How to Set Up a Proxy in Windows 10 and 11

Setting up a proxy in Windows makes the whole system use it: Chrome, Edge, Opera and many desktop programs that follow the system settings go out to the internet through the proxy without their own configuration. It is the simplest way when one mobile proxy is needed for everything on the computer.

Before you start, have the connection details at hand: address, port, login and password. With LTESpace they are shown in your account after you choose a plan.

Windows 10

• open Start and click Settings, the gear icon;
• go to Network & Internet;
• choose Proxy in the menu on the left;
• in Manual proxy setup, turn on Use a proxy server;
• enter the proxy address and port;
• if needed, list the addresses that should go direct and keep Don’t use the proxy server for local addresses on;
• click Save.

Exceptions are separated with semicolons: *.local;192.168.*;intranet.company.com. The asterisk stands for any part of an address. Everything on the list opens directly, without the proxy.

Windows 11

• open Settings and go to Network & internet;
• choose Proxy;
• next to Use a proxy server, click Set up;
• turn on Use a proxy server, enter the address and port and add exceptions if needed;
• click Save.

Through Internet Options

The older way works in both Windows 10 and Windows 11 and changes the same settings:

• press Win + R, type inetcpl.cpl and press Enter — the Internet Properties window opens;
• open the Connections tab and click LAN settings;
• turn on Use a proxy server for your LAN;
• enter the address and port, and turn on Bypass proxy server for local addresses if needed;
• under Advanced you can add exceptions with the same semicolon-separated list;
• click OK in both windows.

Automatic setup and scripts

Above manual setup, Windows has an Automatic proxy setup block with two switches: Automatically detect settings and Use setup script. A setup script is a PAC file provided by a corporate network: it decides which addresses go through which proxy.

At home or in a small office you usually don’t need either switch. When they are on, Windows may look for a proxy on the network and interfere with the manual setup. For a mobile proxy, turn them off and keep only manual setup.

Login and password

Windows itself does not store the login and password of the proxy in these settings. When a program first goes through a proxy that requires authorisation, it asks for the credentials — a browser shows a sign-in window. Enter the username and password from the connection details and save them in the browser if it offers.

Through the command line

Some Windows system services, such as updates, use a separate network component called WinHTTP and don’t read the manual setup from Settings. For them the proxy is set in a command prompt run as administrator:

• netsh winhttp show proxy — show the current setting;
• netsh winhttp import proxy source=ie — copy the setting from Settings;
• netsh winhttp set proxy proxy-server="address:port" bypass-list="*.local" — set the proxy and exceptions by hand;
• netsh winhttp reset proxy — clear it and go back to a direct connection.

These commands don’t affect browsers. You usually need them when a program runs as a Windows service and doesn’t see the proxy from Settings.

Which programs follow the system proxy

• Chrome, Edge and Opera — always, they have no proxy fields of their own;
• Firefox — only if its network settings are set to use the system proxy; by default it can use its own, see how to set up mobile proxies in Firefox;
• many desktop programs — if they follow system settings;
• games, messengers and programs with their own network stack often ignore the system proxy.

What about SOCKS5

The manual proxy setup in Windows is made for HTTP-type proxies. For SOCKS5, set the proxy inside the program itself if it supports it, use a browser extension, or use a separate proxy client that routes chosen programs through SOCKS5. For browsers, extensions are the easiest route — see FoxyProxy with mobile proxies.

How to check that the proxy works

Restart the browser and open any IP checker. It should show the address of the mobile carrier, the country and city of the chosen GEO and a mobile network as the connection type. If the old IP is shown, check the address and port, make sure Use a proxy server is on, and that no VPN is running — a VPN takes priority over the proxy.

Also run a WebRTC leak test: the browser can reveal the real address past the proxy. How to close it is explained in how to disable WebRTC.

If the proxy doesn’t work

• the address includes http:// or the port — the address field takes only the address, and the port goes in its own field;
• a VPN is on — it overrides the proxy, and sites see the VPN address;
• automatic setup is on — Windows looks for a proxy on the network and the manual setup doesn’t apply; turn those switches off;
• “Windows could not automatically detect this network’s proxy settings” — network diagnostics shows this when automatic detection is on; turning it off and checking the manual setup helps;
• the setting resets itself — another program changes it: a VPN client, an antivirus or a stray extension; check what starts with the system;
• the internet stops working — the proxy is unreachable or the login and password are wrong; turn the proxy off, check the connection details in your account and turn it back on;
• no sign-in window appears — the program doesn’t support proxy authorisation; connect it through a proxy client or use a program with its own proxy settings.

When the system proxy is not the best choice

The system proxy is one address for everything. If you work with several accounts or GEOs, it gets in the way: every program and every profile goes out through the same IP. In that case keep the proxy inside the browser or use an antidetect browser, where each profile has its own channel — see Dolphin Anty with mobile proxies.

How to turn the proxy off

Go back to Settings, open Proxy and switch off Use a proxy server. Programs return to a direct connection right away or after a restart. If the proxy was also set for services with netsh, clear it with netsh winhttp reset proxy.

Summary

In Windows 10 and 11 the proxy is set in Settings, in the Proxy section, or in Internet Options: address, port and semicolon-separated exceptions. Automatic setup is best turned off for a mobile proxy, and Windows services get the proxy through netsh winhttp. Browsers based on Chromium follow it and ask for the login and password themselves, SOCKS5 is set in programs or extensions. After setup, check the IP and WebRTC, and pick the proxy itself in the LTESpace plans.