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Unable to get VPN setup on Orbi Router RBE771
I have been trying to setup the VPN on the router per the instructions given. Now I getting the following from the OpenVPN config log: TCP/UDP: Incoming packet rejected from [AF_INET]..., expected pe...
Sorry. I was confused. Was not aware that Netgear offers a VPN service. Bitdefender Armor includes a VPN feature. I have never enabled Armor. ("Free Trial" triggered a thought, "and then it costs money".)
Most questions on the Community Forum about VPN are typically about:
OpenVPN hosted by the Orbi router. The feature found on the Orbi web interface, Advanced Tab, Advanced Settings. This feature allows customers to access their local network from the internet using OpenVPN Client software loaded on a computer or mobile device. Instructions and configuration files are downloaded from the Orbi router. This feature does not support connecting to the router from within the LAN.
OpenVPN Client. Rather than install VPN software on each of their devices, some users would rather that their WiFi router act as a VPN Client which bundles connections from every device into a VPN tunnel to a VPN provider on the internet. (NordVPN, ExpressVPN, etc. etc.) There are several brands of WiFi router which provide this feature, but Netgear routers do not.
Running VPN client software on customer devices. This is when users have signed up with a VPN host service (NordVPN, ExpressVPN, etc.) or have been directed to use a VPN to access their corporate or organization network. The Orbi WiFi router has nothing to do with this activity.
It is OpenVPN 2.6.14 on a Windows 10 Lenovo laptop. It doesn't even startup. This is the line that it faults on:
"2025-04-06 16:00:14 TCP/UDP: Incoming packet rejected from [AF_INET]192.168.1.1:xxxxx[2], expected peer address: [AF_INET]69.244.22.61:xxxxx (allow this incoming source address/port by removing --remote or adding --float)"
How is VPN being tested? (drop WiFi and switch to cellular? drop WiFi and connect to a WiFi Hot Spot on a cell phone? Use a neighbor or commercial WiFi connection?)
There is no way to test the VPN since it will not connect! I have tried using a Windows 10 laptop and an android Pixel 9 and the results are the same neither can connect and the connections get timed out. Attached is the log from the android.
With many networking applications, it is a common practice to verify that "things work" by testing on the LAN. i.e. set up the web server, FTP server, NAS box, etc. and connect to it from another device on the same network. Once it has been demonstrated that the application is working correctly, then testing can proceed to connections from outside the LAN.
For VPN, it is impossible to connect to the OpenVPN server from within the LAN, so tests must be performed using devices that are not connected to the LAN. What I am asking is how the Windows 10 laptop and the Pixel 9 are connected to the internet when attempting to use OpenVPN.
It is really inconvenient to leave the house to test things, so in my case I test the smartphone app by disconnecting from the LAN (to use the cellular data connection) and then activate OpenVPN.
To test OpenVPN on various other devices (laptops, tablets, etc.) I create a WiFi Hot Spot on my smartphone, then disconnect the test device from the Orbi WiFi, connect it to the Hot Spot, and then activate OpenVPN.
This is a client setup using Netgear as the VPN. OpenVPN is merely facilitating it and does not provide a VPN. All of the config files and instructions were provided by Netgear via a download link. I tried to connect to OpenVPN using 5G and got the same result. However, I can connect to the Orbi RBE771 router without issue.