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RT-AC86U and ExpressVPN

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NAZty

New Around Here
Hi All,

I’m looking to setup ExpressVPN on my router only for my PS5. I want to be able to change my location when gaming to specific countries so I can connect to the games servers in that country.

Looking at the ExpressVPN website it looks like the 86U isn’t supported but it states Merlin firmware is so I’m guessing if I was to load Merlin onto my router it would work?

I’m a noob when it comes to stuff like this so thought I’d ask for some help and advice from the experts :)

Is what I’m trying to achieve possible? Can I make so that only my PS5 is using the VPN and the rest of the devices connected to the router aren’t? Is it straightforward to load Merlin onto the router? Is it then a case of simply following ExpressVPN guide for setting up OpenVPN on it?

Sorry for all the questions and apologies if this has all been covered before but I’m a bit nervous messing around with it so wanted some clear guidance before starting.

Thanks
 
Yes you can do that with Merlin's firmware using Policy Based Routing: https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin.ng/wiki/Policy-based-routing

Installing Merlin's firmware is straight forward: https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin.ng/wiki/Installation

Bear in mind that you will have to configure separate VPN client profiles on the router for each country you wanted to connect to. To switch between them you would have to log onto the router, turn the current VPN client off and turn the other one on.
 
Thanks for your reply.

So once I’ve loaded Merlin I just follow the below guide to configure the VPN on it?

yes if you get into trouble just use the express VPN chat support services and they will walk you through it. Also you can just set up a second router to pass through the vpn router and just log anything you want local content on to that router
 
Hello togehter,

I am going to China and looked for a new router, during searching I "upgraded" to the RT-AC86 and was not aware that this has not the dedicated ExpressVPN-Firmware support o_O.
As alreads mentioned I could setup that openvpn account manually, but Express-VPN is warning about speed issues. I am not approaching for gaming / latency / extrem download speeds, but do you think that the dedicated E-VPN firmware would provide so many benefits vs. the merlin-firmware, that I should return the router?
I am slightly confused at this AES is related to encryption....if it is just a matter of loosing some 10% speed I don't care, but if I would loose a lot of safety functionality (automatic kicking the connection if the vpn is down etc.) it would be not so fine...

Important: The OpenVPN manual configuration does not offer the same security and privacy benefits as the ExpressVPN app. If your router does not support AES-NI (e.g., Asus RT-AX88U and RT-AC86U), you may experience occasional speed issues while using the OpenVPN manual configuration.
 
I am going to China

Read more about it because apparently using VPN in China without license is illegal. This is what many sources say, I have no personal experience. There is a chance you may not be able to connect to any commercial VPN behind The Great Firewall.
 

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