If you bought Shadowrocket on your iPhone, first check which Apple Account is used for App Store purchases on your iPad, then look for the app in your purchased apps. Check the App Store listing to see whether the purchase is universal. After downloading, check your existing configuration, system VPN permission, and Global Routing separately. This guide follows the purchase record, first connection, and landscape and Split View checks to help distinguish account, layout, and connection issues.
Check the purchase account and app details first
Shadowrocket is a paid client for Apple platforms, sold as a one-time purchase and available exclusively through the App Store. It is primarily used on iPhone and iPad. Check the App Store listing for system requirements and whether the purchase is universal. If you already have a purchase record, confirm the product and account associated with it before tapping a price button to pay again.
Your iPad’s iCloud account may differ from the account used for App Store purchases. Check Settings → Apple Account → Media & Purchases, and also check the account menu in the top-right corner of the App Store. Compare the account and app name with your original purchase receipt to confirm that you’re viewing the right purchase record. This check is for your own account only.
Verify the app’s identity by checking its name, Shadowrocket, its developer, Shadow Launch Technology Limited, and its app ID. Buying the client gives you the right to use the app; it does not include a service plan. Any subsequent connection depends on your own existing provider and subscription. The purchase record itself does not include connection settings.
Redownload from Purchased on your iPad
Connect your iPad to a network that can access the App Store before you begin. The App Store account menu can vary by system version: newer interfaces may show Apps → My Apps, while older ones may show Purchased directly. Open the list of apps you’ve acquired; don’t just check your payment transaction history.
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Check the account
Go to Settings → Apple Account → Media & Purchases and make sure the account used for App Store purchases matches the original purchase record. If prompted to authenticate again, follow the on-screen instructions.
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Open your purchased apps
Open the App Store, tap your account picture in the top-right corner, then go to Apps → My Apps. If your current interface shows Purchased, open that instead to see apps you’ve acquired.
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Find the app
Search for Shadowrocket. If it doesn’t appear while the Not on this iPad filter is selected, return to the full app list and search again. This also helps rule out the possibility that the app is already installed.
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Confirm and download
Verify the app details, then tap the cloud download icon. If you see Open, the app is already installed. If you still see a price, stop and check the next section before proceeding—don’t buy it again right away.
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Open Shadowrocket for the first time
Once the download is complete, open Shadowrocket and check Home for a usable configuration. Seeing the app on your Home Screen confirms that installation is complete; it doesn’t mean your subscription, rules, and system permissions are all ready.
Can’t find the app in Purchased, or still seeing a price?
“Not in the list” and “Unable to download” are different issues. If the app is missing, check the account, list filters, and hidden purchases first. If you can’t download it, check App Store availability, device restrictions, and compatibility. Keep a record of the exact message shown by the App Store to avoid mistaking a purchase issue for a Shadowrocket connection problem.
| What you see | Where to check | What to do next |
|---|---|---|
| No results in Purchased | App Store account and My Apps or Purchased | Confirm the original purchase account, clear any list filters, and check whether the purchase was hidden. |
| The product page shows a price | Media & Purchases and the original purchase receipt | Check the account and app ID. See the App Store listing for whether the purchase is universal. |
| Open is shown | App Store product page | Open the app and continue with configuration and permission checks; there’s no need to look for the cloud icon. |
| The app is incompatible or unavailable | Compatibility section on the product page and App Store message | Check the App Store listing for system requirements. Note the message, then contact Apple Support about the App Store issue. |
Bottom line: a price button doesn’t mean you need to buy it again
First check the account, purchase record, and app identity. If anything still doesn’t match, keep the receipt and message, then address the purchase issue without confirming another payment.
Screen Time or organizational management policies may restrict app installation, purchases, and VPN configurations. Ask the device owner or administrator to check the restrictions. Don’t erase your iPad just to recover a purchase, and don’t make repeated app deletions your first troubleshooting step; uninstalling may remove configurations stored only on the device.
Check your configuration and VPN permission after installation
Being able to redownload the app with the same Apple Account doesn’t mean both devices have the same configuration. Restoring an App Store purchase does not necessarily sync subscriptions, passwords, rule files, or connection status. First check the entries in Home on your iPad, then open Config to confirm the configuration file you want to use. If you already have one, make sure it’s still valid.
- Import an existing subscription: Tap “+” in the top-right corner of Home, set Type to Subscribe, enter your existing subscription URL, and save. Then check that the expected entries appear after an update. A full URL may contain access credentials, so don’t share it publicly.
- Check the connection details: If you have an individual configuration, check the server address, port, protocol, and authentication fields. Use the values from your own configuration; don’t change the port to a common default just because you’re using an iPad.
- Check the rule file: If Global Routing is set to Config, confirm which file is active in Config and review its rules. Entries in Home don’t necessarily mean the right rule file is selected.
- Grant system permission: The first time you start a connection, follow the iPadOS prompt to allow a VPN configuration and complete any required authentication. If you denied the prompt earlier, try connecting again. Device management restrictions must be handled separately.
After connecting, verify the connection with the same specific action—for example, open a page you normally use in a browser, then return to the app to check the connection status or relevant records. VPN status indicates the state of the system tunnel; it doesn’t guarantee that every request has succeeded. If there are no usable entries, fix the import or subscription update issue first instead of repeatedly switching between portrait and landscape.
Landscape and Split View: Navigate by section, not by screen coordinates
Landscape orientation gives you more horizontal space, but the layout also depends on the window size and whether the system and app support the current window mode. Use Home, Config, and Settings to find what you need; don’t rely on instructions that assume a button is always in a fixed spot. Rotating the screen changes the available display space, not your subscription contents or Global Routing selection.
Whether Split View and other window features are available depends on what your iPad and the app currently support. If the system lets you display a browser alongside Shadowrocket, you can read your configuration instructions on one side and enter the details on the other. If that window option isn’t available, you can complete the same task by switching between apps. Split View is not a requirement for successful installation.
| Scenario | What to watch for | How to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Full-screen landscape | Use Home, Config, and Settings to navigate. Check whether the list and details appear together. | Open an entry’s details and check its name and server fields so you don’t edit an adjacent entry by mistake. |
| Narrow window | Names and long URLs may be truncated. Open the edit screen to check the complete fields. | Check the beginning and end of the URL, including query parameters, and make sure no spaces or line breaks were copied with it. |
| Keyboard open | The keyboard reduces the available vertical space. Check the edited content and current focus before saving. | Dismiss the keyboard, check the save control, then return to the list to confirm your changes were saved. |
| Switching apps | When you return from the browser, distinguish the app coming back to the foreground from the connection being re-established. | Check the connection status, then repeat the same request. Don’t use a window change as evidence that the connection dropped. |
To compare landscape and portrait, keep the same Wi-Fi network, entry, and Global Routing option. Change only the screen orientation, then repeat the same request. If you also change networks or configurations, you can’t attribute the result to the landscape layout. This method helps reproduce an issue; it doesn’t assume either orientation is faster or more stable.
Global Routing selection is independent of window size
Open Global Routing in Home and check the current selection. Proxy, Direct, Config, and Scene are routing modes, not display modes. The three options below are the most useful for routine checks. Scene follows its configured behavior; don’t use it as a standard troubleshooting baseline unless you’ve confirmed what the scene does.
Config
RecommendedMatch requests against the rules in the current configuration file and apply the selected policy. Before using it for everyday routing, confirm that the file contents and referenced policies are valid. Config should not be reduced to a fixed geographic split.
Best for: everyday use when you have a defined rule file and want different destinations handled according to its rules.
Proxy
Handle requests within its routing scope using the proxy mode, so you can compare the result with Config. This won’t fix invalid server settings or guarantee that every app request succeeds.
Best for: temporarily checking whether a problem is related to rule selection without changing the configuration.
Direct
Handle the relevant requests using a direct connection to check access over your current network. Direct is a routing choice; it doesn’t mean the system VPN connection is turned off.
Best for: establishing a direct-connection comparison to distinguish local network issues from proxy-path issues.
To inspect the rules, open the current file in Config. For example, DOMAIN-SUFFIX,example.com,DIRECT sends requests matching that domain suffix to DIRECT; FINAL,PROXY sends requests to PROXY if no earlier rule matches. The actual result also depends on rule order and whether the selected policy is available. These two lines illustrate syntax only; they are not a complete, ready-to-use configuration.
Check the connection after switching to another app
Leaving Shadowrocket in the foreground doesn’t necessarily disconnect the system VPN. If the connection status changes after you switch apps, first check Settings → On Demand, then note whether the change happened after locking the screen, switching Wi-Fi networks, or returning to the app. On Demand affects connection behavior based on conditions; seeing the app in the background app switcher doesn’t tell you whether it was triggered.
- Record the network type, selected entry, Global Routing option, and the enabled status and existing conditions in Settings → On Demand.
- Keep all other settings unchanged. Switch to the browser, make one specific request, then return and check the connection status.
- If the issue occurs only after a network change, reproduce it on stable Wi-Fi and cellular connections separately. If your iPad doesn’t support cellular, test with the networks available to you.
- If you need to change On Demand, adjust one condition at a time and repeat the test. When you’re done, confirm that the final settings suit your needs.
Finally, classify the issue: if you can’t find the purchase record, check the App Store account; if the expected entry is missing from Home, check the existing configuration import; if you’re connected but a specific destination fails, check routing and request records; if a control disappears only in a narrow window, use a larger window to finish editing. Treating these as four separate cases keeps purchase, display, and connection issues from getting mixed up.