This article addresses the practical question of “how to use Shadowrocket”: from downloading and installing it to importing nodes and enabling the proxy, while also explaining its relationship with IP, DNS, and the browser environment, so you can reduce common issues such as being connected but unable to open webpages, inconsistent IPs, and DNS leaks.
1. What Shadowrocket is and who it is for
Shadowrocket, commonly called “Little Rocket” in Chinese, is a common proxy client on iOS. It supports importing V2Ray, VLESS, Trojan, Shadowsocks, and other nodes or subscription links. It does not provide routes by itself and must be used with available nodes. You can use your existing subscription, or look for free nodes on this site for testing, but the stability of free nodes may fluctuate, so actual connectivity should be the standard.
2. Steps to install and import nodes
- Install Shadowrocket on your iPhone or iPad, then open it and allow it to add a VPN configuration.
- Prepare a node link or subscription address. Common formats include vmess://, vless://, trojan://, and ss://, or it may be a subscription URL.
- Open Shadowrocket and tap the “+” in the upper-right corner. If it is a single node, choose the corresponding type and paste the link; if it is a subscription, choose “Subscribe/订阅” and paste the subscription address.
- After saving, return to the home page, select a node, and tap the switch on the right to connect. On the first connection, the system VPN permission prompt will appear; tap Allow.
- Open a browser and visit a testing website to check whether your current IP has changed to the region where the node is located.
If you are only testing temporarily, it is recommended to import just 1–2 nodes first rather than too many at once, so it is easier to determine which node is usable.
3. What IP, DNS, and the browser environment each affect
IP determines the exit location that websites see. After Shadowrocket connects successfully, webpages should normally detect the proxy node’s IP rather than your local network IP. If the result still shows your local IP, it is usually because you are not connected, the rules are not routing traffic through the proxy, or the node has failed.
DNS is responsible for resolving domain names into server addresses. If certain webpages will not open or images fail to load, the issue may not be with the node, but with abnormal DNS resolution. You can enable remote DNS in Shadowrocket’s settings or use the client’s recommended default settings to avoid interference from local DNS.
Browser environment includes cache, cookies, language, time zone, WebRTC, and more. Even if the IP has changed, a website may still judge the environment as abnormal based on login history or browser fingerprinting. If you encounter account risk control, try incognito mode, clear the site’s cookies, or test with a clean browser.
4. Connection failure troubleshooting checklist
- First confirm that your phone’s network is working normally, then turn Airplane Mode off and on again before retrying.
- Test with a different node so you do not mistake a single failed node for a software issue.
- Check whether the subscription has expired or was copied incompletely, then update the subscription again.
- Switch the rule mode: during testing, you can use global proxy first, and switch back to rule mode after confirming access works.
- If only a certain app is not using the proxy, check whether Shadowrocket’s routing rules have set it to direct connection.
- Restart Shadowrocket; if necessary, delete the VPN configuration and allow it to be added again.
5. Recommended way to use it daily
For ordinary users, the recommended approach is “rule mode + a usable subscription + regular updates.” Use direct connection for domestic websites and nodes for websites that require a proxy, balancing speed and stability. When testing nodes, temporarily switch to global mode to make it easier to identify the source of the problem. If a webpage indicates that the region does not match, check the exit IP first; if a domain name will not open, check DNS first; if there is an account issue, focus on the browser environment.
In summary, the core Shadowrocket workflow is: install the client, import nodes or a subscription, select a node and connect, check IP and DNS, and adjust rules as needed. Once you understand these steps, you can troubleshoot most Shadowrocket usage issues on your own.