3 Ways to Setup a VPN on the Router (Including the Pros and Cons)
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Installing a VPN on your router can be a great way to protect all the internet-connected devices in your home, but there are some drawbacks.
So, when should you use a VPN on your router?
These gains and losses.
Positives:
1 Always On VPN
As long as you keep your router turned on, a VPN connection will always be in place to encrypt your home’s internet traffic.
This means that you don’t have to wait for your computer to fully boot before you can take advantage of VPN protection.
2 Protects all kinds of internet-enabled devices
You cannot install the VPN directly on some devices, such as game consoles and smart TVs.
But with a router, you can directly cover all your devices that don’t support VPN client software.
3 Beats the Boundaries of “Concurrent Communications”
Most VPN services limit the number of devices running the VPN at any given time (i.e. simultaneous connections).
By installing a VPN at the router level, you can cover a lot of devices and it counts as just one connection.
cons:
1 teriyaki setup and lacks flexibility
As you can probably tell from reading this guide, installing a VPN on your home router can be difficult and time consuming.
It is definitely not for beginners.
Even after you have fully setup your router with VPN client software, it is not as easy to change the settings as when installing VPN software at the device level.
While this should be fine for users who just want to protect their privacy, it is not suitable for those who want to use a VPN to unblock content and streaming.
It’s very easy to switch server locations and settings to accommodate streaming within VPN apps meant for devices like computers and smartphones, but it’s not that simple on routers.
If you are looking to stream content, it may be easier to install the VPN software directly on your favorite device.
However, some devices like Apple TV currently do not have VPN apps, so installing a VPN at the router level will be your only option.
2 can be expensive
If you want to use better and more secure VPN and encryption protocols like OpenVPN with AES-256, you will probably need to buy new routers, which can cost hundreds of dollars.
This does not include the price of the VPN subscription itself, which can cost more than $100 per year.
3 Not all VPN services support router connections
There are some VPN services that are not compatible with routers, such as Hotspot Shield and TunnelBear.
Always check if the VPN service supports router connections before purchasing a subscription.
Even if the provider supports router connections, it may only support unsecured VPN protocols on the router like PPTP.
4 Internet traffic between your devices and the router is not secured
Another downside to using a router-level VPN is that the traffic between the devices and the router is not encrypted.
While this isn’t a big deal if you trust everyone connected to your home network (and don’t mind seeing your online activities), it is a security risk if a random stranger gets into your network.
A VPN router encrypts the traffic of every device on your WiFi network.
However, you should avoid using a VPN on both your device and router at the same time to avoid slowdowns and instability.
One solution might be to set up a separate router for devices that don’t come with dedicated apps like Xbox or Apple TV. This way, you can still use dedicated VPN apps on computers and smartphones.
The ExpressVPN router applet and the privacy app FlashRouters – available for many DD-WRT routers – allow you to exclude certain devices from the VPN tunnel.
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