Shadowrocket FAQ

Open Shadowrocket’s App Store product page from the download guide rather than relying on search results alone. Check the developer name, Shadow Launch Technology Limited, the official app icon matching the one in this site’s header, and app ID 932747118 in the product page URL. If the page says the app isn’t available in your region, check the country or region of the Apple Account used for Media & Purchases. Search rankings, storefront region, and device compatibility can all affect whether it appears. Refer to the App Store page for system requirements.

In your device’s Settings, open your Apple Account, then Media & Purchases and check the account and Country/Region. Menu names may vary by system version. Store content depends on the region of the purchasing account, not just the device language. If you need to change it, use Apple’s official settings and follow its guidance on account balance, active subscriptions, payment methods, and Family Sharing. Don’t switch regions repeatedly just to change search results. First compare the product page notice with your account details. Refer to the App Store page for purchase terms.

Sign in to the App Store with the Apple Account used to purchase Shadowrocket, then find the app in your purchased apps and download it again. The account used for Media & Purchases may differ from the iCloud account signed in on the device, so don’t rely on the latter to determine which account made the purchase. If you still see a price, check your purchase history, account, and storefront region before proceeding. Re-downloading the app and restoring its data are separate matters. Whether servers, subscriptions, and Config are retained depends on your previous backups. Refer to the App Store page for universal purchase and Family Sharing terms.

Shadowrocket is a paid App Store app. The US storefront price is around $2.99; prices and available purchases vary by storefront and are shown in local currency. Refer to the App Store page for current pricing and purchase details. A one-time app purchase is not a service plan. Buying the app gives you the right to use the client, but connecting still requires your own server details or subscription, which you obtain from your service provider. After importing, select a server, check Global Routing, and allow the system to add a VPN configuration. Check the app purchase and your provider’s connection service separately; a successful app purchase doesn’t mean a connection is available.

Shadowrocket is available for iPhone and iPad. Check compatibility on the iPad App Store product page; refer to that page for system requirements. Use the Apple Account that made the purchase to find the app in your purchased apps, then download it as prompted. The layout on iPad may vary with screen size and app interface, but the steps are the same: add an existing server, select Global Routing, turn on the connection, and verify it. Don’t assume subscriptions or Config from another device will sync automatically. After opening the app, check the SERVER list and current configuration before connecting.

When the system asks to allow a VPN configuration, it’s asking Shadowrocket to create a system configuration for handling your device’s network traffic. This does not provide a server or subscription. Confirm the prompt is from the Shadowrocket app you’re using, then complete the system’s verification. If you cancel, start a connection in the app again to bring up the prompt. Return to Home and check the selected server and connection status at the top. Successfully creating the VPN configuration only completes the system permission step. Access to a service also depends on server settings, your current network, Global Routing, and Config.

First, confirm there’s a valid entry in the SERVER list and that the dot beside the target server is selected. Then check whether the system is still waiting for VPN configuration approval. If another VPN connection is active, disconnect it and try Shadowrocket again. In system settings, check whether the VPN configuration exists and whether device management policies restrict it. Follow your organization’s guidance on managed devices. If the connection still won’t stay on, note the error and steps that led to it, check the server settings, and try again. Don’t delete the configuration as a first step. If you need to recreate it, back up existing subscriptions, servers, and Config first.

Start with Home, Global Routing, SERVER, and Connectivity Test: Home shows connection status, SERVER lets you select an existing server, Global Routing determines how traffic is routed, and Connectivity Test runs a connectivity check. Add Server lets you add a server or Subscribe; Config manages configurations, Data shows traffic, and Settings contains app settings. This manual keeps the interface labels in English so you can match them to the app. To change the display language, first check the language options available for the app in system settings. Options depend on what the device and app show.

First, make sure you pasted a subscription URL from your service provider, not the URL of its login or information page. Check for spaces, line breaks, or missing characters, then confirm the service is active and the URL is valid. If you see a connection timeout, check whether your current network can reach the subscription URL. If parsing fails, ask your provider whether the format they supplied is compatible with Shadowrocket. Note the exact error and confirm the URL status and format with your provider. Subscription URLs may contain account credentials. When troubleshooting, share only screenshots or text with sensitive details redacted—never share the full URL.

First, check that the QR code contains server details you already have or a compatible subscription URL, rather than a link to an ordinary webpage. When using Scan QR Code, check camera access, lighting, and image clarity, and make sure the entire QR code is visible. After scanning, read the result or error shown in the app. If it scans but won’t import, check that the protocol and all required settings are included. You can also use Add Server to enter the details provided by your service provider. The server address, port, authentication fields, and transport settings must match; changing only the protocol name won’t fix mismatched settings. QR codes may contain connection credentials, so take care when saving or sharing them.

Find the relevant Subscribe group and use its update option. Check for a success message or error; the exact controls depend on what the app displays. Updating a subscription fetches the remote list again. It doesn’t automatically change manually added servers or select a working server. After updating, check the group contents and the dot beside the selected server, and select a server again if needed. If the list hasn’t changed, confirm you updated the right group and ask your provider whether the remote list has changed. Keep the existing subscription for comparison; don’t repeatedly delete and recreate it after one failed update. Set automatic updates according to your needs.

Subscribe is mainly for retrieving and maintaining a server list from a subscription URL. Config manages rules, policy references, and related network settings. Seeing servers after importing a subscription doesn’t mean the rules for traffic routing are configured. Importing Config also doesn’t guarantee that the referenced servers or policy names exist on your device. When troubleshooting, first check that the target server appears in SERVER, then check the active Config and its policy references. Verify subscription updates and configuration updates separately. Different app sections accept different content types. Don’t use a subscription URL as a Config URL unless your provider explicitly supplies it in a compatible format.

Config uses rules in the active configuration to select a policy, making it suitable for routing based on your existing rules. Proxy sends traffic handled by this mode through the current proxy path, which can help determine whether a problem is related to routing rules. Direct connects the relevant traffic directly; it can’t be used to test whether a proxy server works. Before everyday use, check the Config contents and policy references, then select a mode. Switching modes changes routing; it won’t fix an expired subscription, incorrect authentication, or an unreachable server. For a fair comparison, use the same network and target service, change one setting at a time, and restore your preferred mode afterward.

Disconnect Shadowrocket first and confirm your Wi-Fi or cellular connection can reach regular services. Reconnect and check the selected server. A VPN Connected status doesn’t mean the remote server is authenticated or that DNS and every rule are working correctly. On the same network, temporarily switch to Proxy and test the same target. If Proxy works but Config doesn’t, check rule matching, policy references, and DNS settings first. If neither works, check the server status, authentication, and transport settings. Don’t change DNS, servers, and rules all at once; record each change and its result.

No. Connectivity Test shows connectivity under its specific test conditions; it doesn’t replace testing the service you actually need. First, make sure the dot beside the target server is selected, turn on the connection, run the test, and review the result. Then try the service you need to access. If the test succeeds but an app still has problems, check the rules and DNS for that destination, authentication, and whether the service itself is working. Changes in Data can help indicate whether traffic is flowing, but traffic doesn’t mean a request succeeded. When contacting your provider, describe the network type, Global Routing mode, and error, and redact server credentials.

Check the battery settings to see when power use increases, then compare with Data to see whether traffic keeps growing. Heavy data transfers, frequent reconnections, changing signal strength, and diagnostic logs can all increase activity. The status bar icon alone can’t identify the cause. Check whether On Demand is triggering connections as expected, temporarily turn off automatic triggers you don’t need, and watch for repeated connections. Also check whether detailed logging is enabled unnecessarily. Change one setting at a time and compare under similar conditions. If the connection comes back after you disconnect, check On Demand and system VPN settings first instead of repeatedly toggling the switch at the top.