How to Enable TUN Mode in Mihomo Party on Windows 11

What TUN Mode Does in Mihomo Party Explained

If you are searching for how to enable TUN mode in Mihomo Party on Windows 11, the key distinction is between configuring a proxy and capturing network traffic. With the usual system-proxy option, Windows tells compatible applications to send web requests to a local proxy. Many browsers follow that setting, but some games, command-line tools, launchers, and background services do not. A connection that ignores the system proxy can therefore go directly to the internet, even while Mihomo Party appears to be running normally.

TUN mode adds a virtual network interface that lets the Mihomo core capture and route more traffic at the network level. Captured connections can then be evaluated against the rules in your active profile and sent to the selected proxy group or directly to their destination. This is useful when an application has no proxy setting, or when you want traffic from several applications to follow the same routing policy. It does not automatically make every destination use a proxy: a rule can still select DIRECT, and an application can still have its own network restrictions.

Mihomo Party is a graphical client for the Mihomo core, so the interface, profile, and core all matter. A downloaded subscription needs to be active, the core needs to be running, and the TUN component must be allowed to create its network interface. If any one of those pieces is missing, turning on a switch may produce an error, remain inactive, or appear to work while traffic still bypasses the tunnel. The goal of this guide is to check those pieces in order, enable TUN safely, and verify the result using observable connections rather than relying on a tray icon alone.

Prepare Windows 11 and Mihomo Party in Detail

Before changing network settings, make sure you can return to a known-good state. If the computer is managed by an organization, its policy may prevent installing a virtual network component or granting administrator privileges. Do not try to bypass a work or school restriction. On a personal PC, save any unfinished downloads, note which profile is currently selected, and close other proxy clients that might have their own system proxy, network service, or TUN adapter enabled.

Start with the version of Mihomo Party you already use, or obtain an installer from a source you trust. Avoid running several Clash-family clients at the same time during setup. A second client may leave its system proxy enabled, hold a conflicting port, or create another virtual interface. These conditions make diagnosis confusing because the visible application and the process actually routing a connection may not be the same one. If you are migrating, exit the old client and disable its TUN mode before testing the new configuration.

Next, check the profile and core. Import a valid provider subscription or local configuration, wait for the update to finish, and select the profile you intend to use. Confirm that the Mihomo core starts without a configuration error. A profile can appear in the application while not being the active one, so check the selected or running state rather than assuming that the newest entry is in use. If the profile uses proxy groups, choose a usable node or confirm that the group has a working selection before using TUN; otherwise, correctly captured traffic may still fail because its configured outbound cannot connect.

Windows 11 may request permission when an application installs or starts a helper needed for network changes. Mihomo Party needs the relevant permission to create or manage a TUN interface and adjust routes. Use the standard Windows elevation prompt only when you intentionally launched the client and trust its installation source. If the prompt is declined, the app may still open and show its normal dashboard, but the tunnel may not be able to activate. Close the client, launch it again with the required permission, and approve the request if Windows presents one.

Enable TUN Mode Step by Step Made Clear

Use the following sequence rather than enabling several advanced options at once. It separates basic capture from optional routing behaviour and gives you a clear point to check if the connection changes unexpectedly.

1. Open the network settings: Start Mihomo Party and open its settings panel. Locate the TUN or network section. If the client is already connected through another mode, note its current state before changing anything.
2. Check the active core and profile: Confirm that Mihomo is running and the intended profile is selected. Resolve any configuration or core-startup error first; TUN cannot make an invalid profile usable.
3. Enable TUN: Turn on the TUN option. If Windows asks for administrator permission or to install or start a helper, approve it only if the request comes from the Mihomo Party installation you opened. Wait for the status to change to active before moving on.
4. Begin with conservative routing: Leave advanced options at their defaults for the first test. If the interface exposes Auto Route, it generally allows the client to add the routes needed for capture. Enable optional settings such as Strict Route only when you understand their effect and have checked that local network access still works.
5. Test one application: Open a browser or a command-line tool that previously bypassed the system proxy. Check Mihomo Party’s connection view or logs for a new connection, its matched rule, and the outbound selected by that rule.
6. Keep or undo the change: If the test works and local resources remain reachable, continue using TUN. If the internet, a VPN, or local devices stop working, disable TUN from Mihomo Party and wait for the client to remove its routes before trying another setting.

Some builds expose more than one TUN-related control. An option that installs a service or helper is not necessarily the same as the switch that enables traffic capture. If a helper is shown as unavailable, resolve that status first; if the TUN switch is active but the interface is missing, restart the client with the required permission and inspect the application log for a driver or route error. Avoid repeatedly clicking an unresponsive switch. A failed attempt can leave a stale interface or route that makes later tests harder to interpret.

For an initial test, keep the routing policy simple. A rule such as DOMAIN-SUFFIX,example.com,Proxy can help illustrate that a connection is being matched and sent to a proxy group, but only use rule syntax and group names that exist in your profile. The final rule selected in the live connection view is more informative than the rule you expected to match. If it shows DIRECT, TUN may be capturing traffic correctly while the profile is intentionally sending that destination direct.

Verify Routing and Preserve Local Access Under the Hood

After TUN is active, verify both sides of the configuration: that intended traffic is captured and that traffic which should remain local still works. Start with a small, repeatable test. Open one application, make one request, and look for the new connection in Mihomo Party’s connection panel or logs. Depending on the build, useful fields may include the destination hostname, process name, matched rule, rule provider, and selected proxy group. A visible connection confirms that Mihomo saw the request; the matched rule and outbound explain how it was handled.

Do not treat a successful page load as proof that a particular proxy rule was used. The application may have reached the site directly, used a cached response, or reused a connection opened before TUN was enabled. Close and reopen the test application, load a fresh page, and check the corresponding connection entry. When testing command-line programs, start a new process after enabling TUN. Existing sockets are not necessarily moved to a different route when the tunnel changes.

Test a local destination as well as an internet destination. If your profile and TUN settings are designed to keep private addresses direct, check a printer, file share, router page, or other device on your home network. Confirm that the rule in the live connection view matches your intention. Local access can fail when a broad proxy rule captures private addresses, when a strict routing option blocks a path you need, or when another VPN has installed competing routes. These are different causes, so inspect the connection details before editing the profile.

DNS results can affect what you see. Mihomo profiles may use different DNS modes, and some applications cache answers or connections. If a hostname resolves differently between the system and the client, a rule based on a domain may not behave as expected. For a focused test, clear the application’s own connection by restarting it, then check whether Mihomo records the hostname or only an IP address. Do not change DNS and TUN options together as a first response: changing both removes the evidence needed to identify which setting caused the difference.

Finally, check more than one application type if system-wide capture is your goal. A browser test confirms the browser path; a terminal or game launcher test can reveal whether traffic that previously ignored the Windows system proxy is now visible. TUN does not override an application’s authentication failure, a provider outage, a firewall block, or a profile rule that intentionally selects a direct route. It changes how eligible connections reach Mihomo, not the outcome of every request.

Troubleshoot Common TUN Problems Explained

The TUN Switch Will Not Stay On Explained

If the switch turns itself off or reports an error, first look for a permission or helper-service message. Exit Mihomo Party, reopen it with the permission requested by Windows, and try once more. Check whether Windows Security or a third-party security product has blocked a component, but do not disable protection wholesale. If the application was installed from an untrusted source, remove it and obtain a verified build rather than creating a broad antivirus exception. Also check that another client is not already managing a TUN interface or network service.

If no clear permission message appears, open the client’s logs and note the first error associated with TUN startup. A missing driver, access-denied response, and route conflict point to different remedies. Restarting Windows can clear a stale adapter after an interrupted install, but it will not correct a bad profile or a blocked helper. After a restart, test with only one proxy client open so that the result is unambiguous.

TUN Is On, but Some Apps Still Bypass It in Brief

First determine whether the affected connection appears in Mihomo Party’s connection view. If it does not, check whether TUN is genuinely active, whether its routes are installed, and whether a second VPN or network filter is taking precedence. If the connection does appear, read its matched rule and outbound. The profile may classify the destination as DIRECT, a domain rule may not match an IP-only connection, or a process-specific rule may send that application down a different path. Add or adjust a rule only after confirming the actual destination and current rule result.

Some software uses a separate helper process, a built-in VPN, or a network protection feature. The visible window may not be the process opening the connection. Use the process name shown in the connection view if available, and test the application after a full restart. If it still bypasses capture, compare its behaviour with a simple browser request before changing global routing settings. That comparison helps separate an app-specific limitation from a general TUN failure.

The Internet or Local Network Stops Working in Detail

Turn TUN off from Mihomo Party and wait for the status to return to inactive. If the network immediately recovers, re-enable it only after reviewing the last change. Check for a selected proxy group with no working node, a rule that routes all traffic to a failed outbound, or a route conflict with another VPN. If only local devices are unreachable, inspect private-address rules and any strict-routing setting. If all destinations fail, check the active profile, core status, and connection logs before changing adapter properties manually.

When Windows reports connected but requests time out, record the time, destination, matched rule, and error shown in the log. These details are more useful than a screenshot of the main dashboard. Avoid flushing every network setting or deleting adapters as an early fix: broad repairs can break other VPNs and make it difficult to determine whether Mihomo Party was responsible. If you must remove or reinstall a network component, use the client’s own controls and follow the maintainer’s current instructions.

Some alternative Windows proxy clients provide a useful system-proxy toggle but offer different TUN controls, setup flows, or guidance for recovering from a failed route. That does not make them unsuitable; it means you should choose according to the applications you need to capture and the support material you can follow. For this Windows 11 setup, Clash is useful as a practical starting point because it brings client download options and clear setup guidance together, making it easier to check the right build and retrace the steps if TUN needs troubleshooting. If you are ready to set up Mihomo Party or compare available client options, view downloads and choose the version that fits your Windows device.