ShadowrocketShadowrocket does not sell lines. After you open the app, what you tap under SERVER on Home is always one node: hostname, port, protocol, password or UUID. A subscription is only a list URL that can change. You tap Update, then the app adds, removes, or renames nodes on that list. Both can be “added” in a field. The results are not the same.
Most first failures are not an off switch or a bad rule. They are a subscription URL treated as one Shadowsocks server. After the wrong Type, the app honestly uses the whole https string as Host. Failed latency, an instant drop, a Home screen with one odd name — they start here.
What a node is
A node is one connectable server config. If you were given a hostname or IP, a port, encryption, and a password, that is a single node. Some people also name the protocol: Shadowsocks, Vmess, Trojan. Then Type after the plus button must match, and you copy Add Server field by field: Host, Port, Password. Method and plugins follow what you were given — do not invent a common cipher.
Scanning a QR code is the same class. The box at the top left reads someone else’s node code. What you get is still one server, not a subscription. Home will show one row you can latency-test. Updating a subscription will not touch it, because it was never a list.
What a subscription is
A subscription is the URL of a remote list. It almost always starts with https and a long path and query. If you were given one full link instead of a split host and port, treat it as a subscription. Type must be Subscribe. Paste the full URL. Do not strip the token, period, or traffic parameters after the question mark.
Remark is only a note for you, such as “Daily” or “Backup.” It does not replace the URL. A remark with an empty address, or half a domain, will error on update or pull an empty list.
After a subscription is added, Home usually shows a group of names, not a single row. Tap Update and the list refreshes from the remote. An expired, replaced, or renamed node should change on the next update. If every update still leaves only that one “subscription” row, go back and check Type.
How to tell which one you were given
Read the text first. Do not tap plus yet. A long https link with a path and parameters is a subscription. A few split fields — address, port, password, protocol — is a single node. If you were given both, add both. Do not split the subscription URL into Host and type it again.
Some people send a short link or a page with notes. After you open the page, copy the subscription URL, not the page address. Check it in Notes first: it should start with http or https and not be cut in half by the chat app.
Common mix-ups
- Pasting the subscription URL into Host while Type is Shadowsocks or Vmess.
- Update looks successful, then you paste one node address back in as a subscription.
- Remark says “subscription,” but the URL is empty or only the first half is pasted.
- Copying from chat drops the query after the question mark, so the remote cannot recognize the list.
- Stacking several overlapping subscriptions, so Home fills with duplicate names and you cannot tell which row to test.
The check is simple: back on Home, SERVER lists names you can latency-test. If the list is still empty, check Type and whether the URL is complete. Do not reinstall first. Reinstalling clears local config. It will not fix a reversed URL.
When update fails, check these first
A failed subscription update is usually not a broken client. Can the network open an ordinary page? Has the URL expired — some list addresses rotate? Is Type Subscribe? After those three, then think about rules, DNS, and system time.
If update succeeds and still nothing connects, then swap nodes and compare with global. That is the next article. This step only asks: the list can come in, and names can appear. With no names, the switch later does not matter.
Many rows in one subscription does not mean every row works. Pick one you just tested with a normal-looking number. If latency will not return, swap. Do not keep opening the same dead node.
How this relates to rules and backup
The subscription decides where nodes come from. Rules decide where traffic goes. Rules live in Config at the bottom, not in the subscription field. Do not expect a different subscription URL to fix routing. When you switch phones, keep at least the subscription URL or the export in Data. The app can be downloaded again. Losing the list URL is the painful part.
This site does not hand out nodes or recommend a subscription source. Where you get a line is your call. Here we only split two words that are easy to mix, so you do not reverse them on the first try.
Full order for adding a subscription
Open Home and confirm the first of the four bottom tabs is selected. Tap plus at the top right, open Type, choose Subscribe, then paste the URL on the add screen. Remark can be anything. After Done, go back to Home, find this subscription, and update. When it finishes, SERVER should show a group of names. The dot on the left is the default node.
If Type has no Subscribe, confirm you opened official Shadowrocket — the blue-purple line-art rocket. Look-alike apps follow a different flow and are not covered here. You can tap through the official Type list on the demo page first, so you do not pick wrong on the phone.
If one subscription is enough, do not stack a second copy of the same content. When Home fills with duplicate names, stop and count how many Subscribe rows you have. Delete the extras, then test latency. The messier the list, the easier it is to keep opening a dead node.
On-screen steps: Guide: add a subscription. The Type list and add form are also on the demo page. For the app itself, use the download page and get it from the App Store only.