Shadowrocket Protocols Explained: VLESS vs VMess vs Trojan vs Shadowsocks
Test Methodology: All speed and latency benchmarks were measured on iOS 18 with Shadowrocket 2.2.x, connecting to VPN07 servers in Japan (closest to our test location). Tests ran for 48 hours to capture peak and off-peak performance. Each protocol was tested with 100MB file transfers and 10-second ping floods.
Protocol Overview: What Shadowrocket Supports
Shadowrocket is protocol-agnostic โ it supports a broad range of proxy protocols. Understanding the differences helps you pick the right one for your VPN provider's server configuration and your specific needs.
Beyond these four main protocols, Shadowrocket also supports SOCKS5, HTTP/HTTPS, Hysteria2, TUIC, and Reality. However, the four above cover 95% of real-world use cases and are what VPN07 primarily offers.
VLESS โ The Modern Standard
VLESS (V Less) was introduced by the V2Ray/Xray project in 2020 as a lightweight successor to VMess. The name reflects its philosophy: VMess with less overhead.
How VLESS Works
VLESS uses a simple UUID-based authentication without the complex encryption layer of VMess. Instead, it relies on TLS (Transport Layer Security) for encryption โ the same technology that secures HTTPS websites. This means the actual protocol overhead is minimal while security relies on the TLS transport layer.
VLESS is typically paired with XTLS-Reality or WebSocket+TLS transports for maximum stealth and performance on Shadowrocket.
VLESS Pros
- โข Lowest CPU overhead of all protocols
- โข Fastest throughput on 1000Mbps connections
- โข Supports XTLS flow control (2x speed boost)
- โข No timestamp dependency (VMess has this limitation)
- โข Works with Reality transport for ultra-stealth
VLESS Cons
- โข Requires TLS โ no plain text mode
- โข More complex server configuration
- โข Not all VPN providers support it yet
- โข Slightly higher connection setup time
Best for: Power users who want maximum speed and stealth. VLESS + Reality on Shadowrocket is currently the hardest protocol to detect and block, making it the top choice for users in highly restricted environments.
VMess โ The Battle-Tested Workhorse
VMess (V Mess) is the original V2Ray protocol, released in 2015. It was the first protocol to use UUID-based authentication combined with dynamic encryption, making it significantly more secure than the original Shadowsocks.
How VMess Works
VMess uses a time-based authentication mechanism. Both the client and server must have their clocks synchronized within 90 seconds of each other. The UUID and current timestamp are combined to generate an authentication token, which changes every few minutes. This makes replay attacks impossible.
VMess can run over various transports: TCP, WebSocket (WS), gRPC, HTTP/2, QUIC. Each transport has different performance and stealth characteristics.
VMess Pros
- โข Wide compatibility (most VPN providers)
- โข Mature, battle-tested protocol
- โข Multiple transport options (WS, gRPC, H2)
- โข Good performance on all connection types
- โข Strong community support
VMess Cons
- โข Clock sync required (ยฑ90 second window)
- โข Higher CPU usage than VLESS
- โข Slightly slower than VLESS with identical setups
- โข AlterID must be configured correctly
โ ๏ธ Clock Sync Tip: If Shadowrocket shows "Authentication Failed" with VMess, check your iPhone's time. Go to Settings โ General โ Date & Time โ toggle "Set Automatically" off and on. Even 2โ3 minutes of clock drift will prevent VMess from connecting.
Best for: Users whose VPN provider supports VMess over WebSocket+TLS (WS+TLS). This transport makes VMess traffic look like standard HTTPS, which is highly effective at bypassing deep packet inspection.
Trojan โ The Stealth Champion
Trojan takes a radically different approach to stealth. Rather than creating a new protocol and trying to disguise it, Trojan makes your traffic actually be HTTPS traffic โ because it IS HTTPS, just with a secret authentication layer on top.
How Trojan Works
The Trojan server runs on port 443 with a real TLS certificate. When your Shadowrocket client connects, it sends a secret password in a Trojan-specific header. The server verifies this and routes your traffic through the proxy tunnel.
If someone connects to the server without the correct Trojan header (like a deep packet inspector), the server simply falls back to serving a real HTTPS website (called a "decoy site"). This makes Trojan nearly indistinguishable from normal HTTPS traffic at the network level.
Trojan Pros
- โข Best stealth against deep packet inspection
- โข Virtually unblockable on port 443
- โข No clock sync requirement
- โข Simple password authentication
- โข Excellent stability on mobile networks
Trojan Cons
- โข Requires a valid domain + TLS certificate
- โข More complex server setup than Shadowsocks
- โข Slightly higher connection overhead
- โข No UDP support in original Trojan-GFW
Shadowsocks โ The Classic That Started It All
Shadowsocks was created in 2012 by a Chinese developer known as "clowwindy." It became the first widely-used protocol specifically designed to bypass the Great Firewall, and it still works โ especially when using modern encryption like chacha20-ietf-poly1305 or aes-256-gcm.
How Shadowsocks Works
Shadowsocks creates an encrypted SOCKS5 proxy. Unlike VPNs that route all traffic, Shadowsocks typically handles application-level proxy requests. The protocol uses symmetric encryption with a pre-shared password and a random initialization vector to obscure traffic patterns.
Modern Shadowsocks (SS2022, AEAD ciphers) adds authenticated encryption that makes traffic completely opaque to observers. However, without a TLS layer, the traffic length and timing patterns can still potentially be fingerprinted by sophisticated DPI systems.
Shadowsocks Pros
- โข Simplest configuration of all protocols
- โข Wide compatibility across all VPN providers
- โข Excellent performance (low overhead)
- โข Battle-tested since 2012
- โข Good UDP support (for gaming)
Shadowsocks Cons
- โข Less stealth than Trojan or VLESS+Reality
- โข Can be blocked by active probing in some regions
- โข Older ciphers (RC4, AES-128) are deprecated
- โข Must use ShadowsocksR (SSR) for obfuscation
Complete Protocol Comparison Table
| Feature | VLESS | VMess | Trojan | Shadowsocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speed (1000Mbps line) | 980Mbps โญ | 920Mbps | 950Mbps | 960Mbps |
| Added Latency | 12ms โญ | 18ms | 15ms | 10ms โญ |
| Stealth Level | Highest โญ | High | Highest โญ | Medium |
| Setup Complexity | Medium | Medium | Medium | Simple โญ |
| Clock Sync Required | No โญ | Yes โ ๏ธ | No โญ | No โญ |
| UDP Support | Yes (XUDP) | Yes (mKCP) | Limited | Yes โญ |
| Battery Impact | Lowest โญ | Low | Low | Lowest โญ |
| Best Transport | Reality / WS+TLS | WS+TLS / gRPC | TLS (port 443) | TCP / QUIC |
Which Protocol Should You Choose?
๐ Best for Maximum Speed: VLESS + Reality
If your VPN provider supports VLESS with Reality transport (VPN07 does), this is the gold standard in 2026. It combines near-zero overhead with the strongest anti-detection capability. Perfect for streaming 4K video and large file transfers.
๐ Best for Stealth in Restrictive Networks: Trojan
When you're in a heavily censored environment and suspect active probing, Trojan on port 443 is your best bet. The traffic looks completely identical to HTTPS browsing โ even sophisticated network monitors can't distinguish it from visiting a regular website.
๐ง Best for Compatibility: VMess over WS+TLS
Most VPN providers support VMess, and VMess over WebSocket+TLS is a proven, reliable setup that works in virtually all network conditions including corporate firewalls. Choose this if you need maximum compatibility across many providers.
๐ฎ Best for Gaming / Low Latency: Shadowsocks
Shadowsocks with chacha20-ietf-poly1305 cipher has the absolute lowest added latency (typically under 10ms) because it doesn't have TLS handshake overhead on top of the protocol. For online gaming where latency matters more than stealth, this is the pick.
VPN07 Protocol Support in Shadowrocket
VPN07 supports all four major protocols across its 70+ country server network. When you import your VPN07 subscription URL into Shadowrocket, you'll see nodes labeled by protocol type.
VPN07 โ Best Protocol Coverage for Shadowrocket
VPN07 offers VLESS, VMess, Trojan, and Shadowsocks across all nodes, with 1000Mbps bandwidth ensuring full-speed performance regardless of which protocol you choose.
Next-Generation: Hysteria2 and TUIC in Shadowrocket
Beyond the four main protocols, Shadowrocket 2.2+ supports two cutting-edge protocols that use QUIC (UDP) for dramatically higher speeds on poor network conditions:
Hysteria2
Built on QUIC with an aggressive bandwidth congestion control algorithm (BBR variant), Hysteria2 can achieve near-theoretical maximum throughput even on high-latency or lossy connections. This makes it exceptionally useful on mobile networks with variable quality.
Best for: Mobile networks, high packet loss environments, large file transfers
TUIC (Tunnel UDP over TCP)
TUIC is designed specifically for latency-sensitive applications like gaming and video calls. It multiplexes multiple streams over a single QUIC connection with near-zero setup overhead, reducing the connection time for each new request to microseconds.
Best for: Online gaming, real-time video calls, low-latency requirements
Note on QUIC-Based Protocols
Hysteria2 and TUIC use UDP, which some networks and corporate firewalls block. Unlike TCP-based protocols (Trojan, VMess WS+TLS), you can't guarantee UDP will work everywhere. Always have a Trojan or VLESS fallback node available. VPN07 maintains both UDP and TCP nodes in its subscription, so you can switch instantly when needed.
Transport Layer Deep Dive: WS, gRPC, and Reality
Both VLESS and VMess can run over different transport layers, which dramatically affects both performance and stealth. Understanding these helps you choose the optimal configuration for your situation:
| Transport | Traffic Pattern | Speed | Stealth | CDN Compatible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reality | Borrows real site TLS fingerprint | โ โ โ โ โ | โ โ โ โ โ | No |
| WebSocket+TLS | Looks like WebSocket upgrade | โ โ โ โ โ | โ โ โ โ โ | Yes (Cloudflare) |
| gRPC+TLS | Google's HTTP/2 framework | โ โ โ โโ | โ โ โ โ โ | Yes (Cloudflare) |
| HTTP/2 (H2) | Standard HTTP/2 multiplexing | โ โ โ โ โ | โ โ โ โโ | Limited |
| TCP (plain) | Raw encrypted TCP stream | โ โ โ โ โ | โ โ โโโ | No |
CDN Fronting with WS+TLS
VMess or VLESS over WebSocket+TLS can be routed through Cloudflare CDN. This hides your actual server IP behind Cloudflare's IP addresses โ when authorities try to block your proxy server, they'd have to block all of Cloudflare, which is practically impossible. VPN07's premium nodes use this architecture for maximum reliability.
Protocol FAQ
Can I switch protocols without reconfiguring Shadowrocket?
Yes! If you're using a subscription URL (recommended), just refresh the subscription and select a different server. VPN07 nodes labeled "VLESS," "VMess," "Trojan," and "SS" are all available โ just tap the one you want to use.
Why does my VMess connection fail at certain times?
VMess requires clock synchronization. If your iPhone's time drifted by more than 90 seconds, the connection will fail. Open Settings โ General โ Date & Time and toggle "Set Automatically" to force a clock sync. This usually fixes the issue immediately.
Is VLESS with Reality really undetectable?
No proxy is 100% undetectable, but VLESS+Reality is currently the hardest to fingerprint. It borrows the TLS fingerprint from real sites like Microsoft or Apple, making it extremely difficult for deep packet inspection systems to distinguish from legitimate traffic. As of early 2026, it remains the most resilient protocol combination available.
What is Hysteria2 and should I use it in Shadowrocket?
Hysteria2 is a newer protocol built on QUIC (UDP) that achieves very high speeds even on unstable connections by using aggressive packet retransmission. Shadowrocket supports it from version 2.2+. It's excellent for high-packet-loss environments but requires specific server support. VPN07 is adding Hysteria2 support progressively.
VPN07 โ All Protocols, Maximum Speed
VLESS ยท VMess ยท Trojan ยท Shadowsocks ยท 1000Mbps
VPN07 supports every protocol covered in this guide. Import one subscription URL into Shadowrocket and switch between VLESS, VMess, Trojan, and Shadowsocks nodes freely. With 70+ countries, 1000Mbps bandwidth, and 10 years of network reliability, VPN07 gives you the server infrastructure to use any protocol at maximum performance.
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