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mikegriffiths's avatar
mikegriffiths
Initiate
Jan 06, 2021

Can’t connect to Netgear router app after enabling VPN

I have a Netgear AC1900 (R7000) wifi router running on my Mac home network and recently enabled it to support VPN using ExpressVPN. I can connect to the router settings via wifi using the Express VPN interface by browsing the router IP address. The only issue I am struggling with is that I can’t connect via the Netgear Nighthawk app anymore (neither local nor “anywhere access” works). This is not a serious inconvenience but I like the functionality of the Nighthawk app and would like to be able to use it. Can anyone please suggest how I can get the app to connect again?

9 Replies

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  • Christian_R's avatar
    Christian_R
    NETGEAR Employee Retired
    Jan 13, 2021

    Hello mikegriffiths,

     

    May you reinstall the Nighthawk app and let us know what app version is installed (please also specify if it's iOS or Android).

     

    Thanks,

    Christian 

    • mikegriffiths's avatar
      mikegriffiths
      Initiate
      Jan 13, 2021

      Hi Christian,

      Thanks for the reply. I did reinstall the Nighthawk app but it did not solve the connection problem. The app version is 2.7.6.3 and it is for the iOS platform. Any suggestions to address the problem are very welcome.
      Mike
      • Christian_R's avatar
        Christian_R
        NETGEAR Employee Retired
        Jan 14, 2021

        Hi Mike,


        Thanks for the info. I have sent you a private message. 

         

        Christian 

  • greenbuddy33's avatar
    greenbuddy33
    Aspirant
    Jun 25, 2021

    I have a Netgear R6400v2 wifi router running my home network and recently enabled it to support VPN using ExpressVPN. I can connect to the router settings via wifi using the Express VPN interface by browsing the router IP address. The only issue I am struggling with is that I can’t connect via the Netgear Nighthawk app anymore (and it gives the router a disconnected status when i tap “anywhere access”). I would like to be able to use  a router interface to make adjustments.

    • michaelkenward's avatar
      michaelkenward
      Guru
      Jun 25, 2021
      greenbuddy33 wrote:

      I can connect to the router settings via wifi using the Express VPN interface by browsing the router IP address. The only issue I am struggling with is that I can’t connect via the Netgear Nighthawk app anymore (and it gives the router a disconnected status when i tap “anywhere access”).

      My guess, no more than that, is that implementing Express  VPN breaks some of the access options that the Nighthawk app uses.

       

      The whole point of VPN is to be "private", so it blocks traditional ways of getting at in IP address.

       

      What happen when you don't use Express VPN?

       

      You may have to live with one or the other. But you have already found a direct way in, using the IP address, so it may not be that important.

       

      Now that it knows about this conflict, perhaps Netgear will work on a solution. But past experience suggests that it takes time.