Wireless & headless

Two ways to run PinDrift without a USB cable tied to your main computer. Wireless mode drops the cable after a one-time pairing, you keep using your computer as the host, just over Wi-Fi. Headless deployment moves the host job to a small always-on Raspberry Pi (PinDriftBox) so the spoof keeps running even when your computer is off.

Wireless mode

By default, PinDrift connects to your phone with a USB cable. Wireless mode lets you skip the cable. Once enabled, your phone and your computer (or PinDriftBox) communicate over your Wi-Fi network.

What you need

• An iPhone running iOS 17+ or an Android phone running Android 12+
• A one-time USB pairing, PinDrift handles this automatically the first time you plug in
• The phone and the host (computer or PinDriftBox) on the same Wi-Fi network

How to enable

1. Plug the phone in once over USB. Complete the trust prompt and PinDrift's first-connect handshake. (One-time; this establishes the wireless pairing record.)
2. Open PinDrift → Device tab. When the phone is detected, click the Wireless toggle on the device card.
3. Unplug the cable. PinDrift switches to Wi-Fi within a few seconds; the device stays in the list with a Wi-Fi icon next to it.

If wireless mode isn't working

Almost always, it's one of two things on the phone side:

1. iCloud Private Relay is on (iPhone)

iCloud Private Relay is included with iCloud+ and is on by default for paying iCloud users. It blocks PinDrift from finding your iPhone over Wi-Fi.

Fix: iPhone Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → Private Relay → Off. (Or set it to "Use Country and Time Zone," which preserves Safari's protection but lets PinDrift through.)

2. A VPN is running on the phone

Any full-tunnel VPN (Proton VPN, Mullvad, NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, 1.1.1.1 / Cloudflare WARP, Tailscale in default config, and similar) blocks local-network discovery the same way Private Relay does.

Fix: Either disable the VPN while using PinDrift, or enable the "Allow Local Network" / "Split tunnel" / "Bypass for local network" setting inside the VPN's app. Most modern VPNs have this option.

Other things to check

• Wi-Fi is on and connected to the same network as your computer or PinDriftBox. Guest networks are usually isolated and won't work.
• Phone is awake or charging. iOS aggressively powers Wi-Fi down when the phone is idle and unplugged. Plug it in or set it on a wireless charging pad.
• You completed the one-time USB pairing. PinDrift will tell you if it hasn't seen your phone over USB yet.
• Router has client isolation off. Some mesh systems and corporate Wi-Fi turn this on by default; it stops devices on the same network from seeing each other.

Spoof from anywhere with Tailscale

By default wireless mode requires the phone and the host to be on the same Wi-Fi network. With Tailscale on both ends (free for personal use), they can be on different networks anywhere on Earth, coffee shop, hotel, another city, and still see each other through Tailscale's encrypted overlay.

1. Install Tailscale on your PC (or PinDriftBox) and your phone. Sign in with the same account.
2. PinDrift will detect the Tailscale interface and offer to use it as the wireless transport.
3. Take the phone with you. As long as the phone has internet and Tailscale is connected, the spoof keeps working from anywhere.

Headless deployment (PinDriftBox)

Headless deployment means PinDrift runs without a screen, keyboard, or main computer. You install it on a small always-on Raspberry Pi, connect your iPhone to that device once, and the Pi maintains the spoof 24/7.

This solves the one limitation that affects everyday PinDrift use: when you turn off your main computer, your iPhone returns to its real GPS. With a headless deployment, you can leave your computer off entirely.

What you need

• A Raspberry Pi 3, Pi 4, or Pi 5 (Pi 4 with 2 GB RAM is the sweet spot)
• A microSD card (32 GB or larger), the official Pi power supply, and a USB cable for your phone
• A PinDriftBox license ($249 one-time, includes Lifetime)
• A home Wi-Fi network

What you get

• The PinDriftBox installer, a one-shot script that turns a clean Raspberry Pi OS install into a working PinDriftBox in about five minutes
• Lifetime license for the desktop PinDrift app on top, used to control the headless instance
• Setup walkthrough for the wireless pairing and Tailscale integration
• All future updates included - no maintenance fee, no annual renewal
• Real human support for setup and operational issues

What it looks like running

• The Pi sits on a shelf, fanless and silent, drawing about 3 watts
• Your phone connects to it over Wi-Fi after the one-time pairing
• You control everything from the regular PinDrift desktop app on your computer (or even from your phone via the web dashboard)
• Your computer can be off, asleep, or unplugged. The spoof keeps running.

Pi model recommendation

Setup overview

Detailed setup instructions ship with the PinDriftBox installer. The high-level flow:

1. Flash Raspberry Pi OS (Bookworm Lite, 64-bit) to a microSD card with the Raspberry Pi Imager. Pre-configure Wi-Fi and SSH in the Imager so the Pi joins your network on first boot.
2. SSH into the Pi and run the PinDriftBox installer with the command from your purchase email.
3. Pair your phone over USB (one-time): plug the phone into the Pi briefly, complete the trust prompt, unplug. The Pi remembers it.
4. (Optional) Install Tailscale on the Pi and the phone for spoof-from-anywhere (see section above).
5. Open the desktop PinDrift app, point it at the Pi's address (PinDrift will auto-discover on the same network), and start spoofing.

Order

PinDriftBox is in development. To be notified when it ships, send your email via the contact form or visit the PinDriftBox page.

Wireless vs. headless: which one do I want?

Still stuck? Send your phone model, OS version, the VPN apps you have installed (if any), and a description of what you're seeing via the contact form.