This guide addresses the practical question of how to import a subscription into Shadowrocket: from getting a subscription link and importing it into Shadowrocket, to updating nodes and checking your IP, DNS, and browser environment. These steps help you confirm that the connection is actually working and avoid situations where it shows as connected but websites won’t load.
1. What to prepare before importing a subscription
Shadowrocket is an iOS client. Before importing a subscription, make sure you’ve installed the app and have a working subscription link. A subscription link is usually a URL that starts with http or https and contains information about multiple nodes. This site also provides free nodes and subscription guides, but free nodes may become unavailable, congested, or change by region, so it’s a good idea to have a few alternatives ready.
There are two other things to keep in mind before importing: first, don’t edit the subscription link manually; second, make sure your iPhone’s system time is accurate, as an incorrect time can affect TLS connections. If you’re using public Wi-Fi, try switching to cellular data first to rule out network restrictions.
2. How to import a subscription into Shadowrocket
- Open Shadowrocket and go to the home screen.
- Tap the “+” in the top-right corner, then select Subscribe as the type.
- Paste your subscription link in the URL field. You can enter “Free nodes” as the name or choose a custom one.
- Tap “Done” in the top-right corner to save, then return to the home screen.
- Open the subscription group and tap “Update” or pull down to refresh. Wait for the node list to appear.
- Select a node and turn on the connection switch at the top. The first time you connect, allow Shadowrocket to add a VPN configuration.
If no nodes appear after importing the subscription, first check whether the link is complete, has expired, or requires a network proxy to access. Make sure you haven’t left off any characters at the end when copying the link, and don’t mistake a webpage URL for a subscription URL.
3. How to check your IP, DNS, and browser environment after connecting
Many users only check whether Shadowrocket says “Connected,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean everything is working properly. After connecting, we recommend checking the following in order:
- IP check: Open an IP lookup website and see whether your outgoing IP address has changed to the node’s region.
- DNS check: If websites are still resolving to local addresses, you may have a DNS leak or your rules may not be taking effect. Try enabling remote DNS in Shadowrocket or switching your configuration rules.
- Browser check: Close and reopen Safari or Chrome. If necessary, clear the browser cache to prevent an old connection from continuing to use your local network.
- App check: Some apps cache their network status, so fully quit them before reopening.
If your IP has changed but some websites still won’t load, the node may not support the route, the website may block that IP, or your rules may be routing traffic through a direct connection. Try switching to “Global Routing” to test. If it works in global mode, switch back to rule mode and troubleshoot the rules one by one.
4. Common causes of failure and how to fix them
If a subscription update fails, first try opening the subscription link in a browser. If you see an access-denied message or a blank page, the link may have expired. If a node fails to connect, try another node in the same group or update the subscription again. If all nodes fail, check whether iOS allows VPN connections and whether another VPN or security app is enabled.
DNS issues are also common. Symptoms include messaging apps working while websites won’t load, or a website working intermittently. Try changing the DNS strategy in your Shadowrocket configuration, then restart the connection. If you’re having browser-related issues, try disabling privacy proxies and ad-blocking extensions to prevent conflicts with your proxy rules.
In short, importing a subscription into Shadowrocket comes down to getting the link right, updating the subscription successfully, connecting to a node, and confirming that your IP and DNS checks pass. Once you’ve completed these steps, try switching nodes or routing modes based on what you can access. This is usually enough to pinpoint most problems.