Shadowrocket is a one-time paid app: the purchase record follows your Apple ID, not your device. This article explains how to get the app back from the App Store's Purchased list after a new iPhone, a full reinstall, or a change of store region, which three things to check first if the restore fails, and how to re-import your own subscription once the app is back.
One-time purchase: the record follows your Apple ID, not your device
Shadowrocket is a one-time paid app on the App Store. The purchase record is attached to the Apple ID that completed the payment and is not tied to a device. The same Apple ID can install it on iPhone and iPad; Mac and Apple TV can also get it from the same store page, and system requirements are as listed on the App Store page. Switching to a new phone or erasing and reinstalling will not make that purchase disappear.
What you need to restore after switching phones is really two layers. The first is the purchase entitlement for the app itself, which lives in your Apple account and can be re-downloaded from Purchased at any time. The second is the in-app configuration data — subscriptions, servers, rules, and the Global Routing posture — which is stored locally on the device and does not sync with your account. Keep the two layers separate and the restore process becomes clear.
Get it back from Purchased: six steps
The restore entry point is in the App Store account page, not inside Shadowrocket. Nothing in this process triggers a new charge; as long as the Apple ID you are signed in with is the one that bought the app, the record will be right there.
Confirm the signed-in account
Open the App Store, tap your profile picture in the top-right corner to open the account page; the Apple ID shown at the top is the one used for purchases and downloads. If it is not the same one you bought with, sign out and switch back to the original account.
Open Purchased
On the account page, tap Purchased. The list shows every app that account has downloaded, ordered by date.
Search for the app name
Type Shadowrocket into the search field at the top of the list. When the list is long, searching is faster than scrolling page by page.
Tap the cloud icon to download
Once you find Shadowrocket, tap the cloud download icon on the right and the app starts reinstalling. If you see a price button instead, the current account has no purchase record for it — go back to step one and check the account.
Open the app and confirm
Open Shadowrocket once the install finishes. The first time you connect, iOS shows a VPN configuration prompt; allow it as the system asks. This has nothing to do with restoring your purchase.
Rebuild the in-app configuration
With the app itself restored, tap + in the top-right corner of Home to re-import your own subscription or servers; this step is manual, and the how-to is below.
If the restore fails, check these three things first
If Shadowrocket does not show up in Purchased, or tapping download still shows a price button, do not reinstall again or switch devices. Check the three items below in order.
- Account: whether the Apple ID currently signed in to the App Store is the one that made the purchase. Check it under Settings → your Apple Account at the top → Media & Purchases; the store account shown there may not be the same as your iCloud account, and this is the step people most often get wrong when a device is shared.
- Region: whether the store region matches the one you bought in. Purchased items are split by region, so after you switch the store to another country or region, purchases from the original region will not appear in the new region's list; switch back and the record becomes visible again — no need to buy it twice.
- Family Sharing: whether a family member bought it for you. The purchase record belongs to the account that paid, and it will not appear in another account's Purchased list; go back to the purchaser's account, or make sure Purchase Sharing is turned on in Family Sharing.
Bottom line: check the account first, then the region
If you can only check one of the three, check the Apple ID shown under Settings → Media & Purchases. If the account is wrong, the other two do not matter; if the account is right, the record is in Purchased and you can simply tap the cloud icon.
The app is back, but the configuration still needs rebuilding
Re-downloading restores the app itself. Shadowrocket's subscriptions, servers, rules, and Global Routing posture are stored locally on the device and do not come back automatically after switching phones or erasing and reinstalling: open the app and the Home list is empty, Config has no rules, and flipping the connection switch leaves you with no usable outbound.
The easiest path is to re-import your own subscription: + in the top-right corner of Home → set Type to Subscribe → paste your subscription link → save, then pull down to refresh on Home. Servers and rules are generated from the subscription content; if the subscription includes rules, entries such as DOMAIN-SUFFIX, GEOIP, IP-CIDR, and FINAL will appear in Config. Subscription links come from your own provider and look like:
https://example.com/sub?token=xxxxIf you do not have a subscription link and only a few self-hosted servers, you can also add them one by one with Add Server under the + in the top-right corner of Home: pick the matching protocol under Type (Shadowsocks / VMess / VLESS / Trojan / Hysteria2 / WireGuard, and so on), then fill in the server address, port, and password. The two methods can coexist — use whichever fits what you have. Buying the client is not the same as buying a service: what you pay for in the App Store is a one-time app purchase, unrelated to subscriptions or servers; restoring a purchase only brings back the app itself, never any servers.
Re-import your subscription (Subscribe)
Recommended+ in the top-right corner of Home → set Type to Subscribe, paste your own subscription link and save; servers and rules update with the subscription, so after switching phones you only need to re-enter the link once.
Best for: everyday use with a subscription link and a larger number of servers
Add servers manually (Add Server)
Add them one by one with + in the top-right corner of Home, choose the matching protocol under Type, and fill in the server address, port, and password; use this when there is no subscription to import.
Best for: only a few self-hosted servers, no need for bulk updates
Bottom line: subscription first, manual as a fallback
After switching phones, find your subscription link and re-import it first — a single action brings back all servers and rules; only fall back to filling in Add Server one by one when the subscription is temporarily unavailable.
FAQ
The five questions below cover the most common situations when switching phones, reinstalling, or changing store regions.
Will re-downloading charge me again?
No. Re-downloading a purchased app from Purchased with the same Apple ID does not create a new charge and does not show a purchase confirmation; if the product page shows a price button instead of the cloud icon, the current account has no purchase record for it — check the account and region as described above.
After switching to another store region, will it still show in Purchased?
No. Purchased items are split by store region, so after switching country or region, purchases from the original region will not appear in the new region's list; switch the store back to the original region and the record becomes visible again — no need to buy it twice.
After re-downloading, are my subscriptions and servers still there?
No. Subscriptions, servers, and rules are stored locally on the device and do not sync with your account; after re-downloading, re-import your own subscription with the + in the top-right corner of Home, or add servers one by one with Add Server.
If it was bought through Family Sharing, which account should restore it?
The account that paid. The purchase record belongs to the buyer, who re-downloads it from Purchased on their own device; it will not appear in another family member's list.
What if Shadowrocket does not show up in App Store search?
Check the store region and account status first. The product page is at apps.apple.com/us/app/shadowrocket/id932747118, the developer is listed as Shadow Launch Technology Limited, and the app ID is 932747118; once those check out, download it from Purchased or from the product page.
Get Shadowrocket on the App Store
Paid app, one-time purchase, sold only on the App Store. After switching phones or reinstalling, re-download it from Purchased with the original purchasing account — no new charge.