Shadowrocket FAQ

On your App Store account page, confirm the Apple ID currently used for media purchases. Then, in system Settings, go to Apple ID → Media & Purchases → View Account → Country/Region and check the store region. Shadowrocket may not appear in search results in the mainland China storefront. Open the product page from the purchase guide to check availability for your account. If you need to change regions, use the official Country/Region settings for that account and first review your balance, active subscriptions, Family Sharing, and payment method requirements. Changing your device language alone won’t change the storefront region.

On the product page, verify all three details: the app is named Shadowrocket, the developer is Shadow Launch Technology Limited, and the product URL contains id932747118. Compare the icon with the official icon in this site’s header: a white background with a blue-and-purple outlined design. Don’t rely on the search result title or an abbreviation alone. Before paying, check the price and compatibility shown in your storefront; system requirements are as listed on the App Store page. Shadowrocket is available only through the App Store. For the verification steps, see the purchase guide.

Sign in to the App Store with the Apple ID used for the original purchase. Search for Shadowrocket under Apps or your purchase history, then tap the cloud download button; menu names may vary by system language. Your iCloud account may differ from the account used for media purchases, so don’t use the device’s iCloud sign-in alone to determine which account owns the purchase. If a price still appears, check your purchase history, current account, and storefront region before proceeding. Redownloading the app doesn’t restore its configuration. Before changing devices, save your existing server details, subscriptions, and configuration files separately, and keep any credentials secure.

Shadowrocket is a paid client sold as a one-time purchase. The US storefront price is approximately $2.99; the actual price, currency, and taxes are shown on the App Store page at checkout. A one-time app purchase is not a service plan: buying the app does not provide server details for connecting. Imports require a subscription or server details you already have. This site does not provide, sell, or recommend servers or subscriptions. Purchase eligibility across devices, Family Sharing, and system requirements are as listed on the App Store page; don’t assume another account owns the app just because it’s installed on a device.

Check the same App Store product page to confirm availability and get Shadowrocket on iPad. Sign in to the iPad App Store with the account used for the original purchase, check your purchase history, and see whether a download button is available for your device. Purchase eligibility and system requirements are as listed on the App Store page. After installation, check your own subscription, current Config, and Global Routing; a successful download doesn’t mean your configuration was transferred. The iPad layout may place lists and details differently in portrait and landscape. Look for interface labels such as Home, Config, and Settings rather than relying on button positions from another device.

The first time you connect, the system asks for permission to add a VPN configuration and may then require your device passcode or authentication. If you dismissed the prompt, return to Shadowrocket, enable the connection again, and approve the request. If the switch turns off immediately, check whether a VPN configuration exists in system Settings, then check for another active VPN connection or device management restrictions. Don’t start by deleting all network settings. Note the error message, disable any potentially conflicting connection, and try again. System approval only allows a VPN configuration to be created; it doesn’t confirm that your server settings are correct or that the remote service is available.

This manual keeps interface labels such as Home, Config, Settings, Add Server, and Subscribe in their original English, with explanations of what they do. Use the name shown on the current screen to find the corresponding option. Don’t confuse system Settings with Settings inside the app. To change the display language, check Shadowrocket’s app language options in system Settings. You can select a language only if the system offers the option and the app supports that language; reopen the app to confirm the change. The interface language doesn’t change rule keywords, protocol fields, or the storefront region. When troubleshooting, note the exact English error and the relevant settings.

First, make sure you have your own subscription or server details. Then check for an entry on Home, confirm the correct item is selected, and verify the configuration you plan to use in Config. For the first test, temporarily turn off On Demand, start the connection manually, and approve the system VPN request so automatic connection conditions don’t affect the result. Then test a website you know is available, checking both Wi-Fi and cellular if needed. An empty list, missing authentication details, or an app purchase alone isn’t enough to establish a working connection. Fill in one missing item at a time and note the result. See Getting Started for the full sequence.

Before importing with Subscribe on the Config page, make sure you copied the full subscription URL provided by your service provider for use in a client—not an account sign-in page or a web sharing page. Check for leading or trailing spaces and line breaks, confirm the link is still valid, and make sure your current network can reach it. If the error mentions authentication or parsing, check access permissions and the returned format separately. Subscription URLs may contain access credentials; don’t share them in public screenshots or comments. Note the exact error and ask your existing provider to verify the URL format. Don’t repeatedly clear existing entries, in case a working configuration would be lost.

If you have a subscription URL, use Subscribe on the Config page to make it easier to update entries from the same source later. If you have details for a single server—address, port, authentication, and protocol—enter them individually with Add Server. Use Scan QR Code for a matching QR code. Use clipboard import only for share text recognized by the client, and allow access when prompted by the system. After importing, check the protocol, address, port, and authentication fields. Server sharing content and rule configuration files serve different purposes; don’t paste the same text into different import options just because it can be copied as text.

Find the update action for the existing subscription, confirm its name and source, then update it. The button’s location depends on the current interface. Before updating, note the selected server and any manual changes you need. Afterward, check the number of entries, groups, and selected item to ensure the selection doesn’t point to an entry that was removed. Updating a subscription refreshes only the content returned by that source; it doesn’t update the app from the App Store and may not sync rule configurations. If an update fails but the old entries remain, keep them and check the network, link validity, and error message before trying again.

Go back to Home and check whether a group is collapsed, a search filter is still active, or only one group is being shown. Then confirm whether you imported server details or a Config file. If an entry is there under a different name, check its protocol, address, and port instead of relying on the display name alone. Subscription contents can change or include entries that can’t currently be parsed; review the import message and check each item. Don’t repeat the import right away, as this may create duplicates. Keep the existing configuration and confirm the purpose and source of the new content before organizing the list.

Config uses the rules in the current configuration to route requests and is suited to everyday use once you’ve verified the rules file. Proxy checks whether the selected proxy route is working. Direct lets you compare results against your basic network connection. Before switching temporarily, note the original mode and check the selected item on Home. Proxy isn’t a fix for every website issue, and Direct doesn’t mean the app has exited or the system VPN configuration has been removed. If a website has a problem only in Config, first check which rule matched the request and which policy was applied. Adjust the relevant rule, then restore the original settings after testing.

First disconnect and confirm that your basic network can reach a website you know is available. Then reconnect and check the selected item on Home and the Global Routing mode. Use Connectivity Test to check whether your existing server is reachable, but a test result doesn’t mean every website will work. If Proxy works but Config doesn’t, check the matched rule, policy, and FINAL. If both fail, verify the address, port, authentication, and TLS settings. Check DNS only if domain access is the problem. Don’t change the server, rules, and DNS at the same time, or you won’t know which change made a difference.

On Demand starts the connection when its configured network conditions are met. After you disconnect manually, it may reconnect when those conditions are met again. To pause it, turn off On Demand in Shadowrocket, disconnect, then confirm the status on the VPN page in system Settings. If you want to keep On Demand enabled, check the Wi-Fi, cellular, and other matching conditions individually to make sure they aren’t too broad. To troubleshoot a switch that won’t stay off, first test with a manual connection. Don’t repeatedly delete the VPN configuration. If the device is managed, check for a policy that enforces the connection.

Check activity and battery use for the same time period in Battery under system Settings. Then look for ongoing downloads, frequent reconnects, repeated tests, or detailed logs running for a long time. When the VPN extension handles traffic for other apps, interpret battery usage in context rather than relying on a single percentage. Stop unnecessary continuous tests, check whether On Demand is triggering repeatedly, and compare Wi-Fi with cellular separately. Change one setting at a time and observe for a similar period. If there are also connection errors, keep a record with subscription URLs and authentication details removed, then follow the connection troubleshooting steps.