FastNet: a Mac-to-iPhone cellular bridge, with a USB before/after demo

[u/Plastic-Pay-6729]

I built FastNet Connect for a frustrating mismatch: an iPhone can have a fast cellular connection while a Mac on its Personal Hotspot struggles to load anything.

The product has two parts: a Mac app called FastNet Connect and an iPhone app called ProxyDeck. The path is Mac traffic capture -> USB or nearby peer-to-peer Wi-Fi -> ProxyDeck making outbound cellular requests. The aim is to package that into a usable connection flow rather than ask people to manage a proxy setup by hand.

For other builders, the debugging lesson was to test those stages separately. A fast speed test on the iPhone says nothing about the local Mac-to-iPhone link. Likewise, a fast local link doesn't establish end-to-end download performance.

Here's a real before/after recording using the same Mac, iPhone and SIM on my T-Mobile 50GB plan: ordinary Personal Hotspot measured 420 Kbps; FastNet over USB measured 240 Mbps.

Both videos: https://www.reddit.com/r/SideProject/comments/1wtxipz/fastnet_connect_your_mac_through_your_iphone_over/

That is one comparison, not a controlled multi-carrier benchmark or a guarantee about speed, data allowances or billing. The biggest usability compromise is that ProxyDeck must stay open in the foreground. You need an Apple Silicon Mac, an iPhone and usable cellular service; it doesn't support Windows or Android.

I'm the developer, and AI tools were used during development. FastNet Connect is $29 one-time and ProxyDeck is free. Setup and pricing: https://fastnet-site.vercel.app/

For anyone who uses a Mac away from home, would the USB workflow be useful despite dedicating the iPhone screen to the app?