Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2020 18:30 Post subject: Trying 2 Connect Router to a TP-Link AC1750v5 OpenVPN Server
I have DD-WRT installed and working on my Netgear WNDR4500v2 router, and have configured and used it successfully as a dedicated VPN router connected to my Private Internet Access account. Now, instead of connecting to my PIA VPN account, I wish to reconfigure it to connect to my home VPN server which is a TP-Link AC1750 (Archer C7) v5 router running successfully as an OpenVPN server on its own TP-Link operating system (not DD-WRT), which is running just fine as is. I am able to successfully connect to it from a remote location using the Windows 10 OpenVPN software, and also from my iPhone using the OpenVPN iPhone app. Both work great.
The DD-WRT router I'm trying to configure is running firmware version DD-WRT v3.0-r42872 giga (04/10/20).
Attached is a redacted version of the .ovpn configuration file generated by the TP-Link router running OpenVPN.
I did my best to configure OpenVPN in DD-WRT to connect with this server, but have been unsuccessful. I'm thinking I'm missing a critical setting or two.
Any help or suggestions you may provide would be greatly appreciated!
Try something like this, of course you have to enter the keys and certs in their respective boxes
If it does not work show a picture of the OVPN status page after you added
Code:
verb 5
in the OpenVPN Additional Config
Thanks very much, EGC.
I followed your instructions, but I'm not quite successful yet. I seem to be having a "TLC Error", as you can see in the attached client log which I copied and pasted from the Open VPN Status page.
!!!!!PICTURES REMOVED FOR WIDTH VIOLATION- FOLLOW THE RULES!!!!!
I rebooted the router without having it connected to the Internet, disabled Open VPN, rebooted with the Internet reconnected via Ethernet cable to the WAN port, and the date and time reset to the correct (current) values. Next, I enabled Open VPN and clicked Save, however when I clicked Apply the DD-WRT web page froze and could not be refreshed. My laptop was still connected to the router, but there was no Internet access and the router seemed to be frozen. In its frozen state I could not reach DD-WRT via the router's IP address that I had set to 192.168.3.1. I tried rebooting with the Ethernet cable still connected to the WAN port, but the router provided no Internet access and the DD-WRT interface could not be reached and the router was again frozen. Next, I disconnected the WAN cable and rebooted once more, and now I was again able to access the router's DD-WRT interface via 192.168.3.1. However I noticed the router's date and time had reverted to 7pm in December 1969 again.
It seems as though my Open VPN configuration freezes the router, and causes it to lose its current time setting also.
Thanks for your help but I seem to have hit a dead end, as I could not reach the client log page to show you any diagnostic info because the router is frozen while the router is trying to activate VPN, and I cannot reach the log page while the router is frozen.
Anyway, thank you sincerely for trying to help me. I guess I'll go back to using the router to reach Private Internet Access only, and give up trying to reach my home router this way, via Open VPN.
Joined: 18 Mar 2014 Posts: 12881 Location: Netherlands
Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:59 Post subject:
Latest build as of today is 44251.
So consider upgrading.
Earlier builds had problems with gui freezing.
There is a trick to unfreeze the GUI:
Via the cli (telnet/putty):
Stopservice httpd
Startservice httpd
I did a 30-30-30 reset, then as you recommended I upgraded to the latest 44251 version successfully, did another 30-30-30, entered in all of the original settings into DD-WRT including the VPN certificates and...
SUCCESS! I'm solidly in my VPN through this router!!! Everything works now.
Thanks BLKT but I don't have DD-WRT on my TP-Link router, which is my OpenVPN server. I still have the TP-Link firmware running that router, and it works fine.
The router I had flashed to DD-WRT and just upgraded is an old Netgear WNDR4500v2. I thought I was supposed to use the 30-30-30 method on it. In any case, it apparently survived my 30-30-30s with no damage, and the latest DD-WRT upgrade loaded successfuly.