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Forum Discussion
HockeyBrad
Apr 16, 2021Tutor
Do you have to install custom firmware to use NordVPN?
I see multiple posts about people asking how we can use ExpressVPN or NordVPN on our Netgear routers. However, the standard answer is that Netgear supports OpenVPN, and that Netgear routers can be US...
- Apr 22, 2021
The answer here is that Netgear does not provide a way to use an external VPN provider. You have to add on to their firmware or erase it to get this functionality.
I had a friend last night ask me which router to buy and now I know that he should go buy a router with DD-WRT installed already, or a FlashRouter instead of buying this plain Nighthawk. It's been a fantastic piece of hardware for two years but the customer base has new needs with cord-cutting and security concerns, and Netgear is not ready for it yet.
HockeyBrad
Apr 17, 2021Tutor
Does the Netgear Nighthawk software/firmware have anything built in that would allow it to use the NordVPN or ExpressVPN?
michaelkenward
Apr 17, 2021Guru - Experienced User
The only substantial references to VPN in the manual for the R8000 are in the section Use VPN to Access Your Network. But that's not what you are looking for.
The section Set Up a VPN Connection says:
When it comes to "client-to-gateway tunnel", this is covered in the section Set Up a VPN Connection. This says:
"To use the VPN feature, you must log in to the router and enable VPN, and you must install and run VPN client software on the computer."
Beyond that, I doubt if you will get much more here than has already appeared. And you say you have already read all that.