Set-up OpenVPN on Orbi RBR50 to allow OUTBOUND connections

[Ken2122]

I just bought the Orbi router. I checked the Netgear forums for my question, most of the answers that pertain to this were from 2018. Hoping a new solution is available?

My current set-up:

Cable Modem (Arris SB800) -------> Orbi RBR50 (router mode) -------> Orbi sattelite (1) 

From behind the router, on my devices, I often connect to a VPN provider service. I would like to set-up OpenVPN on my Orbi router and make OUTBOUND connections to my VPN service.

Previous posts on this forum from 2018 indicate that the Orbi can only do OpenVPN on INBOUND connections from the outside world.... looking-in.

1) Can an OUTBOUND connection be done now? If so, what settings can be set on the Orbi to accomplish this?

2) If this can't be done, that sucks. Any hardware solution? I have an old Netgear WGU624 router in my closet, could I add this to my network to somehow facilitate this connection?

Would I have to turn my Orbi into AP mode? I'd rather not. I'm still learning networking so I don't fully understand what can be placed on the edge versus in the middle.

Summary: How can I set-up OpenVPN on my Orbi RBR50 to allow me to make OUTBOUND connections to my VPN service provider?

[ekhalil]

• Orbi works only as VPN server (INBOUND) and not as VPN client (OUTBOUND).
• Needless to say that your wifi devices can work as "individual" VPN clients while attached to Orbi, but Orbi can't work as a "shared" VPN client.
• If you have another router that can works as VPN client then you can change Orbi to AP mode and use the VPN capabilities of the other router

[CrimpOn]

I would like to hear more about the desire to have every connection from every device go through a VPN provider.  i.e. every smart plug, thermostat, visiting Guest, etc. etc.  I understand that my ISP can "learn things" about the web sites I visit because only the contents of packets are encrypted. I can still use VPN software on my PC to connect to the internet through a VPN service and "hide everything."

So, what is the reasoning behind VPN'ing everything?

[StomakMonkee]

You said it in your post. As corporations become more likely to sell your information, the amount of information that one would like to obfuscate is greatly increased. If AT&T or Spectrum decides to snoop and see which protocols one uses and then use that to sell to other businesses (say, I'm using an Ecobee and my info is sold to Nest, or I'm using Echos and my information is sold to Google), I don't want that getting out. As well, certain sites can be restricted and throttled at the ISP's whim, and it's easier to just log in at a home level than at a device level when you have, say, 25 devices and begin to include things like video game devices and smart things. VPNs more likely to respect your privacy, and there are more from which to choose. 

[lfbarbieri]

Here I thought I had one of the latest routers available.  Disappointing to see that it does not support outbound VPN.

[CrimpOn]

I had thought (back in 2018) that Orbi was one of the "Best WiFi systems around" in terms of being a seamless mesh on both 2.4G and 5G with amazing interconnection speed between the nodes.  Its capabilities as a router were largely ignored in product reviews.

I dearly wish some knowledgeable entity would publish a comparison of the prominent mesh systems (Amazon eero, Asus Lyra, Google Nest, Linksys Velop, Samsung Smart Things, TP-Link Deco M5 and M9, Ubiquiti Unifi, Netgear Orbi and Nighthawk, etc.) in terms of:

• Do they (or don't they) support separate SSID's for 2.4G and 5G primary and Guest networks?
• Do they (or don't they) support VPN into the system?  If so, which?
• Do they (or don't they) support VPN of all traffic out of the system?  If so, which?
• Do they (or don't they) support ethernet connections between the nodes?  "Daisy Chain" of nodes?
• Do they (or don't they) support passing custom DNS entries to the devices?
• Do they (or don't they) support forcing devices to connect to specific nodes?
• Do they (or don't they) support custom QOS definitions?
• Do they (or don't they) support a web management interface, an "app", or both?
• Which 802.11 management standards do they support?
• Maximum speedtest for 1G ISP?

I have a strong suspicion that there simply is no "best" mesh WiFi system, just as there is  no "best" automobile.  Every system will have pluses and minuses and wildly different costs.  At some point, consumers have to make a decision and live with the consequences.

And, of course, it is all starting over again with WiFi 6 systems.