Shifter Proxy (Microleaves)
Microleaves has been a leader in proxy services since 2012. They are a proxy provider that provides backconnect proxies, dedicated proxies, and shared proxies. They are one of the most well-known residential proxy providers in the market today.
Microleaves asserts that they provide the “biggest P2P proxy network that involves 26 million of residential IPs and coverage of every city in the world.” This is a pretty lofty claim, to say the least. 26 million is an insane amount of IP addresses for just one company to host.
Expert Review & Guides
Residential Backconnect Proxies
Microleaves mainly offers residential proxies which rotate the IP addresses every fixed time, keeping your location and data safe while also helping to prevent banning. Backconnect proxies are known for changing IP addresses every 5 minutes, which is good for crawling and data mining. The system is also compatible with HTTP as well as SOCKS, so it meets the standard requirements of an average provider. They also provide real broadband. Digital cables are commonly used in place of real broadband. They accept both PayPal and Bitcoin as valid methods of payment. It should be noted though that Bitcoin is only accepted for non-recurring payments, while PayPal is. So PayPal is the more versatile and recommended option.
| Packages for | Price |
|---|---|
| 10 Backconnect Residential Proxies | $124.99 |
| 25 Backconnect Residential Proxies | $249.99 |
| 50 Backconnect Residential Proxies | $499.98 |
| 100 Backconnect Residential Proxies | $999.98 |
| 250 Backconnect Residential Proxies | $2499 |
| 500 Backconnect Residential Proxies | $4999 |
| 1000 Backconnect Residential Proxies | $9999 |
The IPs used are DSL residential and cover a worldwide span of locations. They claim to contain more than 26 million IP addresses, although I am not totally convinced on this. The control panel is very advanced, and it is amazing. In case people wish to use it for business purposes and in the application level, it can be available as a package.
It works seamlessly with major sites like Ticketmaster, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Skype and Craigslist. This covers most of the major sites that proxy users are looking to get coverage on, so this is a really big benefit for users. Games like Pokémon Go are also famous for connecting with their proxies. Sneaker websites like Adidas, Nike, OVO, and Supreme canbe connected to the system using the proxy servers.
Microleaves offer $10 OFF! Use this discount code “10OFF-pKoa” when checking out!
Warning: The backconnect proxy does not work as a dedicated proxy. The IP address of their backconnect proxies change every 3 to 5 minutes. The backconnect proxy uses one fixed, backconnect IP:Port, with this IP:Port as a gateway to access their P2P proxy network. Here is a video which explains how the Residential P2P Proxy network works:
Dedicated Private Proxies
Microleaves also offers dedicated proxies. Their dedicated proxies offer HTTP/HTTPS, non-sequential IPS, and multiple subnets. High-speed, USA based, private HTTP/HTTPS dedicated proxies, with gigabit speeds. Their proxy service also includes an advanced control panel for easily managing and tracking your proxies. You can use their proxies with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. The system requests a new IP address every 30 days. Here are the price plans of their dedicated proxies:
The price is reasonable when compared with other Private Proxy Providers. Microleaves didn’t always offer dedicated proxies in the past; this service started in 2017. This means there are not too many data centers on their hands – TENS OF THOUSANDS OF IPS.
Now only “USA Proxies based in Buffalo, New York” which available.
Also, Microleaves provides shared proxies. The shared proxies are cheaper, per usual, and allow up to five users on a network at a time. Keep in mind that speeds may be slower and less reliable on shared proxies; they are mainly only intended for casual internet browsing or light tasks.
back to menu ↑Note: Their Dedicated/Shared proxies do not work on Craigslist.
Our Testing & Review
I used their 25 residential backconnect proxies plan while conducting my testing. The speed differed based on the location of the server; some were pleasantly fast, while other proxies are really slow. This is significant considering you are paying the same price for unequal proxies. Plus, who’s to say you won’t end up with a really slow batch of proxies with your order? Something to keep in mind.
I tested their proxies for a small-scale crawling project, with more than 70% success rates. One of the biggest advantages of their service is that you do not need to worry about having your IP banned. But I did find lots of duplicate IPs that had participated in my project, so I’m pretty skeptical as to whether or not they actually have 26 million IP addresses. It’s an insanely high number to claim, and I haven’t seen any evidence to back it up. That said, while the claim is a little incredulous, it doesn’t really have much of an effect on the quality of their servers.
I also emailed their support team because I wanted to know how well they run their P2P network. But their administrator just told me that it is a secret. So that’s my experience on their backconnect proxies, I suppose.
Their dedicated proxies only have one location in New York to use, so I never ended up using it; there’s not really much about it that I can share with you since I don’t have any experience using it.
Customer Support
A good customer service area is one of the key aspects to any proxy provider. If something goes wrong with one of your proxies, the results can be devastating to a serious user’s endeavors, and frustrating for the casual user. So having a reachable customer support is essential. Microleaves has a ticket based customer support system that is easy to find and use. There is no guarantee on how quickly they will respond, though, or schedule for when they are available.
They also have a few emails provided throughout the site, though they don’t seem to be intended for customer support. There is also a help desk for current customers that need help with their already purchased services, so it is good to see that paying customers likely get a preference over people just looking through their site.
There is also a Frequently Asked Questions section that I recommend checking out before contacting customer support, as there may be a simple and quick solution. This section covers most questions that anyone would have, and is very helpful. Not only do they have answers to questions about issues you might encounter, but also simple answers to questions about proxies, for the beginner who is less knowledgeable about what they are getting into.
back to menu ↑Our Verdict
They’re an all around great service, even if some of their claims are a little lofty. If you want a fair, general purpose service, you can’t really go wrong with Microleaves.
If you have used their service and have some feedback on Microleaves, we would greatly appreciate it if you shared your review in the comments below!
Microleaves Proxies Highlights
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- Backconnect Proxies – Auto rotating Residential IP every 5 minutes
- Offer both Residential Proxies and Dedicated Proxies
- US based Dedicated Proxies
- Non-sequential and residential IP addresses
- 3 day money back guarantee
For More Information – Click to Microleaves.com
they just doubled their prices and often the proxies dont work or are being sniffed or are in the wrong country
Started out great but support has gone down hill and basically nonexistent.