V2ray Setup

Got it — you want Approach 3: Shadowsocks / V2Ray because that’s the one that’s most likely to work well in China. I’ll give you a detailed, step-by-step guide to set up V2Ray on Ubuntu, optimized for bypassing the Great Firewall.

We’ll go for VLESS over TCP + TLS (very stealthy — it looks like normal HTTPS traffic).

Step 1 — Update Your Ubuntu Server

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2 — Install Required Tools

We’ll need curl, socat, wget, unzip, and uuid-runtime:

sudo apt install curl socat wget unzip uuid-runtime -y

Step 3 — Get a Domain Name

To make V2Ray harder to detect, you must use a domain name pointing to your server’s public IP.

• Buy a domain (e.g., from Namecheap, Cloudflare, or Alibaba Cloud).
• Create an A record for vpn.yourdomain.com → your server’s IP.
• Wait for DNS to propagate (can check with ping vpn.yourdomain.com).

Step 4 — Install V2Ray via Official Script

bash <(curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/v2fly/fhs-install-v2ray/master/install-release.sh)

This will:

• Download the latest V2Ray binaries
• Install them into /usr/local/bin
• Set up a systemd service

Step 5 — Get a TLS Certificate (HTTPS)

We’ll use acme.sh (lightweight Let’s Encrypt client):

# Install acme.sh
curl https://get.acme.sh | sh
# Issue a certificate for your domain (replace with your actual domain!)
sudo systemctl stop nginx
~/.acme.sh/acme.sh --set-default-ca --server letsencrypt
~/.acme.sh/acme.sh --issue -d vpn.futurelei.com --standalone --keylength ec-256
sudo systemctl start nginx

# Install the certificate into /etc/v2ray/
sudo mkdir -p /etc/v2ray/
~/.acme.sh/acme.sh --install-cert -d vpn.yourdomain.com \
  --ecc \
  --fullchain-file /etc/v2ray/v2ray.crt \
  --key-file /etc/v2ray/v2ray.key

• Issue 0: When I run the step 5, I got the following: touch: cannot touch ‘/etc/v2ray/v2ray.key’: No such file or directory

When I run step, will it generate a folder /etc/v2ray/ ?

• Solution 0: sudo mkdir -p /etc/v2ray/

Step 6 — Configure V2Ray (VLESS over TCP+TLS)

Edit the config file:

sudo nano /usr/local/etc/v2ray/config.json

Paste this config (replace UUID-GOES-HERE with a generated UUID and vpn.yourdomain.com with your domain):

{
  "inbounds": [{
    "port": 443,
    "protocol": "vless",
    "settings": {
      "clients": [{
        "id": "29c23e6b-e7fa-414b-ab30-6015d17b2fe3",
        "level": 0,
        "email": "user@v2ray"
      }],
      "decryption": "none"
    },
    "streamSettings": {
      "network": "tcp",
      "security": "tls",
      "tlsSettings": {
        "certificates": [{
          "certificateFile": "/etc/v2ray/v2ray.crt",
          "keyFile": "/etc/v2ray/v2ray.key"
        }]
      }
    }
  }],
  "outbounds": [{
    "protocol": "freedom",
    "settings": {}
  }]
}

Step 7 — Generate Your UUID

uuidgen

Copy that UUID and replace UUID-GOES-HERE in the config.

Step 8 — Start & Enable V2Ray

sudo systemctl enable v2ray
sudo systemctl restart v2ray

Check if it’s running:

sudo systemctl status v2ray

Step 9 — Client Setup

On your device (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS):

• Install V2RayN (Windows) or Shadowrocket (iOS) or V2RayNG (Android).

• Add a VLESS server:

  • Address: vpn.yourdomain.com
  • Port: 443
  • UUID: (the one you generated)
  • Encryption: none
  • Transport: TCP
  • TLS: enabled

Step 10 — Test

Connect in your client, then check your IP:

curl ifconfig.me

It should show your server’s IP (not your local one).

💡 Extra Tips for China

• If VLESS over TCP+TLS still gets blocked, we can add WebSocket+TLS or XTLS to make it look exactly like normal web traffic.
• You can also run Nginx as a fake website in front of V2Ray so casual observers only see a normal HTTPS page.

If you like, I can give you a ready-made install script that:

• Installs V2Ray
• Gets TLS cert automatically
• Configures VLESS+TLS with WebSocket fallback

That’s faster and less error-prone than doing each step manually. Do you want me to prepare that script for you?