Set up Wi-Fi PAC

The full Wi-Fi PAC walkthrough — certificate trust, the per-device PAC URL, the Configure Proxy flow, and a screen recording of the whole setup.

PAC mode points your iPhone's Wi-Fi at a per-device Busymate proxy, so its Wi-Fi traffic is captured server-side — no always-on VPN tunnel. It's the lightest way to capture on a trusted network, it keeps working in the background, and it moves the decryption (and breakpoints and scripts) off-device onto the proxy server. This page is the full walkthrough; for how PAC compares to the VPN tunnel, see VPN vs PAC modes.

Before you start

PAC mode needs two things in place first:

  1. The app installed and paired — see Install & pair.
  2. The Root CA installed and fully trusted — otherwise HTTPS still flows, but the bodies stay encrypted. See Trust the certificate. The app's home screen shows a green Ready — certificate installed and trusted badge once this is done.

Watch the full setup

This 33-second screen recording walks the whole flow end to end — the app's Ready state, copying the device's PAC URL, and pointing Wi-Fi at it:

Step by step

1. Get your PAC URL

On the app's home screen, switch to PAC mode. The grouped card shows this device's URL:

http://<port>.busymate.net

Each device gets its own port. Tap the in-app Settings link to copy the URL to your clipboard, or use the How to set up Wi-Fi PAC button for an in-app guide.

Note: The URL only becomes real once the device receives its assigned port from the server — usually a few seconds after pairing. Until then it shows <allocating> and the status reads "Waiting for port…".

2. Point your Wi-Fi at it

In iOS Settings, configure the network's proxy as Automatic and paste the URL:

Settings → Wi-Fi → (your network) ⓘ → Configure Proxy → Automatic

Paste the PAC URL into the URL field and save.

3. Confirm it's active

Back in the app, the PAC card's status flips to Active the moment iOS starts routing through it. New requests now appear in your dashboard feed in real time.

Good to know

  • PAC and VPN are mutually exclusive. Configuring your Wi-Fi to use the PAC URL automatically steps the VPN tunnel down; turning the VPN on hides the Wi-Fi proxy config from the app. More in VPN vs PAC modes.
  • Only Wi-Fi traffic is captured in PAC mode — cellular is not. Use the VPN tunnel if you need everything.
  • Choose what's decrypted with the SSL-proxy list — see What gets decrypted.
  • Staying Online in the background is handled for you; the mechanics are in PAC presence.
VPN vs PAC modesWhat gets decrypted