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Many Devices, One Setup, No Redo on a New Phone
Updated
With many devices the annoyances are configuring each one, doing it all again on a new phone, and tapping connect on every device when you are out. The private network removes all of that: each device logs in once with your site account and stays online through reboots and Wi‑Fi changes; each chooses its own exit region, so the laptop can use Japan while the phone uses China; devices on one account reach each other, so the laptop opens the home NAS share from anywhere. A new phone simply logs in. This guide covers putting a household’s devices in, how the allowance works, and expiry and replacements.
Done once per device
- Install the Tailscale client (Android, Windows, macOS and Linux from this site’s private-network page; iPhone and iPad from the App Store with a non-China Apple ID).
- Log out of any official Tailscale account first, then point the login at this site’s control server (phone: “⋯” → Use custom server on the logged-out screen; computer: the command copied from the page; macOS: Account Settings → Accounts → the arrow next to “Add Account…” → Add Account Using Alternate Server).
- Confirm in the browser with your site account. The device is now in the network and needs no further attention.
- Choose an exit on each device from its own menu; choose None to keep only device-to-device access.
How the device limit works
One account can be installed on any number of devices; the allowance counts simultaneous connections — 2 on Personal, 4 on Family, 8 on Enterprise, sharing the same allowance as Cisco, Hiddify and the other methods. If you need more devices online than your tier allows, temporarily upgrade your account type (remaining time converts at equal value) and switch back afterwards.
A router counts as one device and the devices behind it do not. A home router or NAS plus the phone and laptop you carry is usually enough.
Devices reach each other
- Every device on the account has a private address and can be reached by device name — no public IP, no port forwarding.
- Open the home NAS share from the laptop outside, watch the home recorder from the phone, remote-desktop into the home PC — all over private addresses.
- A home router on this site’s firmware can share the whole LAN into the network, so printers and TVs that cannot run a client are reachable from outside too.
- Other customers’ devices never appear in your network — not hidden, simply absent.
Expiry, replacement, removal
- Account expiry: all devices go offline within minutes; after renewing, log in once more on each — exit settings are kept.
- New phone: just log in as above. If it says the limit is reached, log out on the old phone, or temporarily upgrade your account type and switch back afterwards.
- To take a device out of the network, log out in its client; to force one offline, contact support.
- Never run another VPN on the same device at the same time (a corporate Cisco, another mesh tool) — they fight over DNS and routes.
FAQ
Can each device use a different exit region?
Yes — the exit is chosen per device. The laptop can use Japan for video while the phone uses China for banking, with no interference.
Does leaving the private network on drain the battery?
With no exit selected it carries almost no traffic — only communication with other devices in the network; battery use is comparable to any system VPN.
How do I install it on a home NAS?
Synology and QNAP have Tailscale packages; Linux uses the official install script; log in pointing at this site’s control server in the same way. A router on our firmware needs no install — logging in with the account puts it in the network.
Why not just configure Cisco on every device?
You can. With many devices the private network is less work: log in once and stay online, drops recover automatically, and changing exit is one click in the menu. For a device on a UDP-throttled campus network, use Cisco.