As router options are almost infinite, you have a lot to choose from. It is a lot easier to know if your router supports a VPN connection by its category. We will cover the following categories:
- ISP provided routers
- OTS routers
- Custom Firmware routers
- How to know if my router is VPN-compatible
- What to do if my router is not VPN-compatible?
ISP provided routers
In most cases, ISP routers, or Internet Service Provider routers, have massive restrictions enabled on them that can only be disabled by your ISP. There is a slim chance that you can set up a VPN on a router provided by your ISP. You may not even be able to change small settings, like DNS.
So, if you have an ISP router and want a VPN setup on one, you must invest in the other two categories.
Off-the-shelf routers
OTS (Off-the-shelf) routers are much easier to work with, but not all of them may support a VPN. It's important to make sure that the router you are checking out has VPN compatibility. To do that, check the following steps:
- Find the features list.
- Search for OpenVPN or WireGuard® client.
NOTE: Don't mix it up with an OpenVPN server, as this is an entirely different thing.
Custom firmware routers
Usually, almost all custom firmware routers have VPN availability, and these are more likely to be fully customizable with many handy features.
It's not hard to set up a VPN on a custom firmware router, and we have router guides for almost all custom firmware.
How to know if my router is VPN-compatible
If you're looking for a new router, here are our top 5 VPN routers for your home.
But if you already have a router and you have decided to set up a VPN on it, you must find out if it is compatible with a VPN. There are several ways to do that:
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Read your router's user manual and look for OpenVPN, WireGuard®, or L2TP instructions. If you do not have the user manual at home, you can usually find it online.
- Find the model of your router and look for more information online. Usually, more people have the same router as you and have already tried to set up a VPN.
- Log into your router and check out the settings. Look for an OpenVPN, WireGuard®, or L2TP client. The most common way to do that is to find your router's IP address and enter it into the URL bar on your browser. If you don't know how to do that, check How to find your router's IP address guide.
- Look at the routers section on our Help Center. We may already have a detailed tutorial for your router.
What to do if my router is not VPN-compatible?
If your router turns out to be incompatible with VPN, consider purchasing a new one or installing a new firmware to your current router. Here's a few suggestions:
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Install a widely used DD-WRT open-source firmware on your router.
There are other firmware options available too. For example, Tomato firmware. Here is a list of routers that support Tomato.
Reinstalling firmware might permanently damage your router if done incorrectly. Surfshark is not responsible for any damage that might be caused by installing custom firmware.
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Choose a router that comes with VPN functionality by default.
For general guidance, we recommend routers running AsusWRT firmware, which is really easy to set up with a VPN. Here are several Asus models running this firmware: RT-N66U, RT-AC56U, Asus N-16, RT-AC66U, RT-AC68U, RT-AC87U, RT-AC5300, RT-AC3200, RT-AC3100, RT-AC1750, RT-AC88U, RT-AC66R
Another VPN-friendly option is GL.iNet routers. These mini routers come with OpenWRT firmware pre-installed and already have an OpenVPN client. Here are a few models to get you started: GL-AR750S-Ext (Slate), GL-MT300N-V2 (Mango), GL-AR300M (Shadow).
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