diff --git a/.env-sample b/.env-sample
index 189e56c..d84433b 100644
--- a/.env-sample
+++ b/.env-sample
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ ANIME_MAPPING_REFRESH_INTERVAL=86400 # Seconds between background anime mapping
 # Networking & Proxy Configuration #
 # ============================== #
 GLOBAL_PROXY_URL= # Global proxy for all outbound requests (e.g. http://user:pass@host:port)
-PROXY_ETHOS=never # always: use proxy for everything; on_failure: retry with proxy if direct fails; never: never use proxy (unless specific scraper override)
+PROXY_ETHOS=always # always: use proxy for everything; on_failure: retry with proxy if direct fails; never: never use proxy (unless specific scraper override)
 # Scraper specific proxies can be set using [SCRAPERNAME]_PROXY_URL
 # Example: TORRENTIO_PROXY_URL=http://...
 
diff --git a/comet/core/models.py b/comet/core/models.py
index fbbc067..58a8709 100644
--- a/comet/core/models.py
+++ b/comet/core/models.py
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ from comet.core.logger import logger
 
 class AppSettings(BaseSettings):
     model_config = SettingsConfigDict(
-        env_file=".env", env_file_encoding="utf-8", extra="ignore"
+        env_file=".env", env_file_encoding="utf-8", extra="allow"
     )
 
     ADDON_ID: Optional[str] = "stremio.comet.fast"
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ class AppSettings(BaseSettings):
     DIGITAL_RELEASE_FILTER: Optional[bool] = False
     TMDB_READ_ACCESS_TOKEN: Optional[str] = None
     GLOBAL_PROXY_URL: Optional[str] = None
-    PROXY_ETHOS: Optional[str] = "never"
+    PROXY_ETHOS: Optional[str] = "always"
 
     @field_validator("INDEXER_MANAGER_TYPE")
     def set_indexer_manager_type(cls, v, values):
diff --git a/comet/utils/network_manager.py b/comet/utils/network_manager.py
index ece5e4e..5a0dd50 100644
--- a/comet/utils/network_manager.py
+++ b/comet/utils/network_manager.py
@@ -134,7 +134,8 @@ class AsyncClientWrapper:
             scraper_proxy_key = (
                 f"{scraper_name.upper().replace('SCRAPER', '')}_PROXY_URL"
             )
-            self.proxy_url = getattr(settings, scraper_proxy_key, None)
+            if settings.model_extra:
+                self.proxy_url = settings.model_extra.get(scraper_proxy_key.lower())
 
         if not self.proxy_url:
             # Fallback to global proxy