The questions beginners ask are remarkably consistent: how billing works, whether there are enough device slots, whether peak hours drag, what to do when nothing loads after installing, and how refunds are handled. Below are those ten questions answered conclusion-first, with step-by-step instructions wherever an action is involved.
Ten Questions at a Glance: Conclusions First
| No. | Beginner question | One-line answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Can I use it on several devices at once? | Yes — no device limit; sign in to the same account on multiple platforms at the same time |
| 2 | How is data counted? | Monthly plans reset on the activation date each month; data packs last until used up and never expire |
| 3 | Will peak hours slow me down? | Separate throttling from congestion first, then check by route type — dedicated-line nodes first |
| 4 | Should I leave it on all the time? | No — connect as needed; let split-tunnelling rules handle your everyday sites |
| 5 | How do I import the subscription link? | Copy the full address and paste it into the client to update — never retype nodes by hand |
| 6 | It connects but sites won't open | Check five things in order: mode, DNS, node, system time, cache |
| 7 | Do the clients differ by platform? | Yes — the differences are mostly in the permissions you grant during first install |
| 8 | Do you log what I access? | This service's policy is no-logs; that is a policy statement, not an absolute guarantee |
| 9 | How do free tools differ from a paid subscription? | Whether route types are stated, data allowances are transparent, and support actually responds |
| 10 | How do I request a refund? | 14-day no-questions-asked refund — open a ticket with your order details |
The rest of this guide follows that order. The first three questions cover account and billing, the middle three cover routes and protocols, and the last four cover installation troubleshooting and privacy.
Account & Billing: Devices, Data and Refunds
Can I use it on several devices at once?
Conclusion: yes, with no device limit. One account can be signed in on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Linux at the same time — you don't need a second subscription for a second device.
The limit to watch isn't the number of devices but total bandwidth. When several devices pull heavy traffic at once they share the same route's exit, so per-device speed drops accordingly. Everyday use — a laptop streaming video while a phone picks up messages — is unaffected; the case that matters is several devices downloading large files at the same time.
How is data counted?
Conclusion: monthly plans reset on the activation date each month; data packs last until used up and never expire.
There are three monthly tiers: ¥9.9/month with 60GB, ¥18/month with 250GB, and ¥28/month with 500GB. Data resets on your activation date each month, not on the 1st of the calendar month; if you upgrade mid-cycle, the price difference is converted into extra allowance based on the days remaining.
Data packs are sold by total volume: ¥158/300GB, ¥358/1000GB and ¥658/3000GB. They last until used up and never lapse at month end.
Which one to pick depends on how you use it. Steady daily use makes the monthly plan cheaper; if you travel for a few days a month or only occasionally need to download large files, a data pack won't expire at month end and suits that stop-start pattern better. Trust the usage figures in your account rather than a gut feeling.
How do I request a refund?
Conclusion: 14-day no-questions-asked refund, counted from the activation date.
- Sign in to your account, open a new ticket, and state the order date and the payment method you used.
- Say why you want the refund. No long explanation is needed — writing that it wasn't suitable for you is enough, and that is exactly what no-questions-asked means.
- Wait for the ticket reply; the refund goes back to the original payment channel.
Payment methods include Alipay, WeChat Pay and USDT. Refunds are processed through the original channel, and the time to arrive is decided by that channel rather than by the service — so don't submit the same request again right after the ticket reply.
Conclusion: start on the ¥9.9/month 60GB tier for a full two weeks, try your everyday sites at your usual hours, and only then decide whether to upgrade the monthly plan or add a data pack. The 14-day no-questions-asked refund covers exactly that trial period.
Speed & Routes: Peak Hours, Always-On and Protocols
Will peak hours slow me down?
Conclusion: first separate throttling from congestion — they look alike but have completely different causes.
Throttling is a bandwidth cap set on the account server-side and applies at any hour; congestion is the international exit being shared by a large number of users between 20:00 and 23:00, which shows up as higher latency, slower video start-up and pages that spin. The test is simple: at the same moment, switch to a different route type and try the same site. If it improves markedly, the original route was congested; only if several routes behave the same is it worth suspecting a bandwidth cap on the account.
There are only three route types, and they differ in how traffic leaves the region:
| Route type | Path | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| IEPL dedicated line | Leaves via a dedicated link, avoiding the congested stretch of the public international exit | 4K video and video calls at peak hours |
| Relay | Connects to a nearby entry point first, which then forwards to the overseas node | Everyday browsing, social and work |
| Direct | The client connects straight to the overseas node over the public internet | Large downloads where latency doesn't matter |
In the client these three types are usually marked in the node name or remarks, so a glance is enough when picking a node. A dedicated line is not a cure-all: it solves exit congestion, not problems with your own home broadband.
Should I leave it on all the time?
Conclusion: no. Connect as needed — leaving it on won't make the route any faster.
The more practical approach is split tunnelling. Clients generally offer three modes — global, rule and direct. In global mode all traffic goes through the proxy; in rule mode the client decides by domain and IP range, sending listed sites through the proxy and the rest direct. The advantage of rule mode is that you can leave the browser running all day without affecting local network access — local sites stay as fast as they were.
Split tunnelling depends on a rule set, and rule sets need regular updates. The most common symptom of a stale rule set: a site that is clearly on the list gets judged as direct, so it either won't open or loads incompletely.
Choosing a protocol
Conclusion: newer isn't better — check first whether your local network allows UDP.
A subscription usually lists several nodes at once, with different protocols side by side, and you can switch at any time in the client. The usual division of labour looks like this:
- Shadowsocks: lightweight, based on stream encryption with low handshake overhead — well suited to latency-sensitive browsing and video.
- VMess / VLESS: both from the V2Ray family. VLESS drops the redundant verification of VMess and is often paired with TLS; VMess has more third-party implementations.
- Trojan: disguises traffic as ordinary HTTPS requests, and needs a domain and certificate to work properly.
- Hysteria2 / TUIC: built on QUIC transport and therefore on UDP, so they behave differently from TCP-based protocols on lossy links; the trade-off is that they are unfriendly to networks that don't allow UDP.
So when a new protocol still won't connect, check first whether your local network allows UDP; if it doesn't, go back to TCP-based nodes rather than retrying UDP protocols over and over.
Conclusion: when peak hours drag, check by route type first and try dedicated-line nodes; if those drag too, switch protocols; only if that still doesn't help is it time to look at your home broadband and router.
Setup & Troubleshooting: From Subscription Import to DNS Self-Check
How do I import the subscription link?
- Sign in to your account and copy the full subscription link from the dashboard. Copy the whole address, not just a fragment — missing a single parameter will make the import fail.
- Install the client for your platform. Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Linux each have their own version; the subscription is available once you sign in.
- In the client, choose Import from clipboard or Add subscription, paste the link in and save.
- Trigger a subscription update manually and confirm the node list has actually pulled the routes rather than coming back empty.
- Connect to a node, open a page that shows your exit IP, and confirm the location shown has changed to where the node is.
A subscription link is the equivalent of account credentials. It carries your node details and usage attribution, so don't post it in public groups or share it as a screenshot. When you change devices, just paste it again — there's no need to keep it in a chat history.
Connected but sites won't open? Check in this order
- Check the mode first. In global mode all traffic goes through the proxy; in rule mode only listed sites do. If local sites fail while overseas sites work, the rules are most likely sending that domain direct.
- Then check DNS. A DNS leak means domain lookups bypass the proxy link and go to your local ISP's DNS servers. While connected, open a DNS leak test page: if the resolving servers returned belong to your local ISP, lookups aren't going through the proxy, and you need to set the client's DNS to be forwarded with the proxy.
- Change node, change protocol. If one node can't open a site, try another node in the same region — that rules out a single faulty node.
- Check the system time. A large clock skew makes the TLS handshake fail outright, which shows up as connected but no HTTPS site opening. Set the system time to sync automatically.
- Clear the cache. After disconnecting and reconnecting, the browser and system DNS caches may still hold old results — clear them and try again.
Don't run another proxy tool or a system-wide accelerator while connected. Two virtual adapters fighting over the same routing table usually produce connected but no internet, and it's hard to spot from the client interface.
How the clients differ by platform
The differences are mostly in the permissions step during first install, not in features. Windows and Linux take over traffic through a virtual adapter and need administrator rights on first install; macOS requires network extension permission, which the system asks you to confirm once in Settings; iOS shows a system prompt asking to allow the VPN configuration on first connection, and until you allow it, it never connects; Android uses the built-in VPN service, so a key icon appears in the status bar while connected and disappears when you disconnect.
If the client says connected but the system status bar shows no matching indicator, the permission almost certainly wasn't granted properly — going back to system settings to grant it again is more effective than reinstalling the client repeatedly.
Privacy & Logs: Which Claims Are Worth Reading
What no-logs actually means
This service's policy is not to keep logs, meaning no records of what you access are retained. That is the operator's policy statement, not an absolute technical guarantee — any cross-border route passes through intermediate nodes, and every hop along the way has its own logging policy, which no single provider can decide unilaterally.
To judge whether a service deserves trust, look at two things: whether the policy is stated openly, and whether it asks for personal information it doesn't need. Sign-up requires only a username and password — no email address. Every piece of information not collected is one less thing to safeguard, and that is more concrete than any adjective.
How do free tools differ from a paid subscription?
Free tools have to recover their costs too, usually through shared routes, bandwidth caps and promo slots inside the client. With a paid subscription the money goes mainly into dedicated lines and bandwidth, which is what keeps routes like IEPL dedicated lines running over the long term.
The test isn't complicated: see whether route types, data allowances and refund terms are spelled out. A service that states all three is usually worth more of your time than one that only shouts slogans. Conversely, a service that stresses speed but says nothing about allowances or refunds tends to leave the cost of trial and error with the user.
Three Things Beginners Should Do First
- ✅ Confirm the refund window first: this site offers a 14-day no-questions-asked refund, so the cost of trying is contained — no need to agonise over which tier to pick right away.
- ✅ Start with a small tier: ¥9.9/month with 60GB is enough to test your everyday sites at your usual hours.
- ✅ Test peak hours first: open the three to five sites you use daily between 20:00 and 23:00, note which route is steadiest, and stick with it afterwards.
- ❌ Don't buy the biggest data pack straight away. Before you know your usage, a larger allowance just means more of it sits idle.
- ❌ Don't send your subscription link to anyone — it is the equivalent of account credentials.
- ❌ Don't run two proxy tools at once; the routing conflict makes people misdiagnose it as a route fault.
Conclusion: the trap beginners fall into most isn't picking the wrong service — it's ordering before understanding the billing rules, or blaming the routes before troubleshooting in order. Read through the conclusions to the ten questions above, then test your everyday sites during the 14-day window, and you'll avoid most of the detours.