A Nodetonet token is the bridge between your panel account and a physical Android device. The token lives in the panel; the Android agent app runs on the phone. The moment they connect, the device flips from OFFLINE to ONLINE and becomes a live mobile proxy backend — carrying a real 4G/5G carrier IP, ready to serve traffic. This walkthrough covers every step, screen by screen, from creating the token to sending your first request through the device.
By the end you will have one Android phone paired, visible in /tokens as ONLINE, and available as the exit IP for any proxy you create. If you have not read what a mobile proxy actually is yet, the complete mobile proxy guide explains the underlying concept first.
What you need before you start
- A Nodetonet account with at least a small prepaid credit balance (register here if you do not have one yet).
- An Android phone with an active SIM card and a reliable mobile data connection. Wi-Fi works for testing but a cellular connection produces a genuine mobile proxy IP.
- Chrome (or any browser) on the phone to download the agent APK.
Step 1 — Open the Tokens page
Log into the panel and pick Tokens from the sidebar. On a brand-new account the list is empty. The button you want is in the top-right corner: + New token.
Step 2 — Create the token
A small modal opens with a single field: Label. The label is private — it never appears in any proxy URL or credential string. Use something descriptive so you can tell devices apart at a glance:
Samsung Galaxy S24 — kitchenPixel 7a — travel SIMRedmi Note 13 — office Turkcell
Click Create. The panel generates a short alphanumeric token string — roughly twelve characters — and renders a QR code beside it. You can use either: paste the string on the phone, or scan the QR code directly from the agent.
Tip: copy the token string to your clipboard now, before navigating away. The QR code is always regenerable from the token row, but having the string on hand saves a step.
Step 3 — Install the Android agent
On the phone, open Chrome and navigate to nodetonet.com/download. Switch to the Android tab and tap Download APK. Android will warn you about installing apps from outside the Play Store — accept the prompt and install once the download finishes.
On Android 13 and later, the OS may also ask for an Install unknown apps permission specifically for the browser you used. Grant it once; it applies to future agent updates downloaded the same way.
Open the agent after installation. The first screen shows a single Token input. Either paste the string you copied, or tap the QR icon in the top-right of that screen and point the camera at the QR code in the panel.
Step 4 — Grant runtime permissions
On first launch the agent requests two permissions. Both are required for reliable proxy operation:
| Permission | Why it matters | What happens without it |
|---|---|---|
| Battery optimisation exemption | Keeps the agent running when the screen is locked or the phone sits idle | Android kills the background process; your proxy goes OFFLINE minutes after the screen locks |
| Foreground service notification | Displays a persistent notification proving the agent is alive | On Android 8+ a background service cannot run indefinitely without a visible notification |
Accept both. The agent then opens a WebSocket connection to Nodetonet's edge servers and waits for the panel to acknowledge. This handshake normally completes in under three seconds.
On some Samsung devices you may see an additional Restricted settings dialog for the accessibility or battery option. Tap Allow in the system Settings page that opens — the agent will surface a direct link to the right screen.
Step 5 — Watch the panel turn green
Switch back to /tokens on any browser. Within a few seconds the row for your token updates:
- The status circle changes from grey to green
- OFFLINE becomes ONLINE
- The device column populates with real metadata: Android version, device model, and detected carrier — for example
Android 14 · Galaxy S24 · Vodafone TR
You can use our free What is my IP tool through the proxy later to confirm the exit IP looks like a real mobile carrier address.
If it stays grey
The most common causes in order of frequency:
- Wi-Fi blocking outbound WebSockets — some corporate or ISP Wi-Fi setups block port 443 WebSocket upgrades. Switch the phone to mobile data and retry.
- Token copied with a trailing space — delete and re-type a character, or re-scan the QR code.
- Battery permission not fully granted — go to Android Settings > Apps > Nodetonet Agent > Battery > Unrestricted, then reopen the agent.
For edge cases beyond these three, the Android agent troubleshooting guide has a full diagnostic checklist.
Step 6 — Use the paired device as a proxy
The paired device is now available in the Token dropdown whenever you create a new proxy. Head to /proxies and open + New proxy. Select your token from the list, choose HTTP/HTTPS or SOCKS5, and the panel generates the endpoint, username and password.
You can also add the device to a token group, which places it in a round-robin pool alongside other paired phones. Token groups are how you scale: when the group has several devices, every request automatically exits through a different phone — each with its own CGNAT IP — giving you a natural rotating mobile proxy without any extra configuration.
Need a sticky IP for a login flow or checkout? Append -session-XXXX to the proxy username and all requests in that session share the same exit device. Read sticky sessions explained for the full syntax.
Step 7 — Keep the agent healthy long-term
A paired device is only useful while it stays ONLINE. A few habits keep uptime high:
- Leave mobile data on. The agent stays connected over Wi-Fi too, but the exit IP is only a genuine mobile IP when the phone routes through a cellular interface.
- Do not force-stop the agent. The foreground notification is the signal the service is alive — swiping the notification away on Android 14+ is fine, but tapping Force stop in App Settings kills the session.
- Keep the APK updated. The panel shows the agent version on the token row. New versions arrive as OTA updates — the agent prompts you automatically. An old agent version may disconnect if the server protocol advances.
- Plug in overnight. The battery exemption prevents Android from killing the agent, but a dead battery is unrecoverable. For always-on backends, keep phones on charge.
What to explore next
- Full platform walkthrough — from signup to first live proxy request, end to end.
- Token groups — creating device pools — pair multiple phones and rotate automatically between them.
- When to use rotating mobile proxies — choosing between per-request rotation and sticky sessions.
- Device health: what ONLINE actually means — understanding the status indicators in depth.
- Geo-targeting — target a specific carrier like Turkcell or city like Istanbul via username modifiers.
- Android agent troubleshooting — what to do when ONLINE keeps flipping.