AI tools · Routes and setup

AI toolsfast routes

Services like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini all care about where your exit IP is registered, how many people share it and whether long-lived connections hold. With the wrong route the symptom is rarely slowness: logins bounce back, replies stop mid-sentence, plugins keep timing out.

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01 · What to check

Three things AI tools need from a route

A browser that opens the site doesn't mean the AI tool will work. The difference comes down to region checks, IP risk scoring and long-lived connections; latency numbers come after those.

A · Region checks

Your exit location has to match your account

AI services read the location of your exit IP at login and compare it with the account's registration region and the region of the payment method. When the three disagree, the usual symptoms are being sent back to the start page after login, missing feature entries, or a plain message that the service is unavailable in the current region. The first step in choosing a route isn't a speed test — it's making sure the exit lands in the account's region.

B · IP risk scoring

How many accounts share the exit IP

Datacenter IP ranges are often shared by a large number of accounts and carry a higher risk score. Repeated logins from the same exit in a short window, or sharing an IP with unknown accounts, is more likely to trigger CAPTCHAs and temporary limits. The type of exit IP (native / residential / datacenter) and how many people share it matter more for usability than the latency number.

C · Long-lived connections

Streaming output can't break mid-way

Conversational AI runs on a long-lived connection with a streaming response: the server keeps pushing, and any packet loss, NAT timeout or client-side node switch leaves the reply stuck mid-sentence. Route jitter at peak hours is the main cause; the second is a client's auto-select switching exits mid-session.

02 · Comparison table

Tools and route types at a glance

The table below is ordered by access pattern, what the route actually has to do, and the recommended route type. Route types match the locations page: IEPL dedicated, relay, direct.

AI tools and recommended route types
Tool Main access pattern Route requirements Recommended route type
ChatGPT Web / mobile app / API Exit stays fixed through login and matches the account region IEPL dedicated
Claude Web / API Long conversations and file uploads use upstream bandwidth; an interrupted upload starts over IEPL dedicated / relay
Gemini Web / mobile app Region checks follow the Google account system; the exit must be stable Relay
Copilot Web / system integration Tied to Microsoft accounts; enterprise tenants have their own policies Relay / direct
Midjourney Discord / web The connection must hold while images render, and image payloads are large IEPL dedicated
Cursor Desktop client / API Completion requests round-trip constantly; sensitive to latency and packet loss IEPL dedicated

The table only gives direction — the exit you actually get is whatever the client shows. See the global locations page for the full route list and regional coverage.

03 · Sign-up and login

Six things to watch at the account stage

Most cases of it not working happen at sign-up and first login, not in day-to-day chats. Checking these in order saves most of the troubleshooting time.

  1. Sign up and log in on the same route. Switching exits in between can break the region check, and you get sent back to the start page after a successful login.
  2. Keep email and payment region consistent. Use an email and payment method that match the target region; disposable inboxes often never receive the verification mail, which stalls you at step one.
  3. Stop when a CAPTCHA appears. Retrying repeatedly raises your risk score. Refreshing the page, or moving to another route in the same region, gets you through more often than clicking again and again.
  4. Store your recovery codes after enabling 2FA. When you sign in on a new device, recovery codes are the only entry point that doesn't depend on the network.
  5. Match browser language and time zone to the account region. When language, time zone and exit region contradict each other, risk scores rise noticeably.
  6. Don't log in on several devices at once the first time. The same account signing in from multiple devices and tabs is easily flagged as an anomalous session.

Signing up for VPNZM needs no email address — just a username and password. Payment via Alipay / WeChat / USDT; monthly plans from ¥9.9 (60GB included), unlimited simultaneous devices.

04 · Access patterns

Web, API and client each ask for something different

One subscription, three access patterns, and three different sets of failure causes. Switch the tabs below for the setup notes for each.

Web: region checks first, speed second

The login session, cookies and front-end requests must all exit through the same region; browser language and time zone should ideally match the account. For daily use, pin one route and leave the client's auto-switch off — changing exits mid-session at best forces re-verification, at worst logs you out.

  • If a region warning appears, switch back to a route in the account's region first, then clear the cache and log in again.
  • Translation and time-zone spoofing extensions leak extra signals; turn them off during login.
  • Don't start conversations from several tabs on the same account — long-lived connections compete with each other.

05 · Developer setups

Command line, IDE plugins and CI

Developer failures mostly come from a half-configured proxy: the browser goes through it, the terminal and plugins don't. Configure all three and most problems disappear.

Command line: environment variables first

Most terminal tools read HTTPS_PROXY and ALL_PROXY. Setting them in the current session only affects that window and suits temporary debugging; for a permanent setup, put them in your shell's config file.

# Applies to the current terminal session; replace the port with the value your local client uses
export HTTPS_PROXY="http://127.0.0.1:7890"
export HTTP_PROXY="http://127.0.0.1:7890"
export ALL_PROXY="socks5://127.0.0.1:7890"

To verify, open the IP lookup page and compare the location, or request the same address from the command line — both should agree.

IDE plugins: two sets of proxy settings

Plugins read proxy settings in different ways: some follow the system proxy, others have their own field. If the browser works and the plugin times out, that mismatch is almost always the cause. VS Code-family plugins also need to know that http.proxy and terminal environment variables are two separate configurations — changing one doesn't change the other.

CI: the exit region decides whether requests go out at all

The build machine's exit region determines whether the API is reachable. Put keys in the pipeline's secrets, never in config files or build scripts; when a job fails, work out whether it's an auth error or a network error first — the retry strategies are completely different. When you need a stable exit, give the build job its own route.

06 · Troubleshooting

Common symptoms and what causes them

Match the symptom to a cause first, then decide whether to change route, change config or wait. Blind retries usually make the problem harder to reproduce.

Common AI tool failures and the order to handle them
Symptom Likely cause Check first
Page loads, but login bounces back to the home page Exit location doesn't match the account region Switch to a route in the account's region and log in again
Reply stops halfway Long-lived connection dropped, or the client switched nodes mid-session Turn off auto-switch and retry on one fixed route
File upload stuck at 0% Not enough upstream bandwidth, or an MTU mismatch Move to an IEPL dedicated route and test with a small file first
Plugin times out while the browser is fine The plugin didn't inherit the system proxy Check the plugin's settings and the terminal environment variables
CAPTCHAs appear constantly The exit IP is shared by many accounts Switch to a less-shared route and log in again
API returns a region restriction The request isn't going through the proxy, or the exit region is wrong Confirm both the SDK and the command line picked up the proxy variables
Spinner never stops after a network change The connection wasn't rebuilt and the client state is stale Disconnect and reconnect manually, then wait for the status to recover

07 · Choosing a route

Pick a route by how you use it

Decide the exit region first, then the route type, and only then the price tier. Get the order wrong and cheap turns out expensive.

01

Chat and writing

Mostly long-lived connections and streaming output, so favour IEPL dedicated routes: low packet loss, no mid-session drops. Bandwidth needs are modest; the 60GB tier is usually enough.

02

Image and video generation

Large upstream and return payloads, so favour bandwidth and a stable exit. Don't switch routes while an image is generating — restarting a failed job usually costs more time than waiting.

03

Development and debugging

Frequent round-trips make this sensitive to latency and packet loss. Configure all three proxies — command line, plugin, CI — and keep the exit fixed so problems are reproducible.

Starter · 60GB

¥9.9/ mo

60GB per month · resets on your activation date

  • 110+ countries / 250+ routes
  • Unlimited simultaneous devices
  • 30-day money-back guarantee
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Best value

Standard · 250GB

¥18/ mo

250GB per month · resets on your activation date

  • 110+ countries / 250+ routes
  • Unlimited simultaneous devices
  • 30-day money-back guarantee
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Heavy · 500GB

¥28/ mo

500GB per month · resets on your activation date

  • 110+ countries / 250+ routes
  • Unlimited simultaneous devices
  • 30-day money-back guarantee
Get started
¥158 / 300GB ¥358 / 1000GB ¥658 / 3000GB

Data packs last until used up and never expire; monthly plans reset on your activation date, and mid-cycle upgrades are prorated by remaining days.

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08 · FAQ

AI tool access FAQ

The five questions we get most, answered here; more specific branches are organised by category in the help centre.

Do AI tools really need an IEPL dedicated route?
Not necessarily, but chat tools are more sensitive to connection persistence. Relay routes are usually fine outside peak hours; if you keep hitting interrupted replies and failed uploads, moving to a dedicated route is worth it.
The web version works but the client keeps timing out — why?
Usually the proxy is only half configured: the browser uses the system proxy while the client or plugin reads its own settings. Check the exit region the client shows, then the proxy switch in the plugin, and retry once both agree.
How many devices can one subscription use at once?
Simultaneous devices are unlimited, and it installs on Windows / macOS / iOS / Android / Linux. That said, the same AI account shouldn't be logged in on several devices at once — sessions kick each other and both drop.
How is data counted?
Monthly plans reset on your activation date, with tiers of 60GB, 250GB and 500GB; mid-cycle upgrades are prorated by remaining days. Data packs last until used up and never expire.
Can I get a refund if it's not for me?
A 30-day money-back guarantee: you can apply within 30 days of your first payment. Payment via Alipay / WeChat / USDT; no email address needed to sign up — just a username and password.

More questions in the FAQ, and step-by-step setup in Quick start.