapter’s DNS and your original configuration. If ordinary access still fails, follow connection troubleshooting; repeatedly resetting the app will not establish the cause.

Disconnect, close, quit and force exit are different

• Disconnect ends the current connection and attempts network cleanup.
• Close the window may leave Desktop in the system tray or menu bar. It does not necessarily disconnect.
• Quit/Exit ends the app. Disconnect first when it responds. If it is still Connecting, cancel the attempt and let it finish before exiting; if it hangs, keep the log and use the recovery steps above after force exit.
• Force exit through Task Manager, Force Quit on Mac or the Linux system monitor is for an unresponsive process. It can interrupt cleanup, so test ordinary internet afterwards.

If another launch does not produce a window, check the tray/menu bar first. The app allows one instance for its data directory; repeated launches can find the existing copy. Creating new od instance… is a startup message, while Instance already running points to an existing process. Startup and window-close behavior

Force Close in App settings is a preference about closing the window instead of staying in the tray. It is not the operating system’s force-termination command.

What about Oblivion-Helper and Proxy-Reset?

The helper manages TUN networking. Stop helper is an option to close it on exit; do not treat deleting its executable as a way to disconnect. Windows Proxy-Reset is intended to clear a proxy left after an abnormal shutdown. In the reviewed code, its startup registration is added for System Proxy and removed during normal proxy cleanup.

Release 3.11.0 lists Helper, Proxy-Reset and startup fixes. That is a release-note claim, not a guarantee that every exit/restart case is fixed. The earlier discussion #1175 explains why components are copied into the data directory. Keep the files intact while diagnosing; their presence alone does not prove a running connection.

Save settings and profiles before changing them

If the app opens, record the connection method, network mode, host/port, DNS, routing rules and any custom endpoints. Saved endpoint profiles are under Scanner → Profile. Copy the names and addresses you need, and keep any configuration links privately. A connection link or endpoint profile is not a complete backup of every preference. See profiles and configuration links for transferring individual configurations.

If App settings are accessible, note Auto Connect and Start at login before a planned reset. Turn off Auto Connect while diagnosing. These are separate controls; restoring an earlier whole-folder backup can restore automatic connection too. App settings

For a local rollback, disconnect, quit all copies, then copy the entire data folder to a separate backup location. These are the usual paths:

On Windows, paste the path into Run or File Explorer. On Mac, use Finder → Go → Go to Folder. A custom user-data path or Linux XDG_CONFIG_HOME changes the location; the app log’s userData line is more specific to your launch. These paths follow the app’s data-directory handling and Electron’s defaults.

The folder includes settings.json, saved profiles, generated network/account data, component logs and working copies of components. Save the main app log separately before a reset: on macOS its default path is ~/Library/Logs/oblivion-desktop/main.log, outside the data folder. It is not just a harmless preference export. Keep the backup private. Do not copy Windows helper binaries to a Mac or Linux installation; move only supported configuration values between systems and use each system’s own package.

Choose an update, reset or removal

If the internet fails even with Desktop closed, recover the network first. A clean reinstall does not fix an ISP restriction or prove an endpoint is usable.

Reset settings and keep a way back

If the app opens

1. Finish the backup above and disconnect.
2. Open the App tab → Restore → read the confirmation, then confirm only when you are ready to lose those preferences.
3. Check the resulting method, network mode, DNS and endpoint before reconnecting. Defaults can differ from your previous setup.

In 3.11.0, Restore resets profiles, routing rules, any saved license value and many other fields. It updates a defined set of preferences; it is not a complete deletion of the data directory. See the Restore implementation.

If the app will not open, or you need a fresh-state test

1. Quit all Desktop copies and make a separate backup of the correct data folder.
2. Rename that folder to a new, unused name such as oblivion-desktop.before-reset. Do not delete it or overwrite an earlier backup.
3. Launch one known app copy. It can create a fresh data folder and recreate its working files. Record whether the original problem returns before importing old settings.

To roll back on the same system and app version: quit again, move the newly created folder aside, and return the backed-up folder to its original name/location. Do not merge files while the app is running. If the problem returns with the old data, preserve that backup and re-enter only the needed settings in the fresh state. Keeping the backup is more useful than repeating destructive resets.

Portable files and installed copies

A Windows ZIP/portable app can still use %APPDATA%\oblivion-desktop; moving its executable folder does not necessarily move its settings. Installed and portable copies may therefore share local state. Different executable locations do not guarantee independent profiles.

Before switching copies, quit the current one and identify the executable path using the shortcut’s Properties → Open file location, or the running process’s file location. Launch the intended copy directly and check its version. Replace an old pinned shortcut if it still points elsewhere. Keep only the copy you intend to use active; deleting its data first is not a shortcut repair.

The project’s reinstall guide describes removing both installed/portable copies and Roaming data. Use that as a clean-reinstall scope, with a backup, rather than the first response to an unexplained failure.

No update offered, an old version returns, or restarts repeat

At review on 5 November 2026, 3.11.0 was the latest stable release and the Desktop repository was archived.

1. Note the version in About and the path of the running copy. Compare it with Desktop releases.
2. Check whether you selected stable or beta updates. If checking fails or you are offline, the absence of an offer does not prove you have the newest release.
3. Once ordinary internet works, download the matching package from Downloads, disconnect, quit and install/replace it using the Windows, macOS or Linux instructions.
4. Launch that copy directly and verify About again. If it still reports the old version, check the shortcut and duplicate copies before retrying the update.

The reviewed built-in flow launches an installer on Windows; on macOS/Linux, it opens the release page. A UAC prompt is permission to run the installer, not proof of its identity. For a stalled or uncertain update, use the download guide’s source/checksum checks; see package security. The examined 3.11.0 Windows update functions do not explicitly check a checksum or signature before launch; verify the downloaded package using the security guide. Update code

If the app repeatedly opens and closes, stop its own startup entry, retain the log before another attempt, and inspect the first error. Older reports describe both an update loop and a component-recovery loop. They do not establish the cause of your current failure. Use the platform guide if a component is missing or blocked; do not repeatedly approve installers or delete Helper/Proxy-Reset files.

Remove the app, autostart and optional saved data

Disconnect, quit and check ordinary internet first. Keep a backup if you want settings later.

Windows

For an installed copy, open Settings → Apps → Installed apps → Oblivion Desktop → Uninstall. On Windows 10, look under Apps & features. For a ZIP/portable copy, remove its extracted app folder after quitting. Remove obsolete shortcuts too. Microsoft’s uninstall instructions

Turn off the app’s Start at login setting before removal when available. Then review Settings → Apps → Startup or Task Manager → Startup apps for entries belonging to the removed copy. Check the target path, including any identified OblivionProxyReset entry; disable an orphaned entry after network recovery. Do not remove another program’s startup item or delete a component EXE as the first step. Windows startup controls

macOS

After quitting, move the Applications copy of oblivion-desktop.app to Trash. Review System Settings → General → Login Items (or Login Items & Extensions, depending on macOS) and remove only its own entry. This does not erase the data folder above. Apple’s removal guide · Login Items settings

Linux

Remove an installed DEB with sudo apt remove oblivion-desktop, or a Fedora RPM with sudo dnf remove oblivion-desktop; review the transaction first. Use your own package manager on other systems. For AppImage/TAR.XZ, remove your app file/folder after quitting. Remove or disable the Desktop entry you added in the desktop’s Autostart settings, normally under ~/.config/autostart/ or your custom XDG config directory. See the Linux removal steps.

Remove saved data only if you no longer need it

Application removal and data removal are separate. After checking the backup, remove only the identified Desktop data folder if you want its saved state gone. That discards local settings, profiles and generated data; it does not undo a system proxy or DNS change. Keep the backup until the checks below pass. Emptying Trash or permanently deleting the backup removes this rollback option.

Check after restart, sleep or a network change

Restart normally after cleanup. Before launching Desktop, open the same normally available site. Confirm that no obsolete Desktop copy starts and no old proxy/script reappears. If it does, inspect the corresponding startup entry rather than resetting the whole network again.

After sleep, a “connected” label is not a traffic test. First confirm that Wi-Fi/Ethernet has reconnected, then disconnect Desktop and test ordinary access. If that works, reconnect once and test again. If it fails even while disconnected, use the system recovery steps above. The sleep report #1165 describes the symptom but does not identify a universal cause.

If you changed Wi-Fi, Ethernet or a USB network adapter, inspect the newly active service and, where applicable, the old service’s proxy/DNS values. Do not copy static DNS or adapter settings from one service to another without knowing the previous configuration. On a managed network, restore its required values.

If ordinary access still does not return

Keep the version, OS, network mode, original executable/data paths, last action, and whether the failure followed connecting, sleep, a crash or an update. Save the log before another attempt replaces useful details. The help hub lists log locations and what to remove before sharing. If the app is gone, a record of the system settings and exact error is still useful.

Scope: Desktop 3.11.0, reviewed 5 November 2026. Recovery after a crash, reboot or adapter change has not been verified across supported systems for this guide. Keep your original network configuration available while checking those cases.