How to set up a proxy on Windows, macOS, iPhone and Android (with a username and password)

Setting up a proxy for a whole computer or phone takes a few minutes, but every operating system hides the settings somewhere different, and not all of them have a place for a username and password. This guide walks through each platform — Windows, macOS, iPhone, Android and Firefox — then shows how to check that the proxy works and how to turn it off.

Before you start

You need four details, found under My proxies (with 65Proxy) or from your provider:

• Host — the proxy server's address (a domain name or an IP).
• Port — HTTP and SOCKS5 usually have separate ports.
• Username and Password — the proxy's login.

Two things to know first:

1. Operating system settings use an HTTP proxy. Most browsers don't support SOCKS5 with a password (the reason is in SOCKS5 vs HTTP proxies), so use the HTTP port here.
2. A system proxy applies to apps that follow the system settings, mainly browsers. Some apps ignore it or can't handle a proxy password. If every account needs its own proxy, use an antidetect browser instead of a system proxy.

Windows 10 and Windows 11

Windows 11:

1. Open Settings with Windows + I.
2. Go to Network & internet → Proxy.
3. Under Manual proxy setup, next to Use a proxy server, click Set up.
4. Turn on Use a proxy server, enter the host as Proxy IP address and the HTTP port as Port.
5. Tick Don't use the proxy server for local (intranet) addresses, then click Save.

Windows 10: go to Settings → Network & Internet → Proxy, scroll to Manual proxy setup, turn on Use a proxy server, fill in Address and Port, then click Save.

This Windows screen has no username or password fields. The first time you open a website, Chrome or Edge shows a proxy sign-in box — enter the proxy's username and password there.

To turn the proxy off, go back to the same screen and switch off Use a proxy server.

macOS

On macOS Ventura and later:

1. Open System Settings → Network.
2. Choose the connection you use (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) → click Details… → choose Proxies.
3. Turn on Web proxy (HTTP) and enter the host as the server and the HTTP port as the port.
4. Turn on Proxy server requires password and enter the username and password.
5. Do the same for Secure web proxy (HTTPS) with the same host, port, username and password.
6. Click OK.

On older macOS versions the path is System Preferences → Network → choose the connection → Advanced… → Proxies, with the same fields.

Safari and Chrome on a Mac both use these settings. To turn the proxy off, untick the two proxy options you enabled.

iPhone and iPad

1. Open Settings → Wi-Fi.
2. Tap the (i) next to the Wi-Fi network you're connected to.
3. Scroll to the bottom, tap Configure Proxy → Manual.
4. Enter the host as Server and the HTTP port as Port.
5. Turn on Authentication, enter the username and password, then tap Save.

Note: this proxy only applies to that Wi-Fi network. When you switch to mobile data or another Wi-Fi network, the iPhone stops using it. To turn it off, choose Off in step 3.

Android

Menu names differ by phone maker, but the steps are similar:

1. Open Settings → Network & internet (or Connections) → Wi-Fi.
2. Tap the gear icon next to the connected network (on some phones, long-press the network name), then Edit or View more.
3. Open Advanced options, and under Proxy choose Manual.
4. Enter the host as Proxy hostname and the HTTP port as Proxy port, then tap Save.

Android's big limitation: the Wi-Fi proxy setting has no username or password fields. Some browsers will ask for the login when you open a page, but many other apps won't and will just fail to connect. As on the iPhone, the setting only applies to the Wi-Fi network you edited.

Firefox: a proxy for the browser only

Firefox has its own proxy settings, independent of the operating system — handy when you only want one browser to use the proxy:

1. Open Settings → General, scroll to Network Settings → click Settings…
2. Choose Manual proxy configuration.
3. Enter the host as HTTP Proxy, the HTTP port as Port, and tick Also use this proxy for HTTPS.
4. Click OK. The first time you open a page, Firefox asks for the proxy's username and password.

Firefox also has a SOCKS Host field, but nowhere to enter a password for SOCKS — for password-protected proxies, use HTTP as above.

Chrome and Edge have no proxy settings of their own: System → Open your computer's proxy settings in Chrome just opens the Windows or macOS settings above.

Check that the proxy works

After setting it up, open a browser and visit api.ipify.org — the page shows just an IP address. It should be the proxy's IP, not your home IP. To see the country and carrier too, open ipinfo.io: with a Singapore 4G proxy, the country should be SG and the time zone Asia/Singapore.

Deeper checks — carrier, speed, DNS and WebRTC leaks — are in how to check a proxy.

No internet after setting it up?

• Every page fails to connect: double-check the host and port, and make sure you used the HTTP port, not the SOCKS5 one.
• It keeps asking for a password, or shows error 407: the username or password is wrong — copy them again, watching for stray spaces.
• You need the internet right now: turning the proxy off with the steps above puts the device back on its normal connection immediately.

The full list of errors and fixes is in common proxy errors.