Using Shadowrocket on iPad: Redownload from App Store Purchases and Understand the Landscape Layout

Purchase History: Redownload with the Same Account

Shadowrocket is a one-time purchase, closed-source commercial app available exclusively on the App Store. If you purchased it with your own Apple ID, you can usually redownload it at no extra cost on an eligible iPad using the same purchasing account. There’s no need to transfer the app from your iPhone. Check the App Store listing for system requirements and device compatibility.

“Same account” here means the account used for App Store purchases. The iCloud account on your iPad may differ from the account under Media & Purchases. Seeing your name at the top of Settings doesn’t confirm that the App Store is using the account you used to buy Shadowrocket. Check the account in the App Store before redownloading.

When verifying the app, check its name (Shadowrocket), official icon, developer (Shadow Launch Technology Limited), and app ID. Don’t rely on the icon’s color in search results alone. See the how to verify the official app guide for where to check these details.

How to Redownload Shadowrocket from App Store Purchases on iPad

The App Store account menu can change as the system interface evolves. Your purchase history may appear under “Purchased” or in your personal app list under “Apps.” Look for your past purchases rather than relying on a button being in the same place on every system version.

1. Check the Purchasing Account

   Open the App Store on your iPad and tap your account icon to check which account is signed in. If it isn’t the account you used to purchase Shadowrocket, confirm your original purchasing account details before switching accounts in the App Store settings. Don’t rely on your iCloud sign-in status alone.

2. Find the Purchased App

   Open “Purchased” or go to “Apps” → your personal app list, then search for Shadowrocket. If filters such as “All” and “Not on this iPad” are available, select “All” first so a filter doesn’t hide an installed app.

3. Redownload the App

   Open the listing and verify the developer and app ID, then tap the cloud download button. If you see a price instead of a redownload option, stop and check the account and purchase history. Don’t pay again as a way to restore a previous purchase.

4. Check the App on First Launch

   When the download finishes, open Shadowrocket and check whether your own server entries appear in Home. Also check Config. An empty list doesn’t mean the purchase failed; it just means you still need to set up the app’s data on this device.

5. Authorize the Connection on This iPad

   After checking your subscription and Config, turn on the connection in Home. If iPadOS asks to add a VPN configuration for the first time, confirm that the prompt was triggered by the action you just took, then follow the system instructions to authorize it. Authorization on iPhone doesn’t authorize the connection on iPad.

If the app isn’t in your Purchased list, first check the account and order in your purchase history, then see whether the item is hidden. Store region, account status, and current availability can also affect what appears. Check the App Store account page and use the support options provided by the system rather than repeatedly signing out or reinstalling to guess at the cause.

Landscape and Split View: The Layout Changes, Not What Your Config Means

Landscape gives you more horizontal space, so lists can usually show more text. In a narrower Split View window, the same name may be truncated and controls may be tucked away. The display depends on the iPad model, system multitasking features, the current app screen, and window width. Check what appears on your device rather than assuming every iPad uses the same fixed multi-column layout.

When following instructions written for another device, look for interface labels such as Home, Config, and Settings instead of relying on coordinates like “bottom-left corner.” Home shows your connection and server entries, Config manages configurations, and Settings contains app settings. Changing the window width doesn’t turn a subscription into a rules file.

• Complete the initial setup in full screen: Expand Shadowrocket to a wider window and check the full server name, Global Routing, and current Config before entering Split View. This helps prevent selecting the wrong entry when text is truncated.
• Recheck names after rotating: After switching between landscape and portrait, verify the selected entry instead of relying on its position in the list. A subscription update may change the order, so expand similar-looking names to check them carefully.
• Use Split View to check one thing at a time: If your system supports multitasking, keep Shadowrocket on one side and use a browser on the other to visit a known address. Change one setting at a time and observe the result; don’t switch servers, Config, and networks all at once.
• Dismiss the keyboard before checking: After editing an address or password, save your changes, dismiss the keyboard, and then review the entry. The keyboard covering part of the screen doesn’t mean a setting has disappeared or that your changes have been saved.

Split View changes how windows are displayed; it doesn’t determine how traffic is routed. You can’t infer that “the app on the left uses PROXY and the one on the right uses DIRECT.” Requests still depend on the current connection, Global Routing, rules, and system network behavior. Hiding the Shadowrocket window doesn’t close the connection; check its status in Home.

Subscription and Config: Import and Check Them Separately on iPad

App Store purchase history restores access to the app; it doesn’t transfer in-app data. A successful redownload doesn’t mean your iPhone’s subscription, passwords, or current Config are ready on iPad. This guide imports and verifies them separately on each device. If you’ve brought data over using another method, still check which items are selected on this iPad.

In Home on your iPad, tap “+” in the top-right corner → Type → Subscribe. Enter your own subscription link in URL, add a recognizable name, save, and then update the subscription. The example format https://example.com/sub?token=xxxx is deliberately fake and won’t connect. A real link’s token is sensitive information; don’t include it in screenshots, chat messages, or public notes.

• Check the subscription contents: After updating, confirm that server entries appear and that their names match your own service records. A successful update only means the content was retrieved and parsed; it doesn’t guarantee that every server can connect.
• Check Config: To use your own rules configuration, import the relevant file or an existing configuration URL in Config, then select the configuration you want to use. A Subscribe URL and a Config URL serve different purposes; the fact that both are URLs doesn’t make them interchangeable.
• Check account limits: If you import the same subscription on iPhone and iPad, your service terms determine whether both devices can connect at once and how usage is counted. Redownload access for the app doesn’t change those limits.
• Check that your changes were saved: Leave the editing screen and reopen it to confirm your changes persisted. Then return to Home and check which server is selected, so you don’t end up using a different entry than the one you just edited.

To use the same routing logic on both devices, compare the actual Config contents rather than just the filenames. The simplified example below illustrates rule order; it isn’t a complete configuration to use as-is. Make sure policy names match your own Config.

[Rule]
DOMAIN-SUFFIX,example.com,PROXY
IP-CIDR,192.168.0.0/16,DIRECT,no-resolve
GEOIP,CN,DIRECT
FINAL,PROXY

DOMAIN-SUFFIX matches domain suffixes, IP-CIDR matches specified address ranges, GEOIP checks an IP against a geographic database, and FINAL is the policy used when no preceding rule matches. Rules are evaluated in order. Even if your iPad and iPhone use servers with the same name, different Config files or rule order can produce different results.

Global Routing: Check the Mode Before Troubleshooting

In Home → Global Routing, check the current mode. The comparison below covers Shadowrocket’s Config, Proxy, and Direct modes; it isn’t a recommendation for choosing a connection service. Note the original setting during troubleshooting and restore it when testing is done. System-excluded traffic and other network behavior may also matter, so a mode name doesn’t guarantee that every packet is handled in the same way.

For example, if the same iPad can open a regular webpage in Direct but not in Config, first check which rule matches the domain and which policy that rule uses. If several addresses fail in different modes, first check whether the Wi-Fi requires sign-in and whether the network is working. Change one variable at a time so you can identify what caused the result.

iPad FAQ: Purchases, Split View, and Restoring Connections

After setup, keep a checklist that contains no sensitive information: whether the purchasing account is confirmed, whether the subscription is updated, the current Config name, the Global Routing mode, and whether On Demand is enabled. When you switch networks or change the window layout, check these items first; it’s easier than importing everything again.