What's new

Setting Up NordVPN on Asus RT-AC68U

  • SNBForums Code of Conduct

    SNBForums is a community for everyone, no matter what their level of experience.

    Please be tolerant and patient of others, especially newcomers. We are all here to share and learn!

    The rules are simple: Be patient, be nice, be helpful or be gone!

Thanks Colin, I reboot the router and it can reconnect now. and I just updated the new firmware 386.2_4, however, the Service state still OFF, Is there any step missed in the setting ?
Do you mean that you can't turn it on?

Or do you mean that it doesn't start automatically when you reboot? In this case you need Automatic start at boot time = Yes.
 
Do you mean that you can't turn it on?

Or do you mean that it doesn't start automatically when you reboot? In this case you need Automatic start at boot time = Yes.
Do you mean that you can't turn it on?

Or do you mean that it doesn't start automatically when you reboot? In this case you need Automatic start at boot time = Yes.
NordVPN teach us , the router should turn to ON status after applying their setting, Is it necessary to reboot the router for applying their setting ?
 
NordVPN teach us , the router should turn to ON status after applying their setting, Is it necessary to reboot the router for applying their setting ?
Sorry, I don't understand what you're saying. If you want to turn the VPN on you need to change the settings:

crop.png
 
Sorry, I don't understand what you're saying. If you want to turn the VPN on you need to change the settings:

View attachment 33542
There is a problem with me here, I can't access my router via this PC (wired with Lan) using Edge as browser, while I can access my RT-AC86U via my mobile still using Edge after applying NordVPN Setting. Any brother here know what went wrong ?
 

Attachments

  • ScreenShot_20210502052246.png
    ScreenShot_20210502052246.png
    217 KB · Views: 144
  • InkedScreenshot_20210502_051855_com.microsoft.emmx_LI_1.jpg
    InkedScreenshot_20210502_051855_com.microsoft.emmx_LI_1.jpg
    61.3 KB · Views: 148
What I do when I import a nordvpn client profile (I download the UDP openvpn profile from their website) :

-import the UDP openvpn file from their website
-name the profile in the router
-type in the ip address of the nordvpn server manually (since it doesnt do this automatically for me)
-set DNS mode to exclusive
-Username / Password Auth. Only YES
-copy/paste the keys and certs from the openvpn file (since it doesnt do this automatically for me)
-set tls control channel outgoing auth 1
-set auth digest rsa-sha512
-type in the special username/password provided by nordvpn for router login
-paste my custom config (which seems somewhat different from what they recommend for some reason) :

resolv-retry infinite
remote-random
tun-mtu 1500
tun-mtu-extra 32
mssfix 1450
ping 15
ping-restart 0
ping-timer-rem
remote-cert-tls server
pull
fast-io
cipher AES-256-CBC
 
Last edited:
Hello, I used the setup https://support.nordvpn.com/Connectivity/Router/1047410642/AsusWRT-Merlin-setup-with-NordVPN.htm on step 10 as per other poster.

To eliminate DNS leaks it is recommended we use Nord VPN DNS servers specified in the WAN settings.

103.86.96.100
103.86.99.100


As per other posted, when doing a DNS leak test I got the Datacamp LTD DNS servers. This seems to be majority of the time, historically. I don't recall ever seeing 103.86.96.100 & 103.86.99.100.

Is it possible that the Asus Merlin firmware is leaking DNS requests? Do any of you recall seeing 103.86.96.100 & 103.86.99.100 in your DNS leak tests as your DNS servers when running on Asus Merlin firmware (I have it running on RT-AC86U with 385.6_2)? I remember running previous Merline firmware I saw the Datacamp LTD DNS servers all the time and never the Nord VPN DNS servers.
 
Hello, I used the setup https://support.nordvpn.com/Connectivity/Router/1047410642/AsusWRT-Merlin-setup-with-NordVPN.htm on step 10 as per other poster.

To eliminate DNS leaks it is recommended we use Nord VPN DNS servers specified in the WAN settings.

103.86.96.100
103.86.99.100


As per other posted, when doing a DNS leak test I got the Datacamp LTD DNS servers. This seems to be majority of the time, historically. I don't recall ever seeing 103.86.96.100 & 103.86.99.100.

Is it possible that the Asus Merlin firmware is leaking DNS requests? Do any of you recall seeing 103.86.96.100 & 103.86.99.100 in your DNS leak tests as your DNS servers when running on Asus Merlin firmware (I have it running on RT-AC86U with 385.6_2)? I remember running previous Merline firmware I saw the Datacamp LTD DNS servers all the time and never the Nord VPN DNS servers.
@hawdope ... this one has been covered pretty extensively in this post here:

 
Hello, I used the setup https://support.nordvpn.com/Connectivity/Router/1047410642/AsusWRT-Merlin-setup-with-NordVPN.htm on step 10 as per other poster.

To eliminate DNS leaks it is recommended we use Nord VPN DNS servers specified in the WAN settings.

103.86.96.100
103.86.99.100


As per other posted, when doing a DNS leak test I got the Datacamp LTD DNS servers. This seems to be majority of the time, historically. I don't recall ever seeing 103.86.96.100 & 103.86.99.100.

Is it possible that the Asus Merlin firmware is leaking DNS requests? Do any of you recall seeing 103.86.96.100 & 103.86.99.100 in your DNS leak tests as your DNS servers when running on Asus Merlin firmware (I have it running on RT-AC86U with 385.6_2)? I remember running previous Merline firmware I saw the Datacamp LTD DNS servers all the time and never the Nord VPN DNS servers.

Beware, things have changed since (iirc) 386.4. ASUS now statically binds the WAN's DNS servers to the WAN, presumably to ensure the WAN connectivity check always works. If you dump the routing table, you'll now see these routes.

Code:
ip route


IMO, it was never a good idea to specify the OpenVPN server's DNS on the WAN anyway. But doing so NOW is asking for trouble, at least in terms of preventing DNS leaks.
 
Last edited:
For DNS, I add this to the VPN Client Custom Configuration rather than changing the WAN settings:

dhcp-option DNS 103.86.96.100
dhcp-option DNS 103.86.99.100
 
For DNS, I add this to the VPN Client Custom Configuration rather than changing the WAN settings:

dhcp-option DNS 103.86.96.100
dhcp-option DNS 103.86.99.100

This isn't really necessary. The NordVPN server is already pushing those DNS servers to the OpenVPN client. Doesn't hurt anything if you decide to add those directives, but it's actually redundant.

All the user needs to do is specify something other than the NordVPN DNS servers on the WAN (the NordVPN instructions are outdated in this regard). That prevents those servers from ever being bound to the WAN, which is what causes the DNS leaks.
 
This isn't really necessary. The NordVPN server is already pushing those DNS servers to the OpenVPN client. Doesn't hurt anything if you decide to add those directives, but it's actually redundant.

All the user needs to do is specify something other than the NordVPN DNS servers on the WAN (the NordVPN instructions are outdated in this regard). That prevents those servers from ever being bound to the WAN, which is what causes the DNS leaks.
Thanks for the correction. I will remove it the next time I update my config since I don't like having unnecessary or redundant stuff even if it is benign.
 

Latest threads

Sign Up For SNBForums Daily Digest

Get an update of what's new every day delivered to your mailbox. Sign up here!
Top