Guides
The complete Windows walkthrough: install the client, import your subscription link, pick a route by region, confirm it's working, and set the client to start on boot.
Using a VPN on Windows comes down to four things: install the client, import your subscription link, pick a route by region, and confirm the proxy is actually working. This guide walks through them in that order, spelling out what you should see on screen at each step, then sets the client to start on boot so you don't have to repeat anything the next day.
Confirm three things before you begin: a Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC, a working internet connection, and a VPNBN account. If your system is on an older build, upgrade to Windows 10 or later first — it avoids a lot of small certificate-chain and network-component issues. Nothing here requires touching your router, and no extra setup beyond administrator rights.
Signing up takes only a username and password — no email address required. Once you log in to the user panel you'll see three things: your plan details, your subscription link, and client downloads for each platform. A subscription link isn't a fixed server address; it's a credential URL that updates dynamically, so the client can pull the latest route list from it. The chain is: account → plan → subscription link → node list in the client.
Your subscription link lives in the user panel, and you can't see it without an account. Create the account and grab the link first, then install the Windows client — that way you set both up in one pass instead of switching back and forth.
Get the client only from the official download page. Installers repackaged by third-party sites can't be version-checked, and there's no way to know whether they were modified along the way — not worth the risk to save one download.
Installing the Windows client is no different from any other app. Just follow these steps:
Two clients will fight over the system proxy settings, which shows up as pages that load intermittently or a connection that drops right after it connects. Uninstall the old client completely before installing a new one, then troubleshoot anything else.
A subscription link is a URL that starts with https:// and ends with a token string. In the user panel, find "Subscription" or "One-click subscription" and copy the full link — make sure you don't miss the parameters at the end.
After route changes or node maintenance, the routes in your panel change and the client has no way of knowing. If a route won't connect, hit update subscription once before you draw conclusions. You can also turn on "auto-update subscription" in the client so it syncs on a schedule. A single node config pasted in by hand is a static snapshot and won't follow route changes — for long-term use, a subscription is far less hassle.
Don't post your subscription link in group chats, paste it into a public code repository, or share a screenshot of it. If you think it has leaked, reset the subscription address in the user panel — the old link stops working immediately — then update the client with the new link.
The node list is organized by country/region. Start with the region that fits your purpose: pick the matching region for streaming, a closer one for research and office work, and for long meetings or online classes prioritize stability over the latency number. You can see how routes are distributed by region on the global nodes page.
| Route type | How traffic flows | Best for | Stability |
|---|---|---|---|
| IEPL dedicated line | Cross-border traffic runs over a carrier's dedicated circuit instead of the crowded public internet gateway | Peak-hour video, long meetings, tasks that need stable round-trip times | Stable latency, little variation at peak hours |
| Relay | Connects first to a relay entry point in mainland China, then exits through the relay server | When your local connection's route overseas is poor and direct connections show heavy packet loss | More stable than direct, cheaper than a dedicated line |
| Direct | The client connects straight to an overseas server over the public internet | Quick lookups and anything not latency-sensitive | Depends on your local route overseas; noticeable variation at peak hours |
In the table, "variation" matters more than "latency." A latency test shows the round-trip time right now, which can multiply several times over at peak hours; the point of a dedicated line is to keep that variation small. A good order for picking a route: choose the region by purpose first, compare route types within that region, then use the client's built-in latency test to narrow it down to the top three and actually open a web page and a video on each.
You don't need to switch nodes by hand every time. Most clients can sort by latency or auto-select; keep one or two backup routes around so you can switch with one click when the main one acts up — much faster than scrolling the list in the moment.
The client showing "Connected" is just its own internal state — you still need to confirm it from the outside. Run these three checks in order and you'll know whether the route is really working.
Open any page that shows your visitor IP and look at the address and region. If the region now matches the node you picked, your traffic really is going out through that route. This step also rules out the case where the client is connected but the browser is still using your local network.
A DNS leak means your web traffic goes through the proxy but domain resolution is still handled by your local ISP. That has two consequences: the other side can still roughly tell which network you're on, and the resolution result you get may be the local version, producing a mismatch where your IP is overseas but the content is still local. Most clients have a remote DNS or leak-protection toggle; turn it on and DNS queries travel with the proxy.
Rule mode sends mainland Chinese sites direct and everything else through the proxy — the least hassle for everyday use. Global mode pushes all traffic through the proxy and is useful for troubleshooting. Direct mode is effectively switching the proxy off. If a site won't open, switch to global mode once: if it loads there, the routing rules were treating it as direct, and you just need to add a rule for that domain.
Windows clients usually take over traffic in one of two ways. The system proxy only affects programs that read the system proxy settings — browsers almost all do. TUN or virtual network adapter mode takes over all traffic at the network layer, so even programs that ignore the system proxy go through it, at the cost of an extra network component. Go by what your client actually offers, and stick with the default if you're unsure.
After changing DNS settings or switching routes, flush the resolver cache in Command Prompt before checking results — that avoids the "new node, old resolution" problem:
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /displaydns
nslookup www.example.comTo tell whether the proxy is really working, check just two things: whether the exit IP has changed to the target region, and whether DNS resolution follows along. Both correct means the route is usable; if one is off, work through the checklist above instead of switching nodes right away.
Set it once and forget it. In the client settings, find "Start on boot" or "Launch at startup" and turn it on; then enable "Auto-connect on launch" and choose the last-used node or the lowest-latency one.
There's no device limit, so a desktop and a laptop can each have their own install. Each machine imports the subscription and sets its own auto-start independently; when you move to a new PC, just repeat the four steps above.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Shows connected, but pages won't load | The system proxy isn't being read, or a browser extension has grabbed the proxy settings | Disable the proxy extension in your browser, restart the client, and try again |
| Some sites work, others don't open | The routing rules are sending that domain direct | Switch to global mode to confirm, then add a rule for that domain |
| Latency swings up and down, worst at peak hours | You picked a direct route, which uses the public internet gateway | Switch to an IEPL dedicated or relay route |
| Nodes don't change after updating the subscription | You only opened the list; the subscription never actually refreshed | Click "Update subscription" manually and check whether the update time changes |
| You have to click connect manually after boot | Auto-connect is off, or the system network isn't ready yet | Turn on start-on-boot and auto-connect; use delayed start if needed |
| The client won't open or reports a missing component | The install is incomplete, or security software blocked some files | Uninstall, reinstall from the official page, and add the install folder to your trust list |
If you switch routes, change DNS, and flip modes all at once, you won't know which step fixed it even if the problem goes away. Change one thing, verify, then move on to the next.
Back to the question in the title: using a VPN on Windows is really one fixed path — create an account, download the client, import the subscription link, pick a route by purpose, verify the exit IP and DNS, and turn on start-on-boot. The first run takes about ten minutes if you follow the order; after that, the client waits in the tray each day and you just open the sites you need.
Plans start at ¥9.9/month (60GB), with ¥18 (250GB) and ¥28 (500GB) tiers. If your usage varies, data packs like ¥158 / 300GB never expire and suit occasional users better. Payment supports Alipay, WeChat, and USDT. If you're not sure about committing long-term, run through the free trial using the steps above first, then decide; paid plans also come with a 14-day money-back guarantee. The exact tiers are laid out on the plans page.
The one-line version: get the chain from subscription link → node list → exit IP working on Windows first, and only then worry about speed and route choice. If the chain works, switching routes just changes the exit; if it doesn't, no number of routes will help.
110+ countries and 210+ routes, from ¥9.9/month. Start-on-boot and auto-connect, 14-day money-back guarantee, unlimited devices.