Elsewhere for Mac, test build

This is a test build. Don't use it for anything private.

Test it only while Lee is on the phone with you.

Before you start

1. Quit any other VPN or proxy app, and leave it off while you test.
2. Double-click the downloaded installer. It puts Elsewhere in Applications and its offline tools in Applications → Elsewhere Support. Before connecting, find Elsewhere Rescue.pkg and Read before connecting.html there. Help is in the same folder.
3. Keep Lee's phone number where you can reach it without the internet.
4. Lee tells you on the phone how to open the build when you test.

Before installing, tell Lee if this Mac uses custom proxy settings or a proxy bypass list. A Mac with those settings is excluded; do not change them to qualify.

Limits

• At most 30 minutes from your first Connect, and at most six Connect presses in all, including setup and any that fail.
• Press Disconnect within 10 minutes of each Connect. Lee keeps the time.
• Before every Connect press, the first one too, open Applications → Elsewhere Support → Elsewhere Help, choose Before connecting and read both numbers to Lee. Press Connect only if it says Fine to continue. It says Stop testing and tell Lee from 140 up, and whenever its limit is under 256 or could not be read. If it says anything else, or no window opens, stop there and tell Lee.
• Stop testing the first time a Connect fails or the app shows Sites need attention or any other warning. Stop earlier if Lee asks.

What to use it for, and nothing else

When you choose sites, choose exactly two, ifconfig.co and ipinfo.io, and the country United States.

While connected, Chrome or Brave is used only for this: about every 2 minutes, when Lee says "now", type https://ifconfig.co/json in the address bar and press Return, wait until the page shows, then type https://ipinfo.io/json and press Return, and wait until it shows. That is at most five times each per connection. Don't open anything else on those two sites, and don't browse anything else until you have pressed Disconnect.

What it does: in Chrome or Brave, the https:// pages of the sites you choose open through the one country you pick. The rest of your Mac uses your normal connection.

Your first Connect

The first time, macOS asks you to approve Elsewhere up to three times before Connect works: a switch in Login Items, a switch for its network extension, and an Allow box. Each needs only a button or your own Mac password. Connect cannot start until the extension is enabled; wait until step 5. If a box, line or button is not one of those below, stop and read it to Lee.

1. If Elsewhere says Elsewhere could not confirm its background item. when you open your invitation, open System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions. Under Allow in the Background, turn on Elsewhere and type your Mac password if asked. Then open the same invitation again. If the main button says Open Login Items, press it and turn Elsewhere on there.
2. Look at the top of the Elsewhere window. If it says Set up Elsewhere’s system extension. macOS may ask for approval. or Elsewhere’s system extension needs updating., press the button beside it, Update system extension. If you can't see the button, a macOS notification in the top-right corner is probably covering it: click the small × at the notification's corner, or wait until it goes, or drag the Elsewhere window down by its title bar. Then press the button.
3. macOS shows a box about Elsewhere's network extension. Press Open System Settings and turn on Elsewhere there. If you can't find it, go to General → Login Items & Extensions. Under Extensions choose By Category, then the ⓘ beside Network Extensions. Type your own Mac password when macOS asks. If it asks you to restart the Mac, tell Lee before you restart.
4. Back in Elsewhere, the top line says The required system extension is enabled. Now choose the two sites: press Chosen sites at the bottom-left of the window. Type ifconfig.co in Website, choose United States under Country for this site, and press Add. Do the same for ipinfo.io.
5. Do the Before connecting check, then press Connect. The app says Connecting sites. Then macOS asks Elsewhere Would Like to Add Proxy Configurations. Press Allow straight away, and type your Mac password if asked.
6. When it works, the app says Traffic unverified. That is only the app's own status. Check the two sites as described above, then press Disconnect.
7. If a Connect fails, or the app shows Sites disconnected after you pressed Connect, Sites need attention or any other warning, stop testing and tell Lee. Don't press Connect again.

To finish

Press Disconnect and wait until the app says Disconnected. Then open an ordinary website in Chrome or Brave and check that it loads, and tell Lee what you see. Don't finish by quitting the app: it can quit and keep Elsewhere connected. Don't restart the Mac unless Lee asks you to. There are two other cases where you may: Elsewhere shows the words "Restart this Mac, then open your invitation once more.", or the macOS Installer asks you to restart. Restart once, then open your invitation once more.

If the internet stops working

If websites or other apps have no internet and Disconnect doesn't fix it within a minute: open Finder → Applications → Elsewhere Support and double-click Elsewhere Rescue.pkg, click Continue and Install, and type your Mac password. Then stop testing and call Lee, whether it worked or not. The rescue leaves Elsewhere unable to connect until Lee restores it. To restore it, Lee will ask you to open the same Elsewhere package again, install it, and restart your Mac when it asks. Don't press Connect again until Lee says it is ready.

A second route to Rescue is Command-Space, then type “Elsewhere Rescue”. This Spotlight route is unverified until tested on the Air; use Finder if it does not appear. Rescue cannot promise the internet comes back. If setup still refuses after one requested restart, stop and call Lee.

Afterwards

Don't remove the app on your own. Lee will walk you through it, using the For Lee subfolder inside Elsewhere Support. Removal may require your separate agreement to send a locked copy of Elsewhere's saved data before deletion. A failed or declined transfer means stop, with data kept.

After today's session, please don't use it again until Lee says the repaired build is ready.