FAQ
First separate “what you bought” from “which layer to check when it will not connect.” For tap-by-tap steps, see the illustrated tutorial.
Purchase and source
No. Get it from the App Store only, so the update channel and VPN permission share one source. The link is on the download page.
The store shows a shelf for the Apple ID’s region. Confirm the account region, then open id932747118. Do not go download an IPA.
The name must be Shadowrocket. The icon is a white tile with a teal-purple line rocket, not an orange 3D rocket. The Bundle ID is com.liguangming.Shadowrocket.
No. You bought a client license. Nodes, traffic, and expiry come from a provider.
Product limits
The connection is written on an iOS VPN configuration. The app requests it; the system allows it. Refuse authorization, or turn it off later in Settings, and you get “switch on, no VPN in the status bar.”
A subscription answers “which exits exist.” A config answers “which traffic uses an exit.” They can update independently. Nodes only, with messy rules, shows up as some sites failing.
Not as the daily default. Keep Global Routing on Config. Use Proxy only to compare “is the node broken, or are the rules broken.”
Subscribe manages a group of nodes with one URL. Add Server is a single Host / Port / password typed by hand. A subscription sent through Add Server is the most common failure. Steps are in Tutorial chapter 2.
What to check first when it will not connect
No subscription has been imported yet, or Type is not Subscribe. Return to tutorial chapter 2 and copy the URL from the provider again.
See whether a node is selected, then whether the system VPN is enabled. Do not edit rules at the same time.
The problem is system permission, not a different node. Go to Settings → VPN and allow Shadowrocket again.
Switch to a node with normal latency, or update the subscription. If global works and rules do not, then check Config.
That depends on whether you backed up or exported in Data. Safer: keep the subscription URL and the config URL, import them again after reinstall, and allow the VPN again.
Find them by place: the tab bar is still Home / Config / Data / Settings; the top-right control is still add; the first row is still the connection switch. If the UI is not in English, set Settings → Language to English and follow the tutorial.