Sharing Stellar with a TV, console, or anything that cannot install the client

TVs, consoles and some smart devices cannot run the Stellar client. There are two ways to put them through Stellar. Try the first — it is far simpler.

Option 1: Share the HTTP proxy (recommended)

The client has a switch for this. No system settings to change.

  1. On your computer, open Stellar and connect a line.
  2. Go to the HTTP Proxy page and turn on Share Http Proxy.
  3. It shows you an address like http://192.168.1.23:8668 — the IP is your computer's address on the local network.
  4. On the other device, set its HTTP proxy to that address, port 8668.

This requires the device to have a proxy setting. Check that first:

  • Most Android TVs and Android boxes do (under the Wi-Fi advanced settings).
  • Most LG webOS and Samsung Tizen TVs have no proxy option. If yours does not, go to Option 2.
  • PlayStation and Switch both have a proxy setting and work.

If the computer sleeps, shuts down, or disconnects from Stellar, the other device loses its proxy — it is being relayed by that computer.

Option 2: Share through your computer's network sharing

Share Stellar's virtual adapter using the operating system's connection sharing — macOS: System Settings → General → Sharing → Internet Sharing; Windows: the adapter's "Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection".

If the device gets an IP address but still has no internet, check the MTU first. This is the most common trap here, and it looks convincingly like a dead line:

  • The device gets an IP, can ping, and pages may partly begin to load.
  • But anything that actually transfers data — video, signing in — hangs.

Stellar's virtual adapter has an MTU of 1380 (the encryption needs the headroom), while TVs and consoles send at 1500 by default. Packets over 1380 cannot be sent, while small ones pass — so ping and DNS look fine and real traffic dies.

If the device exposes an MTU setting, set it to 1380 or lower. If it does not, use Option 1.

Client versions before 10.4.11 also had a bug of ours on this path (the internal network stack did not follow the 1380), producing exactly the same symptom. Update to the latest version before investigating.

Option 3: The router

Run the proxy on the router itself (an OpenWrt router, for example). Everything behind it goes through the proxy automatically, with no computer left switched on.

We do not currently ship a supported router-side setup. Saying so plainly so you do not spend time on it. If you already run something like OpenWrt and want to experiment, email us your hardware and we will tell you what we can offer.

What to check, in order

When the device is shared but has no internet, this order saves the most time:

  1. Does the computer itself have internet? If it does not, nothing shared from it will.
  2. Is the membership still active? An expired membership stops the proxy forwarding data, which also looks exactly like "has an IP, no network" and has nothing to do with sharing. Check the expiry on the client's account page or at stellar.dog.
  3. Can the device ping an external address? Pings fine but no pages: that is the MTU issue above.
  4. Is the client up to date? See the note above.