---
title: "qBittorrent Proxy Profile Enabled Without Proxy Host Blocks All Connections"
aliases: [qbittorrent-proxy-blocking, qbittorrent-slow-proxy, qbittorrent-proxy-misconfiguration]
tags: [qbittorrent, proxy, media-stack, homelab, networking, debugging]
sources:
  - "daily/2026-05-03.md"
created: 2026-05-03
updated: 2026-05-03
---

# qBittorrent Proxy Profile Enabled Without Proxy Host Blocks All Connections

When qBittorrent has a proxy configuration enabled (type: SOCKS5 or HTTP) but no valid proxy host is configured, all peer connections are silently blocked — they are routed through the proxy, find nothing, and fail. The symptom is extremely slow speeds (e.g., 250 KiB/s with 30-40 active seeds) that look like network congestion or ISP throttling but are actually configuration-level blocking.

## Key Points

- **A proxy profile without a real host blocks all peer connections** — qBit routes traffic through the proxy; empty/invalid host → connection fails silently
- **UPnP is useless when the router has UPnP disabled** — check router settings before enabling qBit UPnP; TP-Link AX72 has UPnP disabled by default in some firmware
- **Upload limit of 1 KiB/s also tanks download speeds** — tracker scores peers by ratio; an upload-capped client gets deprioritized
- **Fix when not using a proxy:** Settings → Connection → Proxy Server → Type → None
- **Fix for port forwarding:** set the listening port manually in Settings → Connection; disable UPnP if the router doesn't support it

## Details

### The Proxy Blocking Symptom

```
qBit shows: 250 KiB/s download, 30-40 seeds, 100+ peers
Expected:   5-10 MB/s for a well-seeded torrent
```

The connection graph shows many peers but very low transfer rates. This is because qBit connects to peers successfully (the TCP handshake works via the proxy attempt), but data transfer fails.

### Checking Proxy Configuration

1. Open qBittorrent WebUI → Settings (gear icon)
2. Go to **Connection** tab
3. Check **Proxy Server** section
4. If Type is `SOCKS5` or `HTTP` with empty Host → this is the problem

```
Type: SOCKS5     ← problem
Host: [empty]
Port: 1080
```

**Fix:** Set Type to `None` (if not using a proxy) or enter a valid proxy host.

### UPnP with TP-Link AX72

The TP-Link Archer AX72 has UPnP disabled by default (or disabled in some firmware versions). When qBit tries to use UPnP for automatic port mapping:

```
qBit → UPnP request → router → UPnP disabled → no port forwarded
qBit shows "UPnP: mapped" (locally) but port is NOT actually forwarded
```

**Fix:** Disable qBit's UPnP option. Set a specific port (e.g., 50000) and forward it manually in the router under `Advanced → NAT Forwarding → Port Forwarding`.

### Upload Limit Impact on Download Speeds

BitTorrent trackers score peers by their upload/download ratio over time. A peer with upload limit of 1 KiB/s is classified as a "leecher" and deprioritized for bandwidth by well-behaved peers.

- Upload limit 1 KiB/s → download speeds capped by peer reprioritization
- Upload limit 0 → unlimited (uses available bandwidth)
- Recommended: set upload limit to 70-80% of your upload capacity to avoid being deprioritized

### TP-Link AX72 Port Forwarding

TP-Link AX72 uses the term "Port Forwarding" (not "Virtual Server") under `Advanced → NAT Forwarding → Port Forwarding`.

```
Service Name: qBittorrent
External Port: 50000
Internal IP: 192.168.1.230    ← qBit host IP
Internal Port: 50000
Protocol: All
```

## Related Concepts

- [[wiki/concepts/prowlarr-flaresolverr-limitation]] — other qBittorrent/media stack configuration issues
- [[wiki/homelab/_index]] — media stack context

## Sources

- [[daily/2026-05-03.md]] — qBittorrent running at 250 KiB/s with 30-40 seeds; root causes: proxy profile enabled (type SOCKS5) with no proxy host + UPnP disabled on TP-Link AX72 + upload limit 1 KiB/s; fixed all three; speeds expected to recover
