<!-- mobian-agent-page publisher="dailydev" canonical="https://daily.dev/posts/i-tested-pangolin-s-direct-lan-promise-across-three-devices-here-s-why-two-of-them-failed-jnpzeruax" -->

---
title: I tested Pangolin's direct LAN promise across three...
description: A hands-on test of Pangolin 1.21's same-network detection feature, which promises direct LAN connections instead of relayed traffic. Testing across three...
canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/i-tested-pangolin-s-direct-lan-promise-across-three-devices-here-s-why-two-of-them-failed-jnpzeruax
twitter:card: summary_large_image
twitter:site: @dailydotdev
og:type: website
og:site_name: daily.dev
og:title: I tested Pangolin's direct LAN promise across three devices — here's why two of them failed | daily.dev
og:description: A hands-on test of Pangolin 1.21's same-network detection feature, which promises direct LAN connections instead of relayed traffic. Testing across three...
og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-tested-pangolin-s-direct-lan-promise-across-three-devices-here-s-why-two-of-them-failed-jnpzeruax
og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/JNpzeRuAX.png
og:image:alt: I tested Pangolin's direct LAN promise across three devices — here's why two of them failed
og:image:width: 1200
og:image:height: 630
og:locale: en
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# I tested Pangolin's direct LAN promise across three devices — here's why two of them failed

**[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 5 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

A hands-on test of Pangolin 1.21's same-network detection feature, which promises direct LAN connections instead of relayed traffic. Testing across three devices (Debian, Mac, Windows) revealed mixed results: Debian confirmed a direct local connection, but it was the trivial case of client and site on the same machine. Mac connected but reported isRelay: true, and Windows never reached a testable state. The conclusion is that the feature exists but isn't reliable enough for real multi-device setups yet.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://www.xda-developers.com/tested-pangolins-direct-lan-promise-across-three-devices-why-two-failed>

## Questions this post answers

### Does Pangolin 1.21's same-network detection actually avoid relaying traffic on a LAN?

It works inconsistently. On a Debian machine where both the client and the site ran on the same host, the connection stayed local and stable. But on Mac, the connection succeeded yet still reported isRelay: true, and on Windows the private resources failed to connect at all until the Newt site connector was updated, since the feature requires both updated clients and updated sites.

_Anyone weighing self-hosted tunneling tools against Tailscale can track real-world tests like this on daily.dev._

### What does Pangolin's changelog say is required for same-network detection to work in version 1.21?

The 1.21 changelog states that same-network detection requires updated clients and updated sites, meaning both the connecting device and the Newt site connector on the server side need the newer version, not just the Pangolin server stack itself. Missing this on either end causes private resources to fail connecting entirely.

_Developers troubleshooting tunnel and VPN upgrades can follow release notes like these via daily.dev._

## Similar posts on daily.dev

- [Switching from Tailscale to Pangolin was easy, but sharing a service with just a link is why I stayed](https://daily.dev/posts/switching-from-tailscale-to-pangolin-was-easy-but-sharing-a-service-with-just-a-link-is-why-i-staye-pw9lhqzzg) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments
- [Pangolin lets me reach my own apps from anywhere, and I didn't have to open a single port](https://daily.dev/posts/pangolin-lets-me-reach-my-own-apps-from-anywhere-and-i-didn-t-have-to-open-a-single-port-bibaxjtci) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments
- [I replaced three Docker containers with one, and my networking stack finally stopped feeling heavy](https://daily.dev/posts/i-replaced-three-docker-containers-with-one-and-my-networking-stack-finally-stopped-feeling-heavy-fdltp0mhh) · XDA Developers · 7 upvotes · 0 comments
- [Using Tailscale's Peer Relays to fix a homelab connection from across the globe](https://daily.dev/posts/using-tailscale-s-peer-relays-to-fix-a-homelab-connection-from-across-the-globe-cnl8nn7bx) · Tailscale · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

---

Tags: [#networking](https://daily.dev/tags/networking), [#tailscale](https://daily.dev/tags/tailscale)

[View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-tested-pangolin-s-direct-lan-promise-across-three-devices-here-s-why-two-of-them-failed-jnpzeruax)

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]}
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"I tested Pangolin's direct LAN promise across three devices — here's why two of them failed","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-tested-pangolin-s-direct-lan-promise-across-three-devices-here-s-why-two-of-them-failed-jnpzeruax","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-tested-pangolin-s-direct-lan-promise-across-three-devices-here-s-why-two-of-them-failed-jnpzeruax"},"datePublished":"2026-08-09T18:32:02.638Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T06:54:44.517Z","description":"A hands-on test of Pangolin 1.21's same-network detection feature, which promises direct LAN connections instead of relayed traffic. Testing across three...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/aea151cbfa847a55ae24f318b7ecc6a5?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/aea151cbfa847a55ae24f318b7ecc6a5?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-tested-pangolin-s-direct-lan-promise-across-three-devices-here-s-why-two-of-them-failed-jnpzeruax","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"networking,tailscale","timeRequired":"PT5M"}
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"I tested Pangolin's direct LAN promise across three devices — here's why two of them failed"}]}
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-tested-pangolin-s-direct-lan-promise-across-three-devices-here-s-why-two-of-them-failed-jnpzeruax#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Does Pangolin 1.21's same-network detection actually avoid relaying traffic on a LAN?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It works inconsistently. On a Debian machine where both the client and the site ran on the same host, the connection stayed local and stable. But on Mac, the connection succeeded yet still reported isRelay: true, and on Windows the private resources failed to connect at all until the Newt site connector was updated, since the feature requires both updated clients and updated sites. Anyone weighing self-hosted tunneling tools against Tailscale can track real-world tests like this on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What does Pangolin's changelog say is required for same-network detection to work in version 1.21?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The 1.21 changelog states that same-network detection requires updated clients and updated sites, meaning both the connecting device and the Newt site connector on the server side need the newer version, not just the Pangolin server stack itself. Missing this on either end causes private resources to fail connecting entirely. Developers troubleshooting tunnel and VPN upgrades can follow release notes like these via daily.dev."}}]}
```

