This article addresses the practical question of “how to use Shadowrocket”: from importing nodes after installation, updating subscriptions, and testing connections, to understanding the relationship between IP, DNS, and the browser environment, helping you determine why you’re connected but still can’t open web pages, why your IP hasn’t changed, or why some websites behave abnormally.
1. Basic Shadowrocket Usage Workflow
Shadowrocket is often called “Little Rocket” by Chinese users, and is mainly used on iPhone/iPad to import proxy nodes such as V2Ray, VLESS, Trojan, and Shadowsocks. It is only a client itself; whether it can connect depends on whether the nodes or subscription you imported are available.
- Open Shadowrocket, go to the main interface, and tap the “+” in the upper-right corner.
- If you have a subscription link, choose “Subscribe” as the “Type,” paste the subscription URL, save it, and then tap update.
- If it is a single node link, you can copy vmess, vless, trojan, ss, and similar links, then return to the app, which will usually recognize and import them automatically.
- Select a node from the node list, return to the home page, and turn on the switch at the top.
- When connecting for the first time, the system will prompt you to add a VPN configuration. Tap allow and enter your device passcode.
If you don’t have any nodes for the moment, you can check the free node page on this site, copy supported nodes or subscription links, and import them for testing. The stability of free nodes may fluctuate, so it’s recommended to prepare several backups.
2. What IP, DNS, and the Browser Environment Each Affect
IP is the exit address seen by websites. After Shadowrocket connects successfully, when you visit an IP checking website, the displayed region should roughly match the exit location of the selected node. If it still shows your local ISP IP, it means the proxy is not taking effect, the rules are not matching, or the node has failed.
DNS is responsible for resolving domain names into server addresses. In some cases, the VPN may show as connected, but web pages still won’t open. This may be because DNS is polluted, resolution timed out, or local DNS is being used. You can try switching DNS in Shadowrocket’s settings, or use “Global Proxy” to test whether the issue is caused by the rules.
Browser environment includes cache, cookies, language, time zone, WebRTC, and more. Even if your IP has changed, a website may still judge your environment based on login history, cookies, or browser fingerprinting. Therefore, when testing, it is recommended to use an incognito window, or clear the target website’s cache before visiting again.
3. Recommended Connection Mode Settings
- Configuration: Beginners are advised to use the default configuration or a reliable rule configuration first, and not to frequently rewrite complex rules.
- Mode: When troubleshooting, switch to “Global Proxy” first to confirm whether the node can access the external internet normally.
- Speed test: Latency testing can help you choose nodes, but low latency does not mean every website will be stable.
- Subscription update: When nodes become invalid, first manually update the subscription, then reselect a node and connect again.
4. Troubleshooting Order for Connection Failures
If you encounter “connected but cannot access the internet,” it is recommended to check in this order: first, switch to another node; second, update the subscription; third, turn Shadowrocket off and then back on; fourth, switch between Wi-Fi and cellular data; fifth, change to Global Proxy for testing; sixth, restart the phone.
If only a specific website won’t open, it is most likely not a client installation problem, but is instead caused by rules, DNS, the node route, or the website’s risk control. You can switch nodes, clear the browser cache, use incognito mode, and check again whether the IP has actually changed.
In summary, the core way to use Shadowrocket is: import nodes or subscriptions, select a node, enable the connection, and verify with your IP and webpage access results. Once you understand the differences between IP, DNS, and the browser environment, troubleshooting becomes much clearer, and you can avoid mistakenly assuming every problem means “the node is broken.”