Before you fly

Download it now, not when you land

VPN websites and app store listings are widely blocked from inside China. If your flight lands and your phone has nothing installed, you are relying on roaming or on someone abroad. Install, sign in and connect once while you are still at home.

BIM VPN

Every platform, one account

Three devices on one login. Your phone is what you need at immigration. Your laptop is what you need in the hotel. Set both up before you go.

macOS

Universal build for Apple Silicon and Intel. macOS 10.14 and later.

Download for macOS .dmg, signed and notarised

Android

Android 10 and later. Sideload the APK: the Play Store does not work on the mainland at all, so install this before you travel.

Download the APK .apk, install from the file

iOS

iOS 16 and later, through the App Store. Note that many VPN apps are removed from the Chinese App Store, so install on your home store account first.

Get it on iOS App Store

Linux and the CLI

The command line client for headless machines, build servers and remote sessions over SSH. Brings the tunnel up without a display.

How the CLI works bimvpn connect

Local Translate

Offline translator for macOS

A Mac with Apple Silicon, meaning an M-series chip. Intel Macs are not supported. About 4 GB of disk for the translation model, downloaded once on first run.

Buy Local Translate Read what it does first

If you are already there

Mirrors, for downloading from inside China

If you have landed without the app, these are the routes that tend to still work. None of them is as reliable as installing before departure.

  • International roaming on your home SIM. Your data often exits through your home carrier, which means it is not filtered. Expensive, but it is enough to complete a download.
  • A hotel or office network with an existing corporate tunnel. Many international offices route traffic this way as a matter of course.
  • Someone outside China. Ask them to fetch the installer and send it to you through a channel that still works where you are.
  • Our download mirrors. We run several and rotate them, because individual hosts do get blocked. Contact support for the one that is currently reachable.

Save your download links and your account credentials offline before you travel, somewhere that does not itself depend on a blocked service.