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How to activate the IPv6 protocol on your Android phone if you are from Movistar or O2 and what advantages it offers over IPv4

Although the protocol that replaces IPv4 has been with us for years and bigtech such as Google, Meta or Microsoft already offer native content in IPv6 or Internet Protocol version 6, Spanish operators are having a hard time deploying it… until now. Because Movistar in January and O2 a few days ago already offer Dual Stack functionality. So if you are from Movistar or O2 and you have an Android phone (at the moment it is not available for iOS), we recommend that you switch to IPv6 to enjoy its advantages. If you are not very clear whatWhat does IPv6 offer you compared to IPv4 and how to activate it on your phonethis article can help you.

What advantages does IPv6 offer over IPv4?

Without intending to dwell on its characteristics and yes on its benefits, that IPv4 are 32-bit addresses and IPv6 are 128-bit addresses means going from having 4,294,967,296 to 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 different directions. Or what is the same, that thanks to IPv6 will fit more devices connected to the interneta “relief” considering that already

IPv6 are not only longer, but they are also more complex, since we go from addresses with a structure similar to this 255.255.255.255 of IPv4 to another typical of IPv6 such as 2001:0db8:85a3:08d3:1319: 8a2e:0370:7332, longer and that combines letters and figures. Due, cracking an IPv6 address is a more difficult and time consuming task. Since they also offer support for end-to-end encryption and authentication, they are more secure.

IP addresses have been with us since the beginning of the Internet, but perhaps they are little known to the average user, who connects and is not “interested” in anything else (if problems arise, the technical service is already there or that contact who knows about computers ), so making the leap to IPv6 can be somewhat dizzying: nothing could be further from the truth: the IPv6 protocol has in its standard functions plug & play that make the configuration practically do itself.

Although it maintains the essence of IPv4, IPv6 is an improved protocol that leaves behind obsolete functions and adds others such as flow labelling. Or what is the same, which in practice improves the resources of the web and the management of the volume of traffic for a more efficient use of the Internet, which allows you to access content faster.

What protocol do I have activated on my phone?

First of all, two important premises: to activate and enjoy IPv6 It is not necessary to hire it or request activation to your operator, since both Movistar and O2 activate it automatically and progressively among their customers. The second has to do with compatibility: all Android terminals support IPv6.

To find out if you already have IPv6 enabled, on your phone go to ‘Settings‘ > ‘Network and Internet’ and in ‘Mobile Network’ click on ‘Access Point Name’. Now see if it shows up APN Movistar ‘telefónica.es’. If this is not the case, tap on APN and add it.

O2 Ipv6 02

How to configure IPv6 on my phone?

Although all Android phones marketed by Movistar since the second quarter of 2021 have already preconfigured the APN telefonica.es as Dual Stackit could be the case that you do not have it (for example, if your terminal is older).

In that scenario you will have to configure it yourself. On the previous screen you will simply have to touch APN so that you can Edit access point. Now you will have to click on ‘APN protocol’ and change to ‘IPv4/IPv6’.

Ipv6 O2 protocol

What if IPv6 is not available on my phone? The deployment will be progressive and automatic, so if the option does not appear it will be a matter of waiting. However, and for more peace of mind, you can always check its status using a test such as https://ipv6-test.com/ or https://ipv6test.google.com/.

In Xatakandroid | If you are a Movistar or O2 customer, you can now activate the IPv6 protocol on your Android mobile

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