Remote Devices
WePROXA can act as a proxy for any device on your local network — including physical iPhones, iPads, and Android phones — so you can inspect real app traffic the same way you inspect browser traffic on your Mac.
Prerequisites
Section titled “Prerequisites”- Your Mac and the mobile device must be on the same Wi-Fi network.
- WePROXA’s proxy must be running.
- LAN access must be enabled (it’s disabled by default so the proxy only listens on
127.0.0.1).
1. Enable LAN Access
Section titled “1. Enable LAN Access”- Open Settings → Remote Access in WePROXA.
- Toggle Allow LAN access on. (You may need to stop the proxy to change this setting; WePROXA will prompt you if so.)
- Optionally enable Auto-start LAN access so the proxy listens on the network automatically on every launch.
When LAN access is on, the Remote Access panel shows your Mac’s proxy address, for example 192.168.1.42:8888.
2. Install the CA Certificate on the Device
Section titled “2. Install the CA Certificate on the Device”To inspect HTTPS traffic from the device, the WePROXA root CA must be installed and trusted on that device.
WePROXA ships a temporary local certificate server with a QR code so you don’t have to email or AirDrop the certificate.
- In Settings → Remote Access, click Show QR Code for Certificate.
- On your device, scan the QR code (camera app on iOS, a QR scanner on Android) or open the URL shown below the QR code in the device’s browser.
- Download and install the certificate, then trust it (see platform-specific steps below).
- Click Close in WePROXA when you’re done — this stops the temporary certificate server.
- Open the URL in Safari (other browsers don’t install profiles correctly).
- Tap Allow when prompted to download the configuration profile.
- Open Settings → General → VPN & Device Management and install the WePROXA Root CA profile.
- Open Settings → General → About → Certificate Trust Settings and enable full trust for the WePROXA Root CA.
- Download the certificate from the URL shown in WePROXA.
- Open Settings → Security & privacy → More security settings → Encryption & credentials → Install a certificate → CA certificate. (Menus differ slightly by vendor.)
- Select the downloaded file and confirm. Android will warn about third-party CAs — this is expected for proxy debugging tools.
3. Choose a Proxy Setup Method
Section titled “3. Choose a Proxy Setup Method”After you open Show QR Code for Certificate, WePROXA gives you two ways to point a device at the proxy:
- Manual proxy — enter your Mac’s IP and proxy port yourself.
- Automatic proxy (PAC) — paste the PAC URL shown in the Remote Access panel.
Automatic Proxy Setup (PAC)
Section titled “Automatic Proxy Setup (PAC)”When the certificate panel is open and LAN access is enabled, WePROXA shows a Proxy Auto-Config (PAC) URL below the QR code.
Use this when you want the device to fetch proxy settings automatically instead of typing the host and port by hand.
- In Settings → Wi-Fi, tap the ⓘ next to the connected network.
- Scroll to HTTP Proxy and choose Automatic.
- Paste the PAC URL shown in WePROXA.
- Return to the app and keep the certificate panel available if you need to copy the PAC URL again later.
- Open the connected Wi-Fi network’s proxy settings.
- Choose Proxy Auto-Config if your device offers it.
- Paste the PAC URL shown in WePROXA.
- If your Android build does not support PAC, use the manual setup below instead.
Manual Proxy Setup
Section titled “Manual Proxy Setup”Configure the device’s Wi-Fi network to use the proxy address shown in WePROXA.
- Settings → Wi-Fi → tap the ⓘ next to the connected network.
- Scroll to HTTP Proxy and select Manual.
- Set Server to your Mac’s local IP (e.g.
192.168.1.42) and Port to the WePROXA port (default8888). - Leave authentication off.
- Settings → Network & internet → Internet → tap the gear next to the connected network → Advanced.
- Change Proxy to Manual.
- Set Proxy hostname to your Mac’s local IP and Proxy port to the WePROXA port (default
8888).
Open a browser on the device and visit any site — you should see traffic flowing into WePROXA’s request list.
Finding Remote Traffic
Section titled “Finding Remote Traffic”Requests from remote devices appear in the main request list and are also grouped under Devices in the sidebar source view, keyed by device IP. This makes it easy to isolate a single device’s traffic while other apps keep streaming.
The device row and each nested host row show live request counts from the current capture, so expanding a device gives you a quick view of where its traffic is going.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”- Nothing shows up — verify the Mac’s IP is reachable (try
http://<mac-ip>:<port>in the device’s browser). A firewall on the Mac may be blocking incoming connections. - HTTPS errors on the device — the CA profile isn’t installed or isn’t fully trusted. On iOS, check Certificate Trust Settings.
- App traffic not captured (Android) — app uses its own CA pinning or ignores user CAs. Use a debug build or run against an emulator. See iOS Simulator for simulator-based debugging.
- Certificate QR code won’t load — the local cert server uses a short-lived port. Close the dialog and click Show QR Code again to restart it.
- Certificate QR code port is already in use — reopen Show QR Code. WePROXA automatically falls back to an available port when the default certificate server port is busy.
- PAC URL missing — PAC is only shown while the certificate panel is open and LAN access is enabled.
- Automatic proxy stops working later — reopen Show QR Code for Certificate to bring the PAC URL back if the temporary cert server was closed.