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Forum Discussion
basilverthorn
Nov 06, 2025Tutor
XR1000 Enabling VPN service stops internet / DNS from working.
Items I have tried: (more than twice each) reflashed firmware Factory default through web browser Factory default using reset button Created VPN on differnt ports using UDP All three options fo...
- Dec 24, 2025
Yeah thank you, I left netgear. Went to Ubiquiti and so far life is great. It all works as it should, even better. Thank you for the reply take care, to many bugs, to long of a wait.
thismarkjohnson
Dec 24, 2025Aspirant
This is a known XR1000/DumaOS behavior where DHCP + DDNS + OpenVPN server together break DNS forwarding.
What’s happening:
- When OpenVPN server is enabled, the router’s DNS relay stops responding to DHCP clients.
- Clients can reach IPs but can’t resolve names unless DNS is manually set.
- Disabling DHCP or OpenVPN avoids the bug, which matches your Pi-hole workaround.
What you can do:
- Keep DHCP off on the XR1000 and let Pi-hole handle DHCP (best workaround).
- Or manually set DNS servers on clients.
- Disable DDNS if VPN isn’t actively needed and test (sometimes reduces impact).
- Make sure LAN DNS override isn’t enabled under advanced LAN settings.
Since this reproduces on two units and clean resets, it’s firmware-related. Netgear will need to fix DNS handling when the OpenVPN server is active. Your current workaround is the correct approach.
basilverthorn
Dec 24, 2025Tutor
Yeah thank you, I left netgear. Went to Ubiquiti and so far life is great. It all works as it should, even better. Thank you for the reply take care, to many bugs, to long of a wait.