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Share an Android phone's VPN with another Android phone or tablet

No need to buy a VPN for every phone or pass links around. The host phone becomes the VPN with HamNet and opens a hotspot; the second phone or tablet joins that network and gets free internet — with one tap if HamNet is installed there too, or with a simple proxy setting if not.

What you need

An Android phone (8.0+) with HamNet and a VPN link from your provider or your own server. The phone becomes the VPN and opens the hotspot or Wi-Fi Direct network itself; the second device only joins that network and takes the proxy address — no app, no account, no root.

Android / tablet

  1. Easiest: install HamNet on that phone too. Join the host phone's Wi-Fi (scan the Wi-Fi QR with the camera), open HamNet and tap “Connect this phone”: every app on it — not just the browser — goes through the tunnel, no proxy settings anywhere.
  2. Without the app: Settings → Wi-Fi → tap the connected network → Edit → Proxy: Manual → enter the address and port shown in HamNet → Save. Only proxy-aware apps (browsers, most apps) use the tunnel this way.

Three steps

1

Paste the link

Paste your VPN link or subscription into HamNet and tap Connect VPN. Android asks once to allow the VPN.

2

Turn sharing on

HamNet makes a Wi-Fi Direct network, or opens a hotspot when Wi-Fi is off, and shows a QR code. Switch Wi-Fi off or on and it moves along with you.

3

Connect the other device

Scan the first QR with the camera to join the network. An Android phone with HamNet: one tap, done. Everything else: the second QR opens the setup page — iPhone and Mac get a one-tap profile, Windows a PAC link.

Install HamNet on the Android phone

APK · version 2.5.1 · free

Related questions

Does the second device need a VPN or an app?

No. iPhone, Mac, Windows, Linux, TVs and consoles only need a proxy setting (or the one-tap profile/PAC). A second Android phone can install HamNet itself: one tap joins the host and every app on that phone goes through the tunnel.

Which apps go through the tunnel?

Anything that honours the system proxy: browsers, most messaging and streaming apps, app stores. UDP apps (some games, voice calls) may not.

Is the other devices' traffic encrypted?

Between the device and the phone, HTTPS stays HTTPS; from the phone to your server it is inside the VPN tunnel. HamNet stores or sends nothing.

Guides for other devices

iPhone / iPad · Mac · Windows 10 / 11 · Linux · Android TV / smart TV · PlayStation 4 / 5