On your first day with 4NVPN, treat checkout completion and successful use as two separate things to verify. This guide walks you through your account, plan, payment, client, subscription, and connection checks in order. Confirm the expected result at each step. If something goes wrong, troubleshoot that step instead of deleting your setup and starting over.
Before You Start: Prepare Your Account and Device
First, make sure your device can access the internet normally. Temporarily turn off other proxy apps to prevent multiple programs from changing system proxy settings or routing traffic at the same time. Note your current settings, especially proxy and corporate network configurations on work devices. Don’t remove organization-managed settings just to test.
4NVPN requires no email address to create an account—just a username and password. Your username and password are for signing in to the dashboard; your subscription link is used by the client to fetch route configurations. Keep your login details in a password manager, and don’t paste your account password into the client’s subscription URL field.
- Create your account in the user dashboard, then save your username and password somewhere secure.
- Make sure you can access the dashboard, then find your plans, orders, and client downloads.
- Keep the dashboard link handy. You’ll use it to update your subscription, check usage, and submit support tickets.
What to expect: You can sign in and view your account page. If you’re stuck on the login screen, check capitalization, your input method, and which account your password manager filled in. Don’t try to work around the issue by repeatedly creating accounts—you could end up confusing your order with the account you’re currently signed in to.
Choose a Plan: Understand Resets and Expiration
Choose a plan based on how you use data, not just on price. A monthly subscription suits regular use; a data package works well for less predictable use when you want to keep unused data. Monthly subscriptions reset each month on the day you activated them, not on the first day of the calendar month. Data packages never expire.
| Billing type | Price and data | Usage rules |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly subscription | ¥9.9 / 60GB；¥18 / 250GB；¥28 / 500GB | Resets monthly on the activation date |
| Data package | ¥158 / 300GB；¥358 / 1000GB；¥658 / 3000GB | Never expires |
Browsing, remote work, and long video sessions can use very different amounts of data. If you’re not sure how much you need, start with your main use case and check your dashboard’s usage records after using the service. Device limits and data allowances are different: 4NVPN has no limit on the number of devices connected at once, but data used across all devices counts toward your plan’s allowance.
For regular use, compare monthly subscription allowances first. For occasional use, consider a data package. Check the reset rules before the price, and don’t mistake “never expires” for “unlimited data.” See all plan options on the plans page.
Payment and Activation: Check Your Order Status
4NVPN accepts Alipay, WeChat Pay, and USDT. Before paying, check the account, plan name, amount, and billing type. For USDT payments, follow the network, address, and amount shown on the payment page exactly. Don’t use a different network just because its name looks similar.
A payment app showing a completed payment doesn’t necessarily mean the funds have been credited to your dashboard. Return to the original order and check its payment and service status. Confirm that your plan and available data are shown. If the page hasn’t updated, refresh it and check the order record. Don’t pay again just because there’s a brief delay.
What to expect: The order in your dashboard matches the plan you selected, and your account shows an active service. If the charge and order status don’t match, save the order details and payment receipt, then report the issue through dashboard support. Hide unrelated account details in screenshots, and never include your password or full subscription link.
Refund policy: You can request a full refund for any reason within 30 days of your first payment. To get help checking an order, share the order record; there’s no need to send access credentials from your client configuration.
Get the Client: Follow the Instructions for Your Platform
After signing in, go to the client downloads and follow the instructions for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, or Linux. Get both the client and your subscription through the dashboard. Avoid downloads from unfamiliar sites, and don’t use someone else’s configuration as your subscription.
Windows and macOS
Check your operating system version and device architecture before installing. Desktop clients may offer system proxy and virtual network adapter modes; these are separate settings. A system proxy mainly affects apps that follow system proxy settings. A virtual network adapter can route more traffic, but requires the right permissions and routing configuration. For your first setup, follow the dashboard instructions and don’t enable every option at once.
iOS and Android
When you enable a connection on mobile, your device may ask to add a VPN configuration. Before approving, make sure the request comes from the client you just installed. For iOS, check the dashboard for current client availability; don’t assume the download option is available based on a screenshot from another device. If Android disconnects when the screen locks, check battery optimization and background activity and data permissions.
Linux
On Linux, distinguish between a graphical client and a command-line core. A working browser connection doesn’t mean terminal apps automatically use the same proxy. Environment variables, app settings, and system routes may each apply separately. Start with the basic setup in the download guide, then check the specific app that needs internet access. Avoid changing global network rules as your first step.
What to expect: The client launches, required permissions have been granted as instructed, and no other proxy app is competing for system settings. If installation or startup fails, note your operating system and client versions along with the full error message before deciding what to try next.
Import Your Subscription: It’s Not a Single Server
A subscription link lets the client fetch and update route configurations. It’s not your website address or account password. Use the copy-subscription or import option in the dashboard that matches your client’s format; similar-looking configuration formats aren’t always interchangeable.
- Get the subscription for your current client from the dashboard. If one-click import is available, make sure your device opens it in the intended client.
- To import manually, choose Add Subscription or Remote Configuration, then paste the full link. Make sure you haven’t copied any extra spaces, line breaks, or instructions along with it.
- Save the subscription and update it. Check that nodes or policy groups load successfully and review any error messages.
- Choose a working node or policy group, then enable the proxy as instructed by your client.
If the format isn’t supported, check the configuration type first; don’t change URL parameters at random. The client must support the relevant protocol, such as Shadowsocks, VMess, Trojan, or VLESS. A protocol name alone doesn’t mean a particular route will be faster. This guide doesn’t claim that these protocols are supported by 4NVPN; check the dashboard for the configurations available to you.
What to expect: The subscription updates successfully, available routes appear, and there are no configuration parsing errors. Seeing nodes in the list only confirms that the configuration loaded—it doesn’t prove the connection works.
Your subscription link may contain account access credentials. Don’t post it on public forums, online conversion tools, or public code repositories. If you think it’s been exposed, check the dashboard for a reset option and contact support. After resetting, update the configuration on every device that used the old link.
Test the Connection: From Connected Status to Working Apps
A “Connected” status only means the local proxy or tunnel has started. To confirm everything works, also check your egress, DNS resolution, and target app. Keep the default routing rules for your initial tests. Global mode can help isolate routing issues temporarily, but it shouldn’t be your go-to fix for every problem.
- ✅ Open a regular webpage to make sure proxy settings haven’t interrupted your basic internet connection.
- ✅ Use IP lookup to check the egress IP used by your browser, and interpret the result based on your routing mode.
- ✅ Open the website or app you actually plan to use and try a real task—not just loading its homepage.
- ✅ On mobile, lock the screen and then unlock it to check that background settings haven’t interrupted the connection.
- ❌ Don’t treat a successful node latency test as proof that every website and app is accessible.
An IP lookup only shows the egress used by requests to that page. With split routing, the lookup page and your target app may take different routes. If the browser works but another app doesn’t, first check whether that app follows the system proxy, then review per-app rules or virtual network adapter mode.
DNS translates domain names into addresses. A webpage may fail to load because DNS resolution failed, or because of an egress connection or destination service issue. A DNS leak test checks whether DNS requests follow the expected route; a changed egress IP alone doesn’t prove there’s no leak. Your browser’s encrypted DNS settings may also differ from the client’s rules, so check the configuration in use.
Common Issues: Troubleshoot One Step at a Time
Subscription Won’t Update
First, make sure your device can access the dashboard. Then check that the link is complete, your plan is active, and the client supports the subscription format. Determine whether the error is a failed network request or a configuration parsing error. For the former, check your local network and access route; for the latter, check the format and client support. Don’t confuse the two.
Connected, but Webpages Won’t Load
Try another regular webpage to see if the issue affects one site or everything. Then try a different node to check whether the problem follows the route. If your basic internet connection also fails with the proxy off, troubleshoot your local network first. Don’t change the node, DNS, and routing rules all at once—or you won’t know what fixed the issue.
Websites Work, but a Specific Service Is Still Restricted
A service may use your account region, egress address, session cache, and its own policies to determine access. Changing regions doesn’t guarantee that these conditions will change. Check the service’s requirements and retry using its normal process. Don’t assume a restriction affecting one service means the client was installed incorrectly.
Disconnects After Changing Networks or Locking the Screen
A network change can interrupt an existing connection. Reconnect in the client, test again, and check background permissions. If the problem keeps happening, note the network type, selected route, client version, and error message. Check logs for sensitive information before sharing them, and hide subscription URLs, tokens, and account credentials.
You’re set up when you can sign in, see the right plan status, update your subscription, use your target app, and reconnect or report an issue when needed. Keeping a configuration you’ve verified works is easier to maintain than repeatedly switching tools. For a refresher on where to find things, see the getting started guide.