Comment by candiddevmike
4 days ago
I wish I could switch my network to all IPv6 and use NAT64/DNS64, but Android, the world's most popular OS, purposefully disables DHCPv6. I am forced to support IPv4/DHCPv4 for the foreseeable future to support these broken devices.
> I wish I could switch my network to all IPv6 and use NAT64/DNS64, but Android, the world's most popular OS, purposefully disables DHCPv6.
It does not "disable" DHCPv6. It does not support DHCPv6. Android (really Lorenzo Colitti) in/famously WONTFIX adding DHCPv6 client support:
* https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/36949085
Of course after over a decade of denying that Android needs some kind of DHCP in IPv6, it seems that Android may finally be getting some kind of solution:
* https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2025/09/simplifyin...
* Via: https://blog.ipspace.net/2025/09/android-dhcpv6-prefix-deleg...
Hopefully, having admitted (?) the error of their ways with being SLAAC-only they'll also add 'regular' DHCPv6 in addition to DHCPv6-PD.
Holy hell the android dhcpv6 situation is deranged. Been following Mr Colitti’s antics for awhile but only just learned of this prefix delegation news. So now I can delegate an entire subnet but can’t just have a regular address. Why oh why can’t we just have a goddamn normal every day dhcpv6 client like every other os on the planet
Android supports SLAAC and has good support transitional tech like xlat464 and DHCP option 108.
I have used these on my network and office to move to IPv6-only for Android.
What about lack of DHCPv6 prevents you from using IPv6 on Android?
I can't run SLAAC and DHCPv6 at the same time without giving devices multiple addresses, and Android doesn't support DHCPv6, so I'd have to carve out a separate, SLAAC-based, android-only network. And then figure out firewall rules, multicast reflection, etc.
I thought this was a problem too. Then I realized that addresses are not in short supply, so I stopped caring that some devices get multiple addresses. The ones I care about are handed out over DHCPv6, and the firewall works accordingly. The rest gets basic connectivity and nothing else.
Works great for me.
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Why is giving multiple addresses a problem?
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Android supports DHCPv6, just not stateful DHCPv6. You can give each device its own /64 or if you really want to track a devices usage you should use an authenticated layer on top of your base network.
Why can't you use stateless autoconfig?
Because I want to control the suffix assigned to devices for firewall rules and monitoring purposes.
Seems like the wrong layer unless your network has more than one router/gateway.
Use MAC as the key for firewall and monitoring. Then you don't have multiple rules per device.
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