Five steps and what to prepare first
Using a VPN on Android comes down to five steps: install the app, import the subscription link, grant VPN permission, add the app to the battery whitelist, and confirm the connection is actually live. Skip any one of them and the symptoms look much the same — it won't connect, or it drops a few minutes after connecting. This guide follows those five steps in order, explaining what to tap and what you'll see at each stage, and which step to return to when something goes wrong.
Two things are worth settling before you start. First, get the app only from the official download page — the package name and signature are fixed and updates come through the same channel, so avoid same-name installers from third-party sources. Second, sign-up doesn't ask for an email address: set a username and password and you're in, and the dashboard shows your current plan, remaining data, and subscription address. MeyeVPN covers 100+ countries / 190+ routes with no device limit — the same account can be online on several devices at once.
- ✅ Step 1: Install the app and allow your browser or file manager to install it
- ✅ Step 2: Import the subscription link and tap Update Subscription once to pull the server list
- ✅ Step 3: Grant the system VPN permission — a key icon appears in the status bar
- ✅ Step 4: Add the app to the battery whitelist so it can stay running in the background
- ✅ Step 5: Check the exit IP and DNS to confirm traffic really goes through the tunnel
Step 1: Install the app
There are only two sources for the installer: the official download page itself and the QR code shown on that page. Same-name packages in third-party app stores can't be checked against the signature, so it's best to avoid them.
Once the download finishes, tap the file to install. Some systems will warn you that "for your security, your phone isn't allowed to install apps from unknown sources." In that case go to Settings → Apps → Special app access → Install unknown apps, add the browser or file manager you're using to the allowed list, then go back and continue the install. You can turn that permission off again afterwards — it won't affect the app.
The first time you open the app, the system asks for notification permission. It's worth allowing: connection status, the current route, and connection duration all show in the persistent notification, which becomes your most direct evidence when troubleshooting drops.
Order matters: don't rush to hit Connect right after installing. Finish the subscription import and the battery whitelist first — it saves you a round of "it connects, then drops" troubleshooting.
Step 2: Import the subscription link
A subscription link is an address starting with https, generated in your user dashboard, containing the server list and connection parameters for your account. The protocol type (Shadowsocks, VMess, VLESS, Trojan, Hysteria2, TUIC, and so on) is decided by the server configuration; once the app parses the subscription it fills in the port, encryption method, and transport parameters automatically — you don't have to type any of it, or even understand what those terms mean on your phone.
There are three ways to import it, listed from easiest to least:
- Copy the link and open the app: most versions detect the clipboard contents and pop up an import prompt — just confirm it.
- In the app, choose Add Subscription, paste the link into the address field, and save.
- Use the app's built-in scanner to scan the subscription QR code shown in your dashboard.
Once imported, tap Update Subscription once and the server list expands, grouped by region. You don't need to pick through all 190+ routes: start with the one showing the lowest latency, then switch by use case after you're connected.
Two things to watch with subscription links
- A subscription link works like account credentials — anyone who has it can use your servers. Don't post it in public groups or share it as a screenshot.
- If you suspect the link has leaked, reset the subscription address in your dashboard — the old link stops working immediately — then import the new link in the app.
If the update fails: first check that the link was copied in full with no stray spaces, then confirm your phone's current connection can open ordinary web pages. If the link has been reset, updates will keep failing — copy a fresh link from the dashboard and import it again.
Step 3: Grant VPN permission
The first time you tap Connect, Android shows a system dialog along the lines of "Connection request: an app wants to set up a VPN connection. If you allow it, it will monitor network traffic." This isn't the app's own prompt — it's an authorization step Android requires of every VPN app. You have to tap OK, or the tunnel never comes up.
Once you allow it, a key icon appears in the status bar and the app's status card shows in the notification shade. The key icon is the fastest way to tell whether the connection is up: without it, there's no point running any of the checks below — come back to this step first.
If you tap Cancel by mistake, you don't need to uninstall and reinstall. Disconnect and connect again and the dialog reappears; you can also check Settings → Network & internet → VPN to see the list of authorized apps and confirm the app is on it.
Only one VPN can be active at a time
Android lets you install several VPN apps, but only one can be active at any moment. If another VPN app is still on your phone, disconnect or disable it first — otherwise the two fight over the same tunnel and the connection gets knocked out right after it comes up.
Traffic between your phone and the exit route travels through an encrypted tunnel — that's what "military-grade encryption" actually means in practice: the link itself is ciphertext, not a plaintext connection.
Step 4: Add the app to the battery whitelist
On Android, "it connects and drops a few minutes later" is usually not the route's fault — the system's battery saver has killed the app's background process. The usual signs: the connection drops after the screen has been locked for a while and the app reconnects on its own when you unlock, or you switch to another app and come back to find the connection has been reset.
The general fix is to set the app to Unrestricted in your battery settings. Custom Android builds hide that one switch in different places; the table below lists the common paths. If you can't find it, search "battery" or "background" in the search box at the top of Settings.
| System / custom ROM | Battery settings path | Also needs enabling |
|---|---|---|
| Stock Android | Settings → Apps → MeyeVPN → Battery → Unrestricted | — |
| MIUI / HyperOS | Settings → App settings → App management → MeyeVPN → Power saving strategy → No restrictions | Autostart |
| EMUI / HarmonyOS | Settings → Apps → App launch → MeyeVPN → switch to Manual management | Allow autostart, allow background activity |
| ColorOS / realme UI | Settings → Battery → App power consumption → MeyeVPN → Allow background running | Allow autostart |
| OriginOS | Settings → Battery → Background power management → MeyeVPN → Allow high background power use | Allow autostart |
| One UI | Settings → Battery and device care → Battery → Background usage limits → Apps that never sleep | — |
Beyond battery policy, two more switches affect whether the app stays resident:
- Autostart: some systems block apps from starting at boot by default. You have to allow it manually in autostart management, or the app won't come back after you restart your phone.
- Sleep mode / deep sleep: when enabled, apps you haven't used for a while get their background activity restricted — add the app to the exceptions list.
Don't confuse this with split tunneling: per-app proxy is a separate setting. If you only want certain apps to use international routes, tick them under per-app proxy in the app; everything else stays on your local network. That's a different matter from the battery whitelist — when troubleshooting drops, look only at the battery settings.
Step 5: Verify the connection is live
A lit connection icon doesn't mean your traffic is actually going through the tunnel. Run the three checks below one by one — each takes under two minutes.
| Check | What to do | What you should see |
|---|---|---|
| Tunnel status | After connecting, look at the status bar and notification shade | A key icon appears, and the notification shows Connected plus the duration |
| Exit IP | Open any IP lookup page in your browser | The location shown matches the region of the route you picked |
| DNS resolution | Open a DNS leak test page | The resolving server isn't your local ISP's DNS |
| Disconnect and compare | Disconnect, then refresh the same IP lookup page | The IP reverts to your local one, confirming the earlier traffic did go through the tunnel |
DNS is the check people skip: if DNS queries still go to your local ISP, you end up with an overseas IP but local resolution — some sites won't load or will redirect oddly. Leave the app's DNS setting on default so it follows the tunnel; don't switch it to a public DNS manually unless you know exactly what you're doing.
Setup is only complete once all three checks pass. If problems come up later, first check whether the key icon is still in the status bar, then whether the connection timer in the app has run without interruption — those two tell you quickly whether it's a route problem or the system killing the app.
FAQ and summary
It's connected, but one app won't load
First check whether per-app proxy is excluding that app, then switch to another route and compare. If only one app misbehaves, it's most likely the split-tunneling rules or that app's own network policy, not the tunnel as a whole.
Fewer servers, or missing regions, after updating the subscription
Tap Update Subscription once manually. Subscription contents change as routes are adjusted; after updating, just pick a new one by latency — no need to re-import the link or reinstall the app.
Switching phones or adding devices
There's no device limit on the account. On a new device, repeat the same five steps: install the app, import the same subscription link, grant permission, add it to the battery whitelist, and verify it works. The same account can be online on several devices at once without knocking each other off.
Pricing and refunds
Monthly plans: ¥9.9 for 60GB, ¥18 for 250GB, ¥28 for 500GB. Data packs: ¥158 for 300GB, ¥358 for 1000GB, ¥658 for 3000GB, and data packs never expire. Every plan comes with a 30-day no-questions-asked refund. Payment methods: Alipay, WeChat Pay, and USDT. The pricing page is the authoritative source for current prices and billing periods.
Once you've worked through the five steps, most Android problems come down to two things: battery optimization and the subscription link. The first is solved with the whitelist, the second by re-importing. Actually needing to switch routes is the rarest case of all.