VPN on an old iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac or Windows PC: what still installs in 2026

In short: what matters is not the year you bought the device but the last system version it updates to. Below, for each kind of device: where the line is, what installs on either side of it, and what to do when a device is past every line.

How to find your system version

• iPhone and iPad: Settings → General → About, the iOS version line.
• Android: Settings → About phone → Android version. Some makers put it one level deeper, for example under Software information.
• Mac: Apple menu → About This Mac.
• Windows: press Win + R, type winver and press Enter.

iPhone: which model stopped at which iOS

The widget and the Safari ad blocker in our app work from iOS 17, the Control Center toggle from iOS 18. On iOS 16 the app connects the same way, just without them. How to install it through TestFlight: our app for iPhone.

iOS 15. Our app runs on it, but you cannot install it there: TestFlight, the Apple app we distribute it through, now requires iOS 16. On an iPhone 6s, 7 or first SE, install INCY or Happ: both need iOS 15.

iOS 13 and 14. Update the iPhone to iOS 15: every model that got iOS 13 also gets iOS 15. If you cannot update at all, the paid Shadowrocket installs on iOS 13 and Streisand on iOS 14. We have not tried either with our servers.

iPad

The line is the same, only the system is called iPadOS. The iPad (5th generation) and later, iPad Air 3, iPad mini 5 and every iPad Pro get iPadOS 16 or later, so our app installs on them. The iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4 stopped at iPadOS 15: INCY and Happ work there, our app does not, for the same TestFlight reason. The first iPad Air, iPad mini 2 and 3 and anything older stayed on iOS 12 or earlier.

Android: what installs on each version

How to install our app: ProxysVPN for Android. It does not install on Android TV yet.

v2rayNG is a free open-source client. It installs as an APK file from GitHub: the current version for Android 7 and version 1.10.32 for Android 5 and 6. If you do not know which processor the phone has, take the file with universal in its name. Add the subscription link from your account in the subscription settings (menu ☰ → “+”), then update the subscription from the ⋮ menu on the main screen. Version 1.10.32 will get no more updates, and we have not tried it with our servers.

Mac

Our Mac app installs through TestFlight and needs macOS 13 Ventura. One build covers Apple Silicon and Intel; we have not run it on an Intel Mac ourselves yet. Details: our app for Mac. Ventura installs on these Macs:

• MacBook Pro 2017 and later, MacBook 2017;
• MacBook Air 2018 and later;
• iMac 2017 and later, iMac Pro;
• Mac mini 2018 and later, Mac Pro 2019 and later;
• every Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 and later).

On macOS from 10.15 Catalina to 12 Monterey you can install Hiddify: its project files name macOS 10.15. We have not tried it with our servers. For even older Macs, use the computer method below: macOS network settings take a proxy too.

Windows

The regular version of our app is for Windows 10 and 11. For 64-bit Windows 7 SP1, 8 and 8.1 there is a separate build, for 32-bit ones v2rayN 6.43 with the Xray core. Step by step: what works on Windows 7 and 8.1, VPN on Windows 7 and VPN on Windows 8 and 8.1. For Windows XP and Vista there is no client with modern protocols.

Apple TV

Apple allowed VPN apps on the TV only from tvOS 17. The Apple TV HD from 2015 and every Apple TV 4K get it, so our app installs on them: see ProxysVPN for Apple TV. The third-generation Apple TV and older take no apps at all.

When the system runs nothing: VPN through a computer at home

For an iPad on iOS 12, a phone on Android 4.4 or a very old Mac there is a fallback. A computer with v2rayN connects to the VPN and accepts connections from your Wi-Fi network, and the old device goes online through it as through a proxy.

1. 1On a computer with Windows 10 or 11, macOS or Linux, install v2rayN and add the subscription link from your account: Subscription Group → Subscription group settings → Add, then update the subscription and connect.
2. 2In v2rayN, open Settings → Option Setting and turn on “Allow connections from the LAN”. The port in the Mixed Port field (10808 by default) accepts both HTTP and SOCKS. If Windows asks about the firewall, allow access on private networks.
3. 3Find the computer's address on your home network. On Windows: the ipconfig command, the IPv4 Address line, something like 192.168.1.20. On a Mac: System Settings → Network.
4. 4On the old iPad: Settings → Wi-Fi → ⓘ next to your network → HTTP Proxy → Manual. Server: the computer's address; port: 10808. On Android: long-press the network → Modify network → Advanced options → Proxy → Manual.
5. 5Open our leak test in the browser: it should show the VPN server's address, not your home one.

• It works while the computer is on and its VPN is connected.
• The browser and apps that follow the system settings go through the proxy. Some apps ignore them and go direct.
• Between the old device and the computer, data crosses your Wi-Fi network without the tunnel's encryption; HTTPS sites stay encrypted. At home that is fine. Do not do this on a public network, and turn off “Allow connections from the LAN” at home when you are done.

Old devices and security

A system without updates has known holes that nobody will close any more. A VPN protects the connection, not the phone itself: if the device is compromised through the browser or a malicious app, the tunnel will not fix that. Do not install apps from random sources on an old device, and open your bank and email on one that still gets updates.

FAQ