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How to share your VPN connection over Socks with other devices

Using Every Proxy to share your VPN connection allows many secondary devices to connect to your primary device. No root permissions or cables necessary.

This tutorial describes how to route your Socks traffic from your secondary device through the VPN connection on the primary Android device using Every Proxy.

What you will need:

  1. A primary Android device with Every Proxy installed. You will also need to install Every Proxy Network Bridge on the primary Android device if your VPN client application type is per-app
  2. An internet connection for the primary device (WiFi or Mobile)
  3. A secondary device (iOS, Windows, MacBook etc.)

What you will need to know:

  1. Your primary Android device Android version
  2. Whether your VPN client application is a system wide VPN client or a per-app VPN client

For details on how to determine your Android version and your VPN client application type please see the Frequently Asked Questions.

Method 1: Both devices connected to the same network (i.e. WiFi)

When both the primary device as well as secondary device are connected to the same network, for example when both devices are connected to the same WiFi network, setting up the connection between the devices is relatively straight forward.

This method has been tested using the ProtonVPN Android client (ver. v4.4.92.0) on an Android 12 primary device with Every Proxy (ver. 12.3).

Setting up the primary Android device

  1. Connect the primary Android device to your local network (WiFi)
  2. Connect the secondary device to your local network (WiFi)
  3. Per-app VPN clients only: Add the Every Proxy application to the excluded / disallowed list in the VPN client application if both lists are empty or you are using an excluded / disallowed list OR add the Every Proxy Network Bridge application to the included / allowed list in the VPN client application if using an included / allowed list
  4. Connect the primary Android device to your VPN
  5. Per-app VPN clients only: In the settings for Every Proxy -> Enable network bridge for both the HTTP Proxy as well as for the Socks Proxy
  6. Start the Socks Proxy in Every Proxy
  7. Start the PAC Server in Every Proxy

Notes

  1. Make a note of the URL for the local network IP Address displayed on the PAC Server in Every Proxy. The primary Android device should have two IP Addresses at this point as it is connected to two networks namely the local (WiFi) network and the VPN network. Typically the local network IP Address starts with 192.
  2. Every Proxy, by default, binds the Socks Proxy to IP Address 0.0.0.0. It’s recommended to keep this setting unless you want to specifically only expose the proxy on a certain IP Address

Setting up a secondary device

The way to set up a secondary device differs depending on the operating system being used.

Setting up a secondary Android device

Andoid does not natively have a system wide Socks Proxy setting that routes all traffic through an external Socks Proxy. Watch this space for updates.

Setting up a secondary iOS device

These instructions differ by iOS version but you should be able to add a proxy to your WiFi connection with ease through the device’s settings.

Tested using an iOS 15.5 device.

Go to:

  1. Settings
  2. Wi-Fi
  3. Select the WiFi Network you are connected to
  4. HTTP Proxy
  5. Configure Proxy
  6. Automatic
  7. For the URL enter in the URL of the local network IP Address displayed on the PAC Server in Every Proxy. It should look something like http://192.X.X.X:8081/proxy.pac
  8. Save

Setting up a secondary Windows device

Tested using a Windows 10 device.

Go to:

  1. Settings
  2. Network & Internet
  3. Proxy
  4. Automatic proxy setup
  5. Switch on Use setup script
  6. For the Script address enter in the URL of the local network IP Address displayed on the PAC Server in Every Proxy. It should look something like http://192.X.X.X:8081/proxy.pac
  7. Save

Setting up a secondary macOS device

These instructions differ by macOS version but you should be able to add a proxy to your WiFi connection with ease through the device’s settings.

Tested using a macOS 12.6.2 device.

Go to:

  1. System Preferences
  2. Network
  3. Wi-Fi
  4. Advanced
  5. Proxies
  6. Select the checkbox next to Automatic Proxy Configuration
  7. For the URL enter in the URL of the local network IP Address displayed on the PAC Server in Every Proxy. It should look something like http://192.X.X.X:8081/proxy.pac
  8. OK

After setting up a secondary device

The secondary device’s Socks traffic should now be routed through the VPN connection on the primary Android device through Every Proxy.

The Every Proxy application on the primary device should show some indication that the requests are passing through it while browsing the web on the secondary device.

If you find this application useful please consider making a donation.

Method 2: The primary Android device is connected to a mobile network

Use this method when the primary Android device is connected to a mobile network. The secondary device will connect to a WiFi Hotspot on the primary Android device.

This method has been tested using the ProtonVPN Android client (ver. v4.4.92.0) on an Android 12 primary device with Every Proxy (ver. 12.3).

Setting up the primary Android device

  1. Connect the primary Android device to your mobile network
  2. Per-app VPN clients only: Add the Every Proxy application to the excluded / disallowed list in the VPN client application if both lists are empty or you are using an excluded / disallowed list OR add the Every Proxy Network Bridge application to the included / allowed list in the VPN client application if using an included / allowed list
  3. Connect the primary Android device to your VPN
  4. Start a WiFi hotspot (Described below)
  5. Per-app VPN clients only: In the settings for Every Proxy -> Enable network bridge for both the HTTP Proxy as well as for the Socks Proxy
  6. Start the Socks Proxy in Every Proxy
  7. Start the PAC Server in Every Proxy

Notes

  1. Make a note of the URL for the local network IP Address displayed on the PAC Server in Every Proxy. The primary Android device should have many IP Addresses at this point as it is connected to multiple networks namely the mobile network, the VPN network and the WiFi Hotspot network. Typically the hotspot network IP Address starts with 192.
  2. Every Proxy, by default, binds the Socks Proxy to IP Address 0.0.0.0. It’s recommended to keep this setting unless you want to specifically only expose the proxy on a certain IP Address

Start a WiFi Hotspot

Go to:

  1. Settings
  2. Wi-Fi & Network
  3. Hotspot and tethering
  4. Wi-Fi hotspot
  5. Toggle the switch to On

Note
Some devices may restrict you from switching the Hotspot on until you have provided a Hotspot password.

Setting up a secondary device

The way to set up a secondary device differs depending on the operating system being used.

Setting up a secondary Android device

Andoid does not natively have a system wide Socks Proxy setting that routes all traffic through an external Socks Proxy. Watch this space for updates.

Setting up a secondary iOS device

These instructions differ by iOS version but you should be able to add a new WiFi connection and proxy with ease through the device’s settings.

Tested using an iOS 15.5 device.

Create a new WiFi connection to the primary device’s hotspot:

  1. Settings
  2. Wi-Fi
  3. Under Networks -> Select the name of the hotspot from the primary device
  4. Enter hotspot password
  5. Join

Set the Socks Proxy for the hotspot connection:

  1. Settings
  2. Wi-Fi
  3. Select the WiFi Network you are connected to
  4. HTTP Proxy
  5. Configure Proxy
  6. Automatic
  7. For the URL enter in the URL of the local network IP Address displayed on the PAC Server in Every Proxy. It should look something like http://192.X.X.X:8081/proxy.pac
  8. Save

Setting up a secondary Windows device

Tested using a Windows 10 device.

Create a new WiFi connection to the primary device’s hotspot:

  1. Settings
  2. Network & Internet
  3. Show available networks
  4. Select the name of the hotspot from the primary device
  5. Connect
  6. Enter hotspot password
  7. Next

Set the Socks Proxy for the hotspot connection:

  1. Settings
  2. Network & Internet
  3. Proxy
  4. Automatic proxy setup
  5. Switch on Use setup script
  6. For the Script address enter in the URL of the local network IP Address displayed on the PAC Server in Every Proxy. It should look something like http://192.X.X.X:8081/proxy.pac
  7. Save

Setting up a secondary macOS device

These instructions differ by macOS version but you should be able to add a new WiFi connection and proxy with ease through the device’s settings.

Tested using a macOS 12.6.2 device.

Create a new WiFi connection to the primary device’s hotspot:

  1. System Preferences
  2. Network
  3. Wi-Fi
  4. Network Name -> Select the name of the hotspot from the primary device
  5. Enter hotspot password
  6. Join

Set the Socks Proxy for the hotspot connection:

  1. System Preferences
  2. Network
  3. Wi-Fi
  4. Advanced
  5. Proxies
  6. Select the checkbox next to Automatic Proxy Configuration
  7. For the URL enter in the URL of the local network IP Address displayed on the PAC Server in Every Proxy. It should look something like http://192.X.X.X:8081/proxy.pac
  8. OK

After setting up a secondary device

The secondary device’s Socks traffic should now be routed through the VPN connection on the primary Android device through Every Proxy.

The Every Proxy application on the primary device should show some indication that the requests are passing through it while browsing the web on the secondary device.

If you find this application useful please consider making a donation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I test that I am using the VPN connection on the secondary device?

Go to https://whatismyipaddress.com in a browser on your secondary device. If the IP Address shown matches the IP Address shown in your VPN client application then your configuration is successful.

Other Frequently Asked Questions

Please see Frequently Asked Questions