Windows proxy settings are system-wide: Chrome, Edge and most desktop apps follow them. On Windows 11, go to Settings > Network & internet > Proxy, click Set up next to Use a proxy server, enter the host and HTTP port from your ProxyHive order and click Save. The dialog has no username or password fields, so the browser prompts for them, or you allowlist your own IP on the order. Visiting https://api.ipify.org confirms the new exit IP.

Steps checked against Microsoft's Windows support documentation on 2026-09-29.

Before you start

  1. Buy an IP and open the order in the dashboard at https://app.proxyhive.io.
  2. Copy HOST, PORT, USERNAME and PASSWORD. Every ISP or datacenter IP is its own endpoint, and the order lists separate HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 ports.
  3. Choose authentication. Windows cannot store proxy credentials, so for anything that cannot show a sign-in box (services, command-line tools, background updaters), put your public IP on the order's IP allowlist instead.

Use the HTTP port. The Windows dialog sets an HTTP proxy, which also carries https:// sites through an encrypted tunnel.

Windows 11 proxy setup

  1. Open Settings (Win + I) and select Network & internet.
  2. Select Proxy.
  3. Under Manual proxy setup, click Set up next to Use a proxy server.
  4. In Edit proxy server, turn on Use a proxy server.
  5. Proxy IP address: HOST from your order. Port: the HTTP port.
  6. In the exceptions box, list addresses that should skip the proxy, separated by semicolons (wildcards such as *.example.com work).
  7. Leave Don't use the proxy server for local (intranet) addresses ticked unless you need otherwise.
  8. Click Save.

If Automatically detect settings or a setup script is on in the same page and you do not need it, turn it off so it does not compete with the manual proxy.

Windows 10 proxy settings

Windows 10 reached end of support in October 2025 but is still common. The path is almost the same: Settings > Network & Internet > Proxy, then under Manual proxy setup turn on Use a proxy server, fill in Address and Port, the exceptions and the local-address checkbox, and click Save. There is no separate Set up dialog.

Authentication without password fields

The Windows proxy dialog stores an address and port only. What happens next depends on the app:

  • Chrome and Edge show a sign-in box the first time the proxy asks. Enter the username and password from the order. Expect it again in each new browser session.
  • Firefox follows the Windows proxy only when its own setting is Use system proxy settings; the Firefox guide covers its separate settings.
  • Apps that cannot prompt fail with a 407 or a connection error. Use the IP allowlist on the order, or give the app its own proxy with credentials, or route it with Proxifier, which stores credentials and sets rules per app.

Services and netsh winhttp

Some Windows components and services use WinHTTP, which ignores the Settings page and has a proxy of its own. From an administrator Command Prompt:

netsh winhttp show proxy
netsh winhttp set proxy proxy-server="HOST:PORT" bypass-list="<local>"
netsh winhttp import proxy source=ie
netsh winhttp reset proxy

The second line sets the WinHTTP proxy directly; the third copies your user proxy setting instead; the last removes it. WinHTTP has nowhere to put a username and password, so this only works with the IP allowlist.

Verify the exit IP

In a browser, open https://api.ipify.org?format=json. The ip value should be the IP on your order.

In PowerShell, confirm what Windows has stored, then test the proxy directly with credentials:

Get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings' |
  Select-Object ProxyEnable, ProxyServer, ProxyOverride

$cred = Get-Credential
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri 'https://api.ipify.org?format=json' -Proxy 'http://HOST:PORT' -ProxyCredential $cred

ProxyEnable should be 1 and ProxyServer your HOST and port. Get-Credential opens a box for the username and password, so they do not land in your command history.

curl.exe ships with Windows 10 and 11 but does not read the system proxy. Pass it explicitly, as the curl guide shows:

curl.exe -x http://HOST:PORT -U "USERNAME:PASSWORD" "https://api.ipify.org?format=json"

Several IPs

The system proxy holds one address at a time. To run several static IPs side by side, give each browser or browser profile its own proxy, or use Proxifier rules per app. Static IPs keep the same address for the whole term, so an account always appears from one place; what an ISP proxy is explains why that address looks like a home connection, and ISP proxies are sold from one IP.

Troubleshooting

  • Pages fail to load with a proxy error in Edge or Chrome. Wrong host or port, or a SOCKS5 port entered in the HTTP-only dialog.
  • Sign-in box repeats. Wrong username or password, or the order uses the allowlist and your current IP is not on it.
  • One app ignores the proxy. It uses WinHTTP (see above) or has its own proxy setting.
  • Settings are greyed out. Your organisation manages the proxy through policy.

For what each status code means, read the proxy error codes guide. Microsoft's proxy server article is the official reference for the Settings pages.