People look for a VPN on a PS5 or Xbox so that the console goes online through another country. Below: why it cannot be turned on on the console itself, which way works, why sharing from a phone will not help, and what to keep in mind about games and purchases. Everything here is as of 22 October 2026.
In short. You cannot install a VPN app on a PS5 or Xbox: their network settings have no VPN item. The way that works is a router with OpenWrt and our file: the whole home goes through it, the console too. Sharing the connection from an Android phone will not work: hotspot traffic goes past the VPN app. For online games a tunnel usually adds latency.
We make Mayak. The router file is issued on your account page; a router takes one slot in the plan and covers everything connected to it, the console too. For phones and Android TV there is our app. 3 days free after you confirm your email, no card needed. The trial is free and needs no card; without an email it is 1 day.
🍎 On iPhone, Mayak works through the subscription link from your account page. The real Happ (publisher Flyfrog LLC) is not in the Russian App Store — searching that word there brings up look-alike apps from other publishers. INCY (publisher LLC ITDEV) works instead: checked on 22 September 2026.
Why you cannot turn on a VPN on a PS5 or Xbox
On a phone or computer a VPN is an app that brings up a secure tunnel. A console has no place for it:
- PS5. The advanced network settings, according to Sony, are the IP address, host name, DNS, MTU and a few more items. Connecting to a VPN is not among them.
- Xbox. The advanced network settings, according to Microsoft, are IP, DNS, an alternate MAC address, port selection and QoS. There is no VPN item either.
- Mayak has no app of its own for consoles.
Changing DNS in those settings is not a VPN: it only changes who answers the console's question “what is this site's address”. The traffic itself goes the same way as before, and sites still see your own address.
The way that works: a router with a VPN
If the VPN is on the router, everything connected to it by Wi-Fi or cable goes through the tunnel — the console and the TV alike. Nothing needs to be set up on the console itself.
- Which router fits. One whose firmware knows AmneziaWG 3. Today that is OpenWrt 24.10.8 with the awg-openwrt package: we tested our file on it with a live connection in a virtual machine on 24 September 2026. Stock Keenetic, TP-Link and Xiaomi firmware will not take our file yet.
- How to set it up. Seven steps — in the router article; what is possible with a specific brand — for Keenetic, TP-Link and Xiaomi.
- What to keep in mind. The whole home goes through one country, and when access ends everyone behind the router loses the internet (what to do). Speed also depends on the router's processor; we have not measured it on a real router.
Only the console through the tunnel and the rest of the home direct — our router guide does not set that up: everything goes through the tunnel. If you have two routers, the second one with the VPN can be given to the console alone — that keeps it apart from the rest of the home; we have not tested this setup.
Why sharing a VPN from a phone will not work
A common tip is to turn on the VPN on a phone and share its Wi-Fi with the console. On stock Android this does not work: the system forwards hotspot traffic past the VPN app. The console gets the phone's internet, but not its tunnel. Mayak is no exception, and we will not promise sharing.
What about sharing from a computer
On Windows and Mac, Mayak works through the Happ app with the subscription link. In TUN mode the whole computer goes through Mayak (in the help centre). Whether the internet the computer shares with a console by cable or Wi-Fi goes through the tunnel, we have not tested — so we give no steps. The reliable way is still one: the router.
In Mayak, a router is one more device on the same account. Create an account, take the file on your account page and load it into a router with OpenWrt: the console behind it will go through the tunnel. We do not ask for payment details for the trial. A confirmed email opens the access — 3 free days. An email is optional: without one the trial is 1 day.
🍎 On iPhone, Mayak works through the subscription link from your account page. The real Happ (publisher Flyfrog LLC) is not in the Russian App Store — searching that word there brings up look-alike apps from other publishers. INCY (publisher LLC ITDEV) works instead: checked on 22 September 2026.
Games and purchases through a VPN: what to keep in mind
- Latency. The tunnel carries traffic through a server in another country, and the path to the game server usually gets longer. When a VPN helps in games and when it gets in the way is covered with our measurements: packet loss and high ping.
- Purchases on Xbox. Microsoft says a VPN can be used while playing, but you may be asked to turn it off for certain purchases, redemptions and other transactions.
- Game downloads go through the same tunnel: their speed depends on both the router's processor and the server.
How many plan slots a console takes
The console itself takes none: the plan counts the router, and it takes one slot, like a phone. The trial has two slots: a phone and a router both fit. Plans — in the help centre.
What we tested
- Sony and Microsoft help — the pages on PS5 and Xbox advanced network settings and on VPNs during Xbox purchases, read on 22 October 2026.
- Our file on OpenWrt 24.10.8 — a live connection in a virtual machine on 24 September 2026: the outgoing address of the router itself and of the computer behind it was our server's address (details).
What we do not know
- We have not connected a console behind a router with Mayak. In our test a computer was behind the router; to the router a console is the same kind of device on the network, but we have not checked it live.
- Sharing from a phone to a console we have not measured ourselves; some phone brands' firmware may have its own settings.
- Sharing from a computer through Happ — not tested.
- How consoles' stores and network services behave through the tunnel. Not measured and not promised.
Short answers
Can I install a VPN on a PS5? On the console itself — no: its network settings have no VPN item. A VPN on the router the PS5 is connected to works.
And on Xbox Series X and S? The same: no VPN item in the settings; the way is the router.
How do I share a VPN from my phone to a PS5? From ordinary Android — you cannot: sharing goes past the VPN app.
Will changing DNS on the console help? It is not a VPN: traffic goes the same way, and the console's address stays yours.
Will ping go up? Usually yes: the path to the game server goes through our server in another country.
How much does it cost? A router is one slot in the plan. There is no free plan; there is a trial without a card on two devices.