Hello everyone,
I am running a DigitalOcean Ubuntu VPS with x-ui panel and Xray 26.5.9.
I am experiencing an issue with my VLESS TCP setup and I would appreciate any guidance.
Environment:
- VPS: DigitalOcean Ubuntu
- x-ui panel installed
- Xray version: 26.5.9
Configuration:
- Protocol: VLESS
- Transport: TCP
- Security: none
- Port: 36730
- UUID correctly matched in client
Server status:
- Xray service is running normally
- Inbound port is confirmed listening (ss -lntp)
- Server has full outbound internet access (ping/curl work)
Client:
- iOS V2Ray client
- VPN connects successfully and shows VPN active on iPhone
- However, no websites load when VPN is connected
- Upload and download traffic remain at 0 B
Problem: The VPN connection is established successfully, but no traffic is passing through the tunnel. As soon as I disconnect the VPN, normal internet works again immediately.
What I have already tested:
- Recreated a simple VLESS TCP inbound (no Reality, no Flow)
- Removed routing rules and custom configurations
- Verified port is open and listening
- Checked DNS settings
Question: What could cause a successful VLESS TCP connection with zero traffic passing through the tunnel?
Thank you in advance for any help.
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Hi there,
First thing to check is whether DigitalOcean’s cloud firewall is allowing traffic on port 36730. The port being open on the OS level via ss -lntp does not mean the cloud firewall is passing it through. Go to Networking > Firewalls in the control panel and confirm that port is explicitly allowed for inbound TCP.
Second, check IP forwarding on the server. Xray needs the kernel to forward packets between interfaces:
sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward
If it returns 0, enable it:
echo "net.ipv4.ip_forward=1" >> /etc/sysctl.conf
sysctl -p
Third, check your iptables rules. Some setups have a default DROP policy on the FORWARD chain which silently blocks all routed traffic even when the connection itself succeeds:
iptables -L FORWARD -n
If it shows DROP as the default policy, that is your problem.
Fourth, DNS could be the issue. Even if the tunnel is up, if DNS queries are not routing through it, nothing will load. Try hardcoding a DNS server in your client config like 1.1.1.1 and see if that changes anything.
The IP forwarding and iptables FORWARD chain are the most likely culprits based on what you have described.
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