A VLESS Tunnel on an Hourly Mobile Proxy

Every HourlyProxies line comes with the usual HTTP(S) and SOCKS5 ports, and also with a VLESS link. For a lot of two-hour jobs the plain ports are all you need. But if you want the whole device to go through the line, or you are on a network that interferes with proxy traffic, or you simply like having a single encrypted tunnel with one link to paste, VLESS is the better door. This guide covers what it is, when it earns its place, which apps to use, and what happens to the tunnel when the hours end.

What VLESS is

VLESS is a lightweight tunnel protocol from the Xray and V2Ray family. A client app on your computer or phone opens an encrypted connection to a server, and everything you send through the tunnel comes out of the far end. On an HourlyProxies line, the far end is your dedicated carrier SIM, so traffic through the tunnel leaves with the AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon address of the city you bought.

Compared with a plain proxy, VLESS carries any kind of traffic, not just what a browser or a proxy-aware tool chooses to send. It is encrypted between you and the line, so an intermediate network cannot see it is proxy traffic. And it is configured with one link, which the client app reads in full, instead of host, port, user and password typed into four fields.

When to use it over HTTP or SOCKS5

Use the plain ports when the job is a browser profile, a scraper, a script or any tool with a proxy setting. They are simpler, they need no extra app, and for most two-hour jobs they are the right choice.

Use VLESS when you need the whole device on the line: a phone whose apps have no proxy setting, a desktop where you want every program to exit from the carrier address, or a test of how a mobile app behaves on a US carrier. Use it, too, on networks that meddle with plain proxy connections, such as some hotel, office or campus networks, since the tunnel looks like ordinary encrypted traffic. And use it when you are far from the US and want a single stable connection rather than many short proxy sessions.

Getting the link and picking a client

Buy a line at meter.hourlyproxies.com, in the app or in @HourlyProxiesBot, then open the line in the dashboard. Next to the proxy ports you will find the VLESS link, a long string starting with vless://. Copy it, or scan the QR code the dashboard shows beside it. The link is unique to the line and stops working when the line expires.

On Windows, v2rayN reads the link from the clipboard and makes the line a server you can switch on with one click. On Android, Hiddify and Nekobox both import the link by paste or QR and act as a VPN for every app on the phone. On iPhone and iPad, Shadowrocket does the same. On a Mac, Hiddify or any Xray-based client works. All of them show the active server, a connect switch, and a way to test the connection.

1. Open the line in the dashboard and copy the VLESS link or scan the QR
2. Install v2rayN (Windows), Hiddify or Nekobox (Android), Shadowrocket (iOS)
3. Import from clipboard or QR; the line appears as a server
4. Connect, then check the exit IP
5. Disconnect, or just let the line expire when the hours are up

Check the exit address

With the tunnel connected, open an IP check page in any browser on the device. You should see a US address on the carrier and in the state you bought. If you see your own address instead, the client is not routing traffic through the tunnel; check that the connect switch is on and that the app is set to route all traffic, not only a list of sites. If the page times out, the line may have expired, or the app may be using a protocol setting that does not match the link, which re-importing the link usually fixes.

Rotation works the same through the tunnel as through the ports. Open the rotation link, press Rotate in the dashboard or the bot, or set a timer. The tunnel stays up while the modem reconnects, and the next request leaves on the new address. Speed is set by the modem's signal, not by the tunnel: 4G usually 20 to 45 Mbps, 5G 50 Mbps and up.

What happens at expiry

When the hours end, the line stops and the VLESS link goes dead with it. The client app will show the server as unreachable, and depending on the app it will either fail closed, meaning the device has no internet until you disconnect, or fail open, meaning traffic goes back to your normal connection. Hiddify and Shadowrocket can be set either way; decide which you want before the clock runs out, especially if the device carries anything that must never leave on your home address.

If you extend before expiry, the link keeps working with no change. If you let the line go and buy another later, the new line has a new link; delete the old server from the app and import the fresh one. Hourly lines never renew by themselves, so there is never a surprise charge for a tunnel you forgot about.

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