Shadowrocket
Purchase, Import & Connection Issues

Shadowrocket is primarily for iPhone and iPad. Check the App Store listing for system requirements and purchase eligibility across devices. On iPad, verify the Apple ID used for App Store purchases and look for Shadowrocket in your purchase history. If your account is eligible, the store will offer the appropriate download option. The layout may differ from the iPhone version, so use interface labels such as Home, Config, and Settings rather than relying on button positions in phone screenshots. After installation, check whether your subscriptions and Config are already on the device. Purchase eligibility and in-app settings are separate. The download guide lists the checks to make on iPad.

The first connection usually requires permission to add a VPN configuration. First make sure a usable entry is listed and selected in Home, then turn on the connection. When the system permission prompt appears, confirm that it refers to Shadowrocket and approve it as required by the system. If you previously declined permission, try again in the app and check the configuration status in the VPN section of system settings. Another active VPN connection or device-management restrictions may also prevent startup. During troubleshooting, keep only the connection you need to test. A switch that turns off immediately does not necessarily mean the subscription has expired. First determine whether the issue is system authorization or server connectivity, then follow the error shown in the app.

This manual keeps interface labels in English so you can match them to the buttons on your device. Home shows server entries and connection status; Add Server adds connection details; Config manages configurations; and Settings contains app settings. Global Routing is where you choose how traffic is handled. To check the app's language, look for Shadowrocket's app language options in system settings. Available languages depend on your device and the current app display. A change in interface language does not indicate a configuration problem, and you don't need to delete an existing subscription to change the language. Use section names and field labels to navigate rather than relying on fixed button positions.

Battery use can be affected by traffic volume, wireless signal strength, server connection stability, and background activity from other apps. The connection switch alone does not identify the cause. Compare usage for the same period in system battery statistics, then check the traffic readings in Data for sustained uploads or downloads, or frequent reconnections. Compare results on the same network over similar periods of use, changing one condition at a time. Video streaming and large file transfers can affect the results. If On Demand is enabled, check its triggers to prevent automatic reconnections during testing. Turn off connections you don't need and observe the results. Data traffic statistics do not measure battery consumption.

Config uses the rules in the active configuration to handle traffic. Use it with a rules file you've checked. Proxy routes traffic through the selected proxy target and can help you test whether a server connection works. Direct connects traffic without a proxy and can be compared with the device's normal network connection. These modes change the traffic path; they won't fix incorrect authentication details, an expired subscription, or a device network problem. For everyday rule-based routing, use Config after confirming that the configuration and its policy targets are valid. During troubleshooting, note the original setting, switch one mode at a time, and restore the original setting afterward to avoid misreading the results.

Connected means the system has established a connection; it doesn't guarantee that every request can reach its destination. Pause the connection first and check that the device's regular network can open common websites, then verify the selected server in Home. Run Connectivity Test and compare its results with an actual webpage request. A successful test alone doesn't prove that all traffic works. If the page loads in Proxy but not in Config, check the matching rule, policy target, and DNS settings. If both modes fail, check the server details and current network first. Change one item at a time and record the error and routing mode. Don't reset all settings at once, or you may lose useful points of comparison.

First confirm that Global Routing is set to Config, then check the configuration file actually in use—not just a file you've opened to inspect. Rules are generally matched in the order listed, so an earlier match can prevent later rules from handling the request. Check the domain following keywords such as DOMAIN-SUFFIX and make sure the policy name at the end of the rule exists and is usable. FINAL is the fallback rule when no earlier rule matches. Make a new request to the destination and review the result in the connection logs available in the app. Existing connections may not switch paths immediately after a rule changes, so test with a new request. Save the verified configuration when troubleshooting is complete.

Failures affecting some domains may involve DNS, rule targets, the server's connection to the destination, or the destination website itself. Identify the cause before making changes. Compare the same domain under Direct, Proxy, and Config, then check the domain, address, and handling policy in the connection logs. If only Config fails, check whether a rule assigned the domain to an unavailable policy. If the address can't be resolved, check the DNS settings actually in use under Config or Settings. Don't cycle through multiple sets of parameters because one site won't load, and don't disable certificate verification without a reason. Note the original settings, change one item at a time, and retest the same destination before keeping the change.