How to Test If Your Proxy Is Working (The Right Way)

I once ran a scraping operation for three weeks before discovering the proxy was not actually routing traffic. The SOCKS5 library was failing silently, falling back to direct connections. Three weeks of requests went out from my actual server IP.

That mistake taught me that proxy testing is not optional, it is critical infrastructure. Here is the complete testing protocol I use before every scraping job.

Test 1: IP Leak Detection

The most basic test: is your traffic actually going through the proxy? Verify your public IP changes when using the proxy. If the proxy IP matches your real IP, the proxy is not routing traffic.

Test 2: DNS Leak Detection

DNS leaks are the most common proxy misconfiguration. Your HTTP traffic goes through the proxy, but DNS queries go directly to your ISP. Always use socks5h:// (not socks5://) to route DNS through the proxy. Test at dnsleaktest.com.

Test 3: WebRTC Leak Detection

WebRTC can bypass proxies entirely, revealing your real IP even when HTTP traffic is routed correctly. Test at browserleaks.com/webrtc. Disable WebRTC in your browser or use leak prevention extensions.

Test 4: Speed Test

Expected speeds for mobile proxies: 4G delivers 5-25 Mbps, 5G delivers 50-300 Mbps. Under 5 Mbps may indicate weak signal, congestion, or throttling.

Test 5: Geo-Location Verification

Verify the proxy IP matches your expected location. For scraping Indian sites, the IP should show India. Check ipinfo.io or similar services.

Test 6: Protocol Support

Verify both HTTP and HTTPS work through the proxy. Some proxies only support one protocol.

FAQ

How do I know if my proxy is working? Check that your public IP changes when using the proxy, DNS resolves through the proxy location, and there are no WebRTC leaks.

What is a DNS leak? A DNS leak occurs when DNS queries bypass the proxy and go directly to your ISP, revealing your real location. Use socks5h:// to prevent this.

What speed should I expect? Indian mobile proxies typically deliver 5-25 Mbps on 4G and 50-300 Mbps on 5G. Under 5 Mbps may indicate weak signal or network congestion.

Should my proxy IP match my target location? Yes. For scraping Indian sites, use Indian proxies. For US sites, use US proxies. Geographic mismatch can trigger anti-bot systems.