HamNetHome › Guides › Android TV / smart TV
VPN for Android TV and smart TVs through an Android phone
Installing a VPN on a TV is awkward and on many TVs impossible. With HamNet the Android phone becomes the VPN and opens a hotspot; the TV (Android TV, Google TV, Samsung, LG — anything with a proxy setting) joins it, and the browser and streaming apps that honour the system proxy go through the phone's VPN.
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 TV / smart TV
- Connect the TV to HamNet's network (a hotspot is the easiest).
- Settings → Network & Internet → the connected network → Proxy settings → Manual.
- Host name: HamNet's address, Port: 8181.
- Apps that honour the system proxy (browser, many streaming apps) use the tunnel.
Three steps
Paste the link
Paste your VPN link or subscription into HamNet and tap Connect VPN. Android asks once to allow the VPN.
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.
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
Android / tablet · iPhone / iPad · Mac · Windows 10 / 11 · Linux · PlayStation 4 / 5