In Iran and other censored countries, the DNS servers your ISP gives you often block or redirect sites. Changing DNS on your iPhone or iPad can help Shadowrocket (NaiveProxy) reach our server and get pages loading. This article shows how, for Wi-Fi and for mobile data.
Do you need this?
- PremierVPN iOS app: usually no. The app handles DNS inside the VPN.
- PremierNexus (StormDNS): no. Set resolvers in the app's own DNS Scanner instead. See Setting Up PremierNexus on iOS.
- Shadowrocket (NaiveProxy): try it if Shadowrocket connects but pages don't load, after checking that Global Routing is set to Proxy.
Change DNS for Wi-Fi
- Open Settings and tap Wi-Fi.
- Tap the i (info) button next to your connected network.
- Scroll down and tap Configure DNS.
- Change Automatic to Manual.
- Remove the existing servers by tapping the red minus button, then Delete.
- Tap Add Server and enter a DNS server address (IP address only, no port).
- Tap Save.
Try these public resolvers one at a time until one works:
1.1.1.1(Cloudflare)8.8.8.8(Google)9.9.9.9(Quad9)
These are often blocked in Iran. If none of them work, try addresses from the portal's Anti-Censorship › SlipNet › Iran Resolvers list. Enter only the IP address, without :53.
This setting only applies to that one Wi-Fi network. Repeat it for each network you use. To undo it, set Configure DNS back to Automatic.
Mobile data (4G/5G)
iOS has no setting to change DNS on mobile data. Your options are:
- Rely on Shadowrocket's routing. With Global Routing set to Proxy, your DNS lookups go through the proxy once it's connected. This is the usual fix.
- Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 app. It changes DNS on mobile data, but it works by adding its own VPN profile. iOS runs only one VPN at a time, so you can't use it at the same time as Shadowrocket. It can still help you tell whether your ISP's DNS is the problem.
Test your DNS
After changing DNS, open Safari and load a website. If it loads, your new DNS works. If not, try another address from the list, or switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data to see which network is causing the problem.
Still stuck? Open a support ticket and tell us your device, app version and what you've tried.