Knowledge base

1. Install the app. It will soon be available in popular app stores — the link will appear in the "All your devices" section of the website.
2. Open Troposguard — you'll see a globe on the home screen.
3. Connect the device — see "Connect a device".
4. On the first connection, Android will show a system prompt to set up a VPN — confirm it once.

1. Install the app. The link will soon appear in the "All your devices" section of the website and in popular app stores.
2. Run the installer and follow the prompts. Administrator rights are not needed to connect.
3. After launch, the Troposguard icon appears in the system tray. Click the icon to show the window, right-click for the menu.
4. Connect the device — see "Connect a device".

To have the app start together with the system, enable Settings → System → Autostart ("Launch Troposguard when you sign in to Windows"). More details in "Windows: tray and autostart".

The iPhone and iPad version is in beta. It uses a native engine, and the connection survives network changes without dropping.

• All device traffic goes through the secure connection; per-app split is not available on iOS — only by domain (see "Exceptions: domains").
• Diagnostics collect the network extension log just as on other platforms.

The installation link will appear in the "All your devices" section, and the app will then also be available in popular app stores.

One subscription for all your devices within your plan's limit. What's available now and what's coming:

• Android — coming soon: in popular app stores. See "Installing on Android".
• Windows — coming soon. See "Installing on Windows".
• iOS (iPhone and iPad) — beta. See "iOS (beta)".
• Routers — available: the configuration is created in your personal account, a tunnel for the whole home. See "Router".
• macOS and Linux — coming soon, the same client on the desktop.
• Android TV and Apple TV — coming soon.
• Browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Opera — coming soon.

As soon as a platform is released, its link appears in the "All your devices" section of the website, and an installation article appears here.

1. Open the app. Under the globe on the home screen you'll see Tap to connect.
2. Tap the globe. The status changes to Connecting, then Connected; the Status block shows "Protected".
3. Done. The app picked the server and connection settings by itself — there is nothing to configure by hand.

To disconnect, tap the globe again or use the DISCONNECT button. All statuses are described in "Connection statuses".

1. Open your personal account.
2. Tap No account? Sign up, enter your email address and tap Sign up. No other details are needed.
3. You'll receive an email "Troposguard — sign-in code". Enter the code from the email (or click Open subscription in the email) — your account opens.
4. The account shows what your plan includes and offers to choose a term and pay. Access to servers opens once the payment is confirmed.
5. After paying, tap Connect this device — see "Connect a device".

What the account may reply: "invalid email address", "invitation is invalid" (the link with the code has expired), "sign-up is currently closed" (self-service sign-up is temporarily unavailable — contact us). If the address is already registered, the sign-in code email arrives as usual.

There is no password. The account says: "Sign in with your email address — we'll send you a code." Enter your address → Send code → the email "Troposguard — sign-in code" contains a 6-digit code and an Open subscription button (one-click sign-in).

• The code is valid for 10 minutes and works once. The screen says so: "Code sent to … Valid for 10 minutes".
• "No email? Check the address and your Spam folder. If there is no account with this address yet — sign up." To request again, use the Another address link.
• "This link has already been used or has expired. Request a new code." — you opened a link from an old email. Request the code again.

The session lives only in this tab for a couple of hours — after that the account will ask for a code again. To sign out, use the Sign out button in the header.

Signing in without a code

If your account has a Sign-in card, you can add a device key (fingerprint, face or security key): Add a key on this device. The Device key only toggle turns off code emails — you can turn them back on in the same place. There may also be Sign in with Google / Microsoft / Apple buttons.

1. Choose a term. In your account, on the "Choose a subscription term" screen (when renewing — "Renew subscription"), pick a period: the longer the term, the lower the monthly price. Prices are in the "Pricing" section. Tap Pay <amount>.
2. Choose a payment method. Mir, Visa and Mastercard cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, as well as cryptocurrency — Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT and others.
3. Pay. After payment, access turns on by itself, and you'll receive an email "Troposguard — payment confirmed" with the date until which access is open and an Open subscription button.

Days are counted from the moment of payment, not from sign-up. When renewing, days are added to the current term — "nothing is lost". There are no automatic charges: the account warns "No charges will be made — renewal is manual only" — you renew yourself, whenever convenient.

In your account, the "Valid until" tile shows the date and "N days left" (in yellow when 3 days or fewer remain). To renew, use the Renew subscription link: "Days will be added to the current term — nothing is lost". 7 days before the end, the payment block expands by itself.

• Reminders are emailed 7, 3 and 1 day before and on the expiry day — the email "Troposguard — subscription expires in N days".
• After expiry: "Subscription has ended. Access to servers is disabled. Devices and settings are kept." Pay — and everything comes back, nothing needs to be reconnected.

The colored dot next to the plan name is the subscription state (tooltip on hover):

• active — everything works, devices can be connected;
• awaiting payment — the account is created, access opens after the payment is confirmed (the connect button says so: "Access opens after payment");
• traffic exhausted — "Traffic has run out. It resets on your plan's schedule — or contact us";
• expired — the term has ended, see "Subscription term and renewal";
• disabled — "Subscription is disabled. Contact us to sort it out".

In the app the same state arrives as messages "Subscription is not active…", "Subscription expired on DD.MM.YYYY…", "Subscription was deleted in the panel…" — explained in "Subscription messages".

Connecting is done from the device you are connecting:

1. Install the app (see Android, Windows).
2. On that same device, open your account and sign in with the code from the email.
3. In the Devices card, tap Connect this device. The app opens and fetches all servers and settings by itself — "the app will get the servers itself".

Under the button there is a link "Download the app for Android / iPhone / Mac / Windows / Linux" — it adapts to your platform. For a second phone or computer, repeat the same three steps on it.

The device appears in the list under its model with the label "this device". If the button is inactive with the caption "Access opens after payment" or "Subscription has ended" — pay first.

How many devices you can connect is set by your plan. The Devices card in your account shows "N of M used" and how many slots are left; with a family subscription the slots are shared — "slots are shared with the family". A router takes the same slot as a phone.

When the slots run out, a new device won't receive servers, and the app shows: "Device limit reached (N of M). Open the subscription link and remove a device you don't need", and the button reads DEVICE LIMIT N/M. Devices already connected keep working.

Free up a slot

1. Open your account → the Devices card, group "Phones and computers".
2. Tap × next to the device you no longer use (an old phone, a reinstalled system). There is no confirmation — it is removed immediately.
3. On the new device, tap the globe again.

Want more devices — contact us: the limit is set by the plan.

The Devices card has a Routers group — a router shares the secure connection with your whole home. It takes one slot from the device limit.

1. Tap Create configuration.
2. Choose a Server and give it a Name (for example, "Home").
3. Tap Create, then Set up — the router details open.

To delete — ×. Before payment the section is closed: "Router setup opens after payment".

If your plan is a family plan, your account has a Family card: "N of M used". The account explains: "The invitee creates their own sign-in via the link in the email, uses the same servers and shares devices with you. Remove them — and access ends immediately".

Invite

1. In the Family card, enter an email address and tap Invite.
2. The person receives an email "Troposguard — invitation to a family subscription" with an Accept invitation button. The link is valid for 7 days and works once.
3. After accepting, they get their own account with a "Family subscription" card — sign-in with a code to their own email, connecting devices as usual.

The term, traffic and device slots are shared across the family. Only the owner pays — a member's account replies: "the subscription is paid by the person who invited you". To remove a member — × next to the address; to revoke a pending invitation — also ×. A member can leave on their own with the Leave button in the family card — "access will end, the account stays".

Possible account replies: "no family slots left", "an invitation has already been sent to this address", "this person is already in another family subscription", "the subscription is not paid yet — you can't invite to the family yet".

Two independent actions:

• In your account — × next to the device in the Devices card: the slot is freed, the device will no longer receive servers.
• In the app — the Servers tab → Delete subscription. The app asks: "Servers from the subscription will be deleted. Manually added ones will stay" → Delete. The app also tries to free the slot in your account.

To erase absolutely everything on the device (servers and settings), use Settings → Delete configuration — see "Delete configuration". The subscription itself and its term don't change.

The status is shown as a caption under the globe and by the color of the continents.

• Tap to connect — disconnected, continents are gray. Tap the globe.
• Connecting — the app is picking a server and a connection method. Usually a few seconds.
• Connected — traffic is protected, continents are teal. The "Status" block shows "Protected".
• Disconnecting — the tunnel is closing.
• Recovering — the connection was temporarily lost (network change, the server slowed down), the app reconnects by itself. Continents are amber. See "Stuck on "Recovering"".
• No network — the device has no internet. As soon as the network is back, the app continues on its own. See "No network".

Further down the home screen — the Active location card with the current server, and Status.

By default the app picks the server — based on the current network and past measurements. That's what the status on the Servers tab says: "I pick the server myself — by network and past measurements".

Choose manually

• Tap a server in the list — the app switches to it ("Switched to "…""), even if already connected.
• Tap the selected server again — automatic selection returns ("Tap again to return to automatic selection").
• Long press — check whether the server responds.

If the selected server is unavailable, the app moves on to others by itself — there's nothing to do by hand. Locations: Germany, Poland, USA, Netherlands, Singapore, Moscow.

When switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data the connection doesn't drop. The app briefly shows Recovering and returns to Connected — nothing to do by hand.

• Tap the globe — in any state other than "Disconnected", this forces a disconnect. Helps if connecting or recovering takes too long.
• The DISCONNECT button under the globe.
• Windows: right-click the tray icon → Disconnect. The Exit item also disconnects the VPN first.
• Android: the quick settings tile, the widget or the button in the notification.

The Exceptions tab decides what goes through the secure connection and what goes direct. For example, banks and local services are convenient to send direct, and everything else through Troposguard.

• Domains — a list of websites (all platforms).
• Apps — a list of apps (Android only).

The current state is shown right on the tab: "All domains use the VPN", "N domains go direct", "N apps in exceptions".

Exceptions → Domains. Two modes, switched with the Change mode button:

• "VPN works everywhere except these domains" — default: everything is protected, websites from the list go direct.
• "VPN works selectively: only for the listed domains" — the opposite: only websites from the list go through Troposguard.

Add a website

Add domain → enter the website address, for example example.com. Next to it — Ready-made lists (see the next article).

The ⋮ menu: export and import the list, Delete all domains. The list is searchable.

So you don't have to enter domains by hand, the Add rule window has a Ready-made lists block: "Google, social networks, AI services, Russian banks…". Pick the list you need and tap Import — all its domains are added in one go; those already present are marked "already added".

Lists are downloaded from the network. If you see "Failed to load domain lists", check your connection and tap Retry.

Exceptions → Apps. Two modes:

• "VPN works everywhere except these apps" — apps from the list access the network directly.
• "VPN works selectively — only in these apps" — only apps from the list go through the tunnel.

To add — the Add button, with search across installed apps. To remove from the list — swipe left. To clear everything — menu → Delete all apps.

Per-app split is not available on iOS — use domain rules instead.

Settings → Query log shows which websites your apps accessed while protection was on. It is stored only on your device and serves a single purpose: find the website you need and add it to exceptions with one tap.

Until protection has been turned on, the log is empty: "No queries yet".

On Windows the app lives in the system tray. Click the icon to show the window, right-click for the menu:

• the first line — the current status ("Troposguard — Connected", "…Disconnected", "…Recovering..." and so on);
• Show window;
• Connect / Disconnect;
• Exit — the VPN disconnects first, then the app closes.

Autostart: Settings → System → Autostart ("Launch Troposguard when you sign in to Windows").

Background work

Settings → Background work. The state "Allowed — the VPN doesn't turn off in the background" means the system won't stop the tunnel to save battery. If it says "Allow for stable VPN operation in the background" — tap and confirm.

Control without opening the app

• Quick settings tile — add it to the notification shade and turn protection on/off with a single tap.
• Widget on the home screen.
• Notification — shows the current location, or "Auto-connect" if the server is selected automatically.

Settings → Delete configuration removes all servers and settings from the device. The app warns: "All saved servers and settings will be deleted. This action cannot be undone".

After that the app looks freshly installed — import your subscription again. The subscription itself and its term in your personal account don't change.

We keep no log of the sites you visit and don't collect what you do online. The only query log exists locally on your device — so that you can add a domain to exceptions — and is never sent anywhere.

We earn money from subscriptions only: no ads, no trackers, no sharing data with third parties.

Getting a subscription doesn't require any unnecessary details about you. You can also pay with cryptocurrency — with no link to your identity or bank card.

Your personal account shows only the subscription validity period and the names of your devices.

The app tried every server and connection method, and none responded. Go through the list from top to bottom:

1. Is there internet at all. Open any website without the VPN. If not — see "No network".
2. Is the subscription active? Messages "Subscription is not active" / "expired" / "deleted in the panel" — see this article.
3. Device limit. DEVICE LIMIT on the button — see "Device limit".
4. Refresh the subscription: Servers → Refresh subscription — the servers may have changed.
5. Choose another server manually on the Servers tab.
6. Switch networks: Wi-Fi ↔ mobile.
7. Restart the app.

No network means the device itself has no internet: Wi-Fi and mobile data are off, airplane mode is on, the router lost its link. This is not an app error.

As soon as the network is back, the app continues on its own — no need to tap anything. If you're sure the network is there but the status doesn't change, turn Wi-Fi or mobile data off and on again.

Recovering — the app lost the server (the network changed, the server slowed down or stopped responding) and is reconnecting, trying servers and connection methods. Usually this takes a few seconds.

If it drags on:

1. Tap the globe — this forces a disconnect — then tap again to reconnect.
2. Switch networks (Wi-Fi ↔ mobile).
3. On the Servers tab, choose another server manually.

1. Check the speed without the VPN. If it's low anyway — it's the network, not the tunnel.
2. Change the server. On the Servers tab, choose another one — the nearest is usually faster. Tapping again returns automatic selection.
3. Send heavy local services direct via exceptions — they don't need the tunnel.

Subscription traffic is unlimited — there is no data cap.

• "Subscription is not active. Pay for it in your personal account" — activate or renew in your personal account.
• "Subscription expired on DD.MM.YYYY" — the same thing, the term ended on the given date.
• "Subscription was deleted in the panel — servers removed from the device" — the subscription was deleted in the account. Get a new link and import it.
• "No servers in the subscription" — no servers are assigned; check your account and tap Refresh subscription later.
• "Failed to refresh subscription" — no connection to the service; try again when the network is back.
• "No server selected. Add one on the Servers tab" — there isn't a single server on the device: import your subscription.

Android saves battery and may stop apps in the background. Open Settings → Background work and allow it — you should see "Allowed — the VPN doesn't turn off in the background".

On some phones (Xiaomi, Huawei, Samsung), additionally disable battery saving for Troposguard in the phone settings.

1. Reproduce the problem (try to connect).
2. Open Settings → Diagnostics.
3. Tap Export archive — the system "Share" menu appears. Send the archive any convenient way. Alternative: Copy as text and paste the log into your message.
4. Add to your request: the platform, the app version, what you did and what status you saw.

1. Uninstall the app the usual way (Android: long press → Uninstall; Windows: Settings → Apps).
2. Install the app again.
3. Connect the device again — see "Connect a device".