Proxy Internet connection through networked device

Hi all,

I'm running a Panoramic Wifi router/modem and pretty new to networking in general.

I've got a laptop connected that I'd like to use as an internet proxy for my phone to sniff out some of the API calls an app is making. I've opened up a port (5555) on my laptop and set it's subnet ip (192.168.0.7) and port as the proxy address for my phone's wifi connection. The phone maintains a wifi connection to the network but is unable to reach the internet. I think the router might be blocking access, though I'm not sure. I've read up on port forwarding and port triggering, though I don't think these come into play as the proxy connection should only go through the subnet, to the laptop, then out to the internet.

I'm able to successfully ping the laptop from the phone, and while this gives confidence I can actually reach the laptop on the subnet, I understand the ICMP protocol won't help me verify if ports are open correctly and accessible.

I'm not sure how else to debug what's going on. Any suggestions or tips?

Thanks for any help!