Four checks that settle the choice
- Look at your iOS version first. Settings, General, About shows it, and the three apps below ask for different minimums.
- If you want nothing to pay for, V2Box and Happ install free of charge, while Shadowrocket carries a price.
- If you want rules that keep chosen domains or addresses outside the tunnel, Shadowrocket's listing describes them.
- If you simply want the link in and one button to connect, any of the three does that.
What the Turkish App Store listings say
- V2Box, from the developer techlaim, is free, asks for iOS 15 or later, lists VLESS with Reality, and its page says it contains advertising.
- Happ - Proxy Utility, from Flyfrog LLC, is free, asks for iOS 15 or later, lists VLESS with Reality and subscription support, and states that it sells no VPN service of its own.
- Shadowrocket, from Shadow Launch Technology Limited, is paid, asks for iOS 13 or later, and is described as a rule-based proxy client with rules by domain and by address.
- These readings are from the Turkish storefront on 2026-10-29. Listings change with each update, so read the page on your own phone before you install anything.
From the bot to a connected iPhone
Install your pick from the App Store, searching for the exact name used in the list above.
In Telegram, ask the Iskele bot for a link. It arrives in about a minute, and the first 10 days cost nothing.
Press and hold the message to copy the link, open the client and choose its option to add or import from the clipboard. A client that scans QR codes can read the code from the bot instead.
Tap connect. iOS asks permission to add a VPN configuration and wants your passcode or Face ID to confirm it, so allow that.
Look for the VPN indicator at the top of the screen, then open an ordinary page to see that traffic flows.
An older iPhone, and an Apple ID from somewhere else
The minimum iOS version is the quiet deciding factor. An iPhone that cannot go past an older iOS may see only the client that asks for the oldest version, and on the Turkish listings checked on 2026-10-29 that is Shadowrocket at iOS 13, against iOS 15 for the other two. Update the phone first if it can be updated; if it cannot, that is the reason to pay for Shadowrocket rather than any preference.
Storefronts differ by country. An Apple ID set to another country shows that country's catalogue, so an app can be listed in one and missing from another. If a name does not appear, look at the country set on the Apple ID and at the app's own listing.
Wi-Fi, mobile data and a holiday eSIM
When the iPhone moves from home Wi-Fi to mobile data the tunnel is rebuilt, so a call can stall briefly. Whether a client offers an auto-connect switch is shown in its own settings, so look there instead of assuming. An eSIM added before the flight makes no difference to the setup, since the client rides on whatever connection the phone is using; how well it goes is then up to that line.
Which one, then
On a recent iOS, with no wish to think about it, either free client will read the link. With an old iOS, or a wish for rules, Shadowrocket is the one to look at. You should know who is advising you: the people who wrote this comparison also sell the link. None of the three apps is ours and the choice does not move the price, so read the listings yourself; the four checks above are what we would weigh. What you may do with an app on a phone that crosses borders is set by the App Store conditions you accepted and by the law of the country you are in; both change, and keeping to them is your side of the arrangement.
Questions
Does installing a client change anything else on my iPhone?
Only one thing: iOS adds a VPN configuration once you approve the prompt, and you can remove it again from the VPN section of the iPhone's settings. The clients are ordinary App Store apps and the phone itself is not modified. Keep iOS up to date, because each client asks for a minimum version.
My Apple ID is set to another country. Will I see the same apps?
Not necessarily. Each country has its own App Store catalogue, and the listings quoted on this page come from the Turkish one, read on 2026-10-29. Search the name on your phone and read what the page shows for your account before relying on it.
Which client should an iPhone stuck on an old iOS take?
Whichever one still installs. On the Turkish listings read on 2026-10-29, Shadowrocket asked for iOS 13 or later and the other two for iOS 15, so a phone sitting on iOS 13 or 14 can take only Shadowrocket. Update the phone first if you can.
Will the tunnel switch off when the iPhone sleeps?
It keeps running for as long as iOS lets the client stay alive, which is normally through a locked screen. If the VPN indicator vanishes after a while, open the client and reconnect, then look for an auto-connect option in its settings so it returns by itself.
Why does my bank's app act strangely with the tunnel on?
An app can ask for an extra check, or hold back a login, when it sees a connection coming from abroad. If that happens, switch the tunnel off while you use that app and on again afterwards, or choose a client with rules that keep the app outside it. The service has no Turkish address to offer, so it cannot change this.
Does the link work on an iPad as well as the iPhone?
Yes. The store pages for all three clients list iPad support as well, so the iPad can use the same client app as the phone or another one. Paste the same link into it, and both devices can run at once, because the service sets no device limit.
Ask the bot, paste the link, connect. Paying comes only after the free days.
Ask the Iskele bot for a link