Netgear R7800 Nighthawk X4s Ac2600 Smart Wifi Router User Manual

							Set Up a VPN Connection
A virtual private network (VPN) lets you use the Internet to securely access your network when you aren’t home.
Figure 13.VPN provides a secure tunnel between your home network and a remote computer
This type of VPN access is called a client-to-gateway tunnel.The computer is the client, and the router is the gateway.
To use the VPN feature, you must log in to the router and enable VPN, and you must install and run VPN client
software on the computer.
VPN uses DDNS or a static IP address to connect with your router.
To use a DDNS service, register for an account with a host name (sometimes called a domain name).You use the
host name to access your network.The router supports these accounts: NETGEAR, No-IP, and Dyn.
If your Internet service provider (ISP) assigned a static WAN IP address (such as 50.196.x.x or 10.x.x.x) that never
changes to your Internet account, the VPN can use that IP address to connect to your home network.
Specify VPN Service in the Router
You must specify the VPN service settings in the router before you can use a VPN connection.
To specify the VPN service:
1.Launch a web browser from a computer or WiFi device that is connected to the network.
2.Enter http://www.routerlogin.net.
A login window opens.
3.Enter the router user name and password.
The user name is admin.The default password is password.The user name and password are case-sensitive.
Use VPN to Access Your Network
161
Nighthawk X4S AC2600 Smart WiFi Router 
						

							The BASIC Home page displays.
4.Select ADVANCED > Advanced Setup > VPN Service.
The VPN page displays.
5.Select the Enable VPN Service check box.
By default, the VPN uses the UDP service type and uses port 12974. If you want to customize the service type
and port, we recommend that you change these settings before you install the OpenVPN software.
6.To change the service type, scroll down and select the TCP radio button.
7.To change the port, scroll down to the Service Port field, and type the port number that you want to use.
8.Click the Apply button.
Your changes are saved.VPN is enabled in the router, but you must install and set up OpenVPN software on
your computer before you can use a VPN connection.
Install OpenVPN Software
You must install this software on each Windows computer, Mac computer, iOS device, or Android device that you
plan to use for VPN connections to your router.
Install OpenVPN Software on Your Windows Computer
You must install this software on each Windows computer that you plan to use for VPN connections to your router.
To install VPN client software on your Windows computer:
1.Launch a web browser from a computer or WiFi device that is connected to the network.
2.Enter http://www.routerlogin.net.
A login window opens.
3.Enter the router user name and password.
The user name is admin.The default password is password.The user name and password are case-sensitive.
The BASIC Home page displays.
4.Select ADVANCED > Advanced Setup > VPN Service.
The VPN Service page displays.
5.Make sure that the Enable VPN Service check box is selected.
6.Specify any VPN service settings on the page.
For more information, see Specify VPN Service in the Router on page 161.
Use VPN to Access Your Network
162
Nighthawk X4S AC2600 Smart WiFi Router 
						

							7.Click the For Windows button to download the OpenVPN configuration files.
8.Visit openvpn.net/index.php/download/community-downloads.html to download the OpenVPN client utility.
9.In the Windows Installer section of the page, double-click the openVPN-install-xxx.exe link.
10.Download and install the Open VPN software on your computer, click the openVPN-install-xxx.exe file.
11.Click the Next button.
12.Read the License Agreement and click the I Agree button.
13.Leave the check boxes selected as shown, and click the Next button.
Use VPN to Access Your Network
163
Nighthawk X4S AC2600 Smart WiFi Router 
						

							14.To specify the destination folder, click the Browse button and select a destination folder.
15.Click the Install button.
The window displays the progress of the installation and then displays the final installation page.
16.Click the Finish button.
17.Unzip the configuration files that you downloaded and copy them to the folder where the VPN client is installed
on your device.
For a client device with Windows 64-bit system, the VPN client is installed at C:\Programfiles\OpenVPN\config\
by default.
18.For a client device with Windows, modify the VPN interface name to NETGEAR-VPN:
a.On your computer, go to the Networks page. If you are using Windows 10, select Control Panel > Network
and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings.
b.In the local area connection list, find the local area connection with the device name TAP-Windows Adapter.
c.Select the local area connection and change its name (not its device name) to NETGEAR-VPN.
Use VPN to Access Your Network
164
Nighthawk X4S AC2600 Smart WiFi Router 
						

							If you do not change the VPN interface name, the VPN tunnel connection will fail.
For more information about using OpenVPN on your Windows computer, visit
https://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/documentation/howto.html#quick.
Install OpenVPN Software on Your Mac Computer
You must install this software on each Mac computer that you plan to use for VPN connections to your router.
To install VPN client software on your Mac computer:
1.Launch a web browser from a computer or WiFi device that is connected to the network.
2.Enter http://www.routerlogin.net.
A login window opens.
3.Enter the router user name and password.
The user name is admin.The default password is password.The user name and password are case-sensitive.
The BASIC Home page displays.
4.Select ADVANCED > Advanced Setup > VPN Service.
The VPN Service page displays.
5.Make sure that the Enable VPN Service check box is selected.
6.Specify any VPN service settings on the page.
For more information, see Specify VPN Service in the Router on page 161.
7.Click the For non-Windows button to download the OpenVPN configuration files.
8.Visit https://tunnelblick.net/index.html to download the OpenVPN client utility for Mac OS X.
9.Download and install the file.
10.Unzip the configuration files that you downloaded and copy them to the folder where the VPN client is installed
on your device.
The client utility must ge installed by a user with administrative priviledges.
For more information about using OpenVPN on your Mac computer, visit
https://openvpn.net/index.php/access-server/docs/admin-guides/183-how-to-connect-to-access-server-from-a-mac.html.
Install OpenVPN Software on an iOS Device
You must install this software on each iOS device that you plan to use for VPN connections to your router.
Use VPN to Access Your Network
165
Nighthawk X4S AC2600 Smart WiFi Router 
						

							To install VPN client software on an iOS device:
1.Launch a web browser from a computer or WiFi device that is connected to the network.
2.Enter http://www.routerlogin.net.
A login window opens.
3.Enter the router user name and password.
The user name is admin.The default password is password.The user name and password are case-sensitive.
The BASIC Home page displays.
4.Select ADVANCED > Advanced Setup > VPN Service.
The VPN Service page displays.
5.Make sure that the Enable VPN Service check box is selected.
6.Specify any VPN service settings on the page.
For more information, see Specify VPN Service in the Router on page 161.
7.Click the For Smart Phone button to download the OpenVPN configuration files.
8.On your iOS device, download and install the OpenVPN Connect app from the Apple app store.
9.On your computer, unzip the configuration files that you downloaded and send the files to your iOS device.
Note that when you open the .ovpn file, a list of apps displays. Select the OpenVPN Connect app to open the
.ovpn file.
For more information about using OpenVPN on your iOS device, visit
http://www.vpngate.net/en/howto_openvpn.aspx#ios.
Install OpenVPN Software on an Android Device
You must install this software on each Android device that you plan to use for VPN connections to your router.
To install VPN client software on an Android device:
1.Launch a web browser from a computer or WiFi device that is connected to the network.
2.Enter http://www.routerlogin.net.
A login window opens.
3.Enter the router user name and password.
The user name is admin.The default password is password.The user name and password are case-sensitive.
The BASIC Home page displays.
Use VPN to Access Your Network
166
Nighthawk X4S AC2600 Smart WiFi Router 
						

							4.Select ADVANCED > Advanced Setup > VPN Service.
The VPN Service page displays.
5.Make sure that the Enable VPN Service check box is selected.
6.Specify any VPN service settings on the page.
For more information, see Specify VPN Service in the Router on page 161.
7.Click the For Smart Phone button to download the OpenVPN configuration files.
8.On your Android device, download and install the OpenVPN Connect app from the Google Play Store.
9.On your computer, unzip the configuration files that you downloaded and send the files to your Android device.
10.Open the files on your Android device.
11.Open the .ovpn file using the OpenVPN Connect app.
For more information about using OpenVPN on your Android device, visit
http://www.vpngate.net/en/howto_openvpn.aspx#android.
Use a VPN Tunnel on Your Windows Computer
After you set up the router to use VPN and install the OpenVPN application on your computer, you can open a VPN
tunnel from your computer to your router over the Internet.
For the VPN tunnel to work, the local LAN IP address of the remote router must use a different LAN IP scheme from
that of the local LAN where your VPN client computer is connected. If both networks use the same LAN IP scheme,
when the VPN tunnel is established, you cannot access your home router or your home network with the OpenVPN
software.
The default LAN IP address scheme for the router is 192.x.x.x.The most common IP schemes are 192.x.x.x, 172.x.x.x,
and 10.x.x.x. If you experience a conflict, change the IP scheme either for your home network or for the network
with the client VPN computer. For information about changing these settings, see Change the LAN TCP/IP Settings
on page 60.
Use VPN to Access Your Network
167
Nighthawk X4S AC2600 Smart WiFi Router 
						

							To open a VPN tunnel:
1.Launch the OpenVPN application with administrator privileges.
The OpenVPN icon displays in the Windows taskbar.
You can create a shortcut to the VPN program, then use the shortcut to access the settings and
select the run as administrator check box.Then every time you use this shortcut, OpenVPN
automatically runs with administrator privileges.
Tip
2.Right-click the OpenVPN icon.
3.Select Connect.
The VPN connection is established.You can do the following:
•Launch a web browser and log in to your router.
•Use Windows file manager to access the router’s USB device and download files.
Use VPN to Access Your Network
168
Nighthawk X4S AC2600 Smart WiFi Router 
						

							Use VPN to Access the Router’s USB Device and Media
To access a USB device and download files:
1.In Windows file manager, select the Network folder.
The network resources display.The ReadySHARE icon is in the Computer section and the remote router icon
is in the Media Devices section (if DLNA is enabled in the router).
2.If the icons do not display, click the Refresh button to update the screen.
If the local LAN and the remote LAN are using the same IP scheme, the remote router icon does not display in
the Media Devices and Network Infrastructure sections.
3.To access the USB device, click the ReadySHARE icon.
4.To access media on the router’s network, click the remote router icon.
Use VPN to Access Your Internet Service at Home
When you’re away from home and you access the Internet, you usually use a local Internet service provider. For
example, at a coffee shop you might be given a code that lets you use the coffee shop’s Internet service account to
surf the web.
Nighthawk lets you use a VPN connection to access your own Internet service when you’re away from home.You
might want to do this if you travel to a geographic location that doesn’t support all the Internet services that you use
at home. For example, your Netflix account might work at home but not in a different country.
Set Up VPN Client Internet Access in the Router
By default, the router is set up to allow VPN connections only to your home network, but you can change the settings
to allow Internet access. Accessing the Internet remotely through a VPN might be slower than accessing the Internet
directly.
To allow VPN clients to use your home Internet service:
1.Launch a web browser from a computer or WiFi device that is connected to the network.
2.Enter http://www.routerlogin.net.
A login window opens.
Use VPN to Access Your Network
169
Nighthawk X4S AC2600 Smart WiFi Router 
						

							3.Enter the router user name and password.
The user name is admin.The default password is password.The user name and password are case-sensitive.
The BASIC Home page displays.
4.Select ADVANCED > Advanced Setup > VPN Service.
The VPN page displays.
5.Select the Enable VPN Service radio button.
6.Scroll down to the Clients will use this VPN connection to access section, and select the All sites on the Internet
& Home Network radio button.
When you access the Internet with the VPN connection, instead of using a local Internet service, you use the
Internet service from your home network.
7.Click the Apply button.
Your settings are saved.
8.Click the For Windows or For Non Windows button and download the configuration files for your VPN clients.
9.Unzip the configuration files and copy them to the folder where the VPN client is installed on your device.
For a client device with Windows 64-bit system, the VPN client is installed at C:\Programfiles\OpenVPN\config\
by default.
Block VPN Client Internet Access in the Router
By default, the router is set up to allow VPN connections only to your home network, not to the Internet service for
your home network. If you changed this setting to allow Internet access, you can change it back.
To allow VPN clients to access only your home network:
1.Launch a web browser from a computer or WiFi device that is connected to the network.
2.Enter http://www.routerlogin.net.
A login window opens.
3.Enter the router user name and password.
The user name is admin.The default password is password.The user name and password are case-sensitive.
The BASIC Home page displays.
4.Select ADVANCED > Advanced Setup > VPN Service.
The VNP page displays.
5.Select the Enable VPN Service radio button.
Use VPN to Access Your Network
170
Nighthawk X4S AC2600 Smart WiFi Router