How to set up WireGuard on a DD-WRT router

In this article, you will learn how to set up a manual WireGuard connection on your DD-WRT firmware router.

You will need to have DD-WRT build of 43045 or higher for a successful setup.

Here are the steps we will go through:

• Get your key pair
• Choose a server
• Configure WireGuard
• Configure the interface
• Configure the VPN zone

Get your key pair

There are two routes we can take at this stage - either you have already generated a key pair and will use them for this setup, or you have never generated them in the first place. If you have a key pair, continue the tutorial as usual, and if you have not created a key pair, click here.

I have a key pair

1. Go to this page, choose the Router option, and click on WireGuard.
   
   
   
2. In the next window, click on I have a key pair.
   
   
   
   
3. Enter your public key and hit Save.
   
   
   
   

I don't have a key pair

1. Go to this page, choose the Router option and click on WireGuard.
   
   
   
   
2. In the next window, click on I don't have a key pair.
   
   
   
3. Click on Generate a new key pair.
   
   Note: once the key pairs are generated, copy them and store them on your device, as you will not be able to check them again.
   
   

Choose a server

In the end, even if you already did or didn't have a key pair, you will see a Choose a location button, click on it and you will see a full list of available locations to connect to. Select one and hit the download button.

Configure WireGuard

1. First of all, you will need to open the control panel of your router.
   
   You can reach it by entering the IP address of your router into the URL bar in your browser. Most often, this IP address is used to reach the DD-WRT router: 192.168.1.1
   
2. Once you log into the router panel, go to the Setup tab and select Tunnels. Lastly, click on Add Tunnel.
   
   
   
   
3. Click on Enable next to the Tunnel setting, and select WireGuard as your protocol. Once selected, click Save.
   
   
   
   
4. Here you will need to fill in some information. First, paste the Private Key you got earlier.
   
   DNS Servers via Tunnel: 162.252.172.57, 149.154.159.92
   Firewall inbound: check
   Kill Switch: check
   Listen port: 51820
   MTU: 1420
   
   
   
   
5. Click on Add Peer.
   
   Endpoint: enable
   Endpoint Address: enter the address of the Surfshark server
   Allowed IPs: 0.0.0.0/0
   Persistent Keepalive: 30
   Use Pre-shared Key: Disable
   Peer Public Key: enter your public key
   
   
   
   
6. Finally hit Apply Settings, and Save.

Congratulations! Now you know how to set up a manual connection on your DD-WRT router using the WireGuard protocol.

You may also be interested in:

1. How to make sure if my connection was successful?
2. How to enable 2FA on your Surfshark account?
3. How to set up a VPN-protected Wi-Fi hotspot using Windows?