Which VPN app will work with my Orbi Mesh?

[Retired_Member]

The folks at Express VPN said their product might "brick" my router. Does anyone have a suggestion for a strong VPN application for this product? I will download to a Mac.

Firmware V2.7.0.70

Thanks,

Stu

[FURRYe38]

I would make contact with the various VPN mfrs out there to see what routers they work on. They will have this information. 

https://kb.netgear.com/31489/How-do-I-use-VPN-on-my-Orbi-system-with-my-iOS-device

[CrimpOn]

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@Retired_Member wrote:

The folks at Express VPN said their product might "brick" my router. Does anyone have a suggestion for a strong VPN application for this product? I will download to a Mac.

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Assuming that by VPN you want to have every device in your local LAN use a VPN when going to the internet, then Express VPN will not "brick" the Orbi.  It simply cannot be installed.  There is no VPN "client" software that will run on the Netgear firmware.  None.

There is an alternate (3rd party) firmware for the Orbi RBR50 router which includes two VPN clients (OpenVPN and Wireguard.  Changing from Netgear firmware to Voxel firmware is not for the faint of heart.  People who use it seem mostly happy.  (I have run it on my 2nd Orbi as a test and it went fine for me.  That said, "opinions are like a****.  Everybody has one.")

But I wonder, what is the pressing need to have every device in the house use VPN? The television?  Thermostat?  Lightbulbs?  Almost everything that goes across the internet these days is encrypted.  The bid advantage of VPN is to hide where traffic is coming from.  I would think the web browsers are what matters in this regard.

Anyway: Netgear firmware - NO.  3rd party: Yes.

[Retired_Member]

I am located outside the US and trying to access US internet using Apple TV to run HULU and other TV apps that require a US IP. These services will not allow access from my current location. Thanks.

[CrimpOn]

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@Retired_Member wrote:

I am located outside the US and trying to access US internet using Apple TV to run HULU and other TV apps that require a US IP. These services will not allow access from my current location. Thanks.

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An interesting situation.  Did ExpressVPN indicate that using their VPN will result in an "apparent" IP from a particular country?

One tactic that might work is to invest in an inexpensive WiFi router that does support VPN.  ExpressVPN has a list here:

https://www.expressvpn.com/vpn-software/vpn-router

They sell some of these with VPN already installed.  Others you can purchase and load VPN on them yourself.

Connect this VPN router to the Orbi and then connect AppleTV to the VPN router rather than the Orbi.

Yes, this is the dreaded "Double NAT" condition, and I do not know if AppleTV will be affected by it.  It would also be a problem if there are several AppleTV's that are located so far apart that one VPN router will not cover them all.  So, you have a choice of which router to use:  Orbi with no VPN or VPN router.

Maybe someone on an AppleTV or Hulu forum has other suggestions?

[Retired_Member]

The Orbi is already behind the local provider's fiber optic modem/router. There is a way to do this for iOS use, but I don't want to go through the firmware transition without any confidence that it will work. I wouldn't know how to restore the Netgear firmware should it be a disiaster. 

Here's the best link I've been able to find,  but it starts out clear and ends in mud (for me.) I need the configuration in the router as that's where the Apple TV is connected, and am not interested in iOS solutions.

https://kb.netgear.com/31489/How-do-I-use-VPN-on-my-Orbi-system-with-my-iOS-device

Thanks,

Stu

[CrimpOn]

Alas, this link describes how to set up the Orbi as a VPN "host", so that devices from outside the LAN can connect into the Orbi LAN through a VPN tunnel.  I use this when I am away from home and want to check on my Orbi network, IP cameras, servers, etc.

What you want is a VPN "client" package, which the Netgear firmware does not support.

ExpressVPN has a solution specifically for AppleTV: https://www.expressvpn.com/vpn-software/vpn-apple-tv 

Says it is a "Risk Free" trial.  What do you have to lose?

I need to state again that I have no idea if using a VPN will do what you want.  If Hulu is smart enough to know that you are not in the US, maybe they are smart enough to know that you are going through a VPN.