Trouble Setting Up Orbi VPN on Mac OSX

[spizzi]

Hello - I tried searching for the answer but none of the search results seemed relevant. I must be missing a step somewhere.  Here is what I did:

1. Orbi WiFi has the basic installation complete and set up -- I can log into the orbilogin.com using the default username and password.
2. I go to Orbi Advanced tab, Advanced Setup, DynamicDNS.  I have successfully set up a NETGEAR DDNS account and activated it successfully on NOIP.com. 
3. As instructed by NOIP, I have download and successfully set up Dynamic Update Client for Mac. I can log into the NOIP dashboard and it shows my mynetgear hostname as active with no errors.  Let's just call it MYHOSTNAME01 . MYNETGEAR . COM.
4. I go back into my Orbi Advanced tab, Advanced Setup, DynamicDNS and click “Show Status” and the system shows that I am successfully configured/connected to MYHOSTNAME01 . MYNETGEAR . COM.
5. I go to Orbi Advanced tab, Advanced Setup, VPN Service and click “Enable VPN Service” and keep the defaults for Advanced Configurations “TUN UDP port 12973” and “TAP UDP port 12974”, Clients will use this VPN set to “Auto”. I click apply and I download the FOR MACOSX configuration package.

1. I install Tunnelblick on Mac OSX for Sierra OSX version (latest).
2. I take the FOR MACOSX configuration package and paste the files in "~/Library/Application Support/Tunnelblick/Configurations”. At this point I then take the “client.conf” from the Orbilogin.com dashboard “FOR MACOSX” downloaded configuration package and drag and drop it onto Tunnelblick. 
3. I accept all the setup prompts in Tunnelblick and then Tunnelblick creates a “client.tblk” in the same location as all the FOR MACOSX files (again, ~/Library/Application Support/Tunnelblick/Configurations).
4. I click “Connect” in Tunnelblick but no successful connection is made — Tunnelblick times out.
5. I follow the Orbilogin.com instructions for FOR SMART PHONE and try to make a connection from my iPhone and it also times out using the OpenVPN Connect iPhone app. (the app correctly shows the configuration file indicating to connect to "MYHOSTNAME01 . MYNETGEAR . COM / smart_phone". 

So basically I am demonstrating that I tried installing and testing VPN connectivity to the Orbi VPN service from two different devices (my Mac and my iPhone - neither of which are currently connected to my Orbi WiFi home network). 

Am I missing a step? Help please.

[spizzi · Accepted solution]

I found the answer. For the time being, I left my modem/router as the DHCP server, identified the internal IP address of the RBR50 assigned by my modem/router and put that internal IP address in the DMZ. I also left my Orbi as a router too, not an Access Point. Tested on an external network connection and it worked. 

[DarrenM]

Hello Spizzi

Here are out articles on how to set up the vpn on IOS and mac.

https://kb.netgear.com/29826/How-do-I-use-VPN-on-my-Nighthawk-router-with-my-iOS-device

https://kb.netgear.com/25389/Enabling-VPN-service-on-a-Nighthawk-router-using-a-MAC-OS-computer

DarrenM

[spizzi]

I appreciate you sending me these but I had already gone through them before I submitted my question. None of these helped.  There must be something I am missing in the steps. Maybe my original post was not clear?  Basically, my connection times out from both a laptop and from my iOS phone.  

Do I need to set up a Static Route in the Advanced Setup?  Do I need to do Port Forwarding/Triggering in the Advanced Setup?  I already have Dynamic DNS set up and running on the Orbi - maybe something needs to be tweaked here?   Do I need to do something in my Cable Modem?

[SallyBelgium]

I tried the installation scripts as well without any success... my ip address stays the same 😞

Anyone any ideas??

[rhherrera88]

Spizzi,

This is a year late, but I actually used your forum and it helped. Everything you did worked just fine. Test your VPN by connecting from another network, such as a phone hot spot. Then connect to your Orbi via the internal address. If this works, be rest assured that you are on your own network via VPN.

Thanks

Ramon

[spizzi · Accepted solution]

I found the answer. For the time being, I left my modem/router as the DHCP server, identified the internal IP address of the RBR50 assigned by my modem/router and put that internal IP address in the DMZ. I also left my Orbi as a router too, not an Access Point. Tested on an external network connection and it worked. 

[spizzi]

Also a bonus I discovered: you don't have to have your computer running in order for the Orbi VPN service to operate. I guess this makes sense to novices and experts alike, however for beginners, we might not have known this fact. Very nice that I can turn my computer off when leaving for an extended period of time and knowing I can connect my devices to my Orbi VPN. In fact, this is kind of a selling point over creating your own VPN Server solution that has to run on your computer.  And my local devices (just not computer) can connect locally (on my WiFi) to the VPN - not sure how that is possible but that also is a bonus.