Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2022 14:03 Post subject: wrt1900ac v2 - does it support vpn?
I want to flash a linksys wrt1900ac v2 router ( see attached pic) with ddwrt but does the ddwrt firmware support openvpn? or do I need a different router?
thankyou for that. I've just realised I should have been more specific. I want to use the router as an openvpn client, not a server. I want to connect the router to a VPN service like surfshark or nordvpn so will the ddwrt firmware support this?
Joined: 18 Mar 2014 Posts: 12882 Location: Netherlands
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2022 14:52 Post subject:
Yes this router (and almost all routers with 8 MB flash RAM or more) fully supports OpenVPN and WireGuard both as Client and Server.
Documentation is a sticky in the Advanced Networking forum.
When choosing a VPN provider I would choose one which supports WireGuard on the *router* and if you you are behind CGNAT and you need port forwarding via the VPN you should also research this.
WireGuard is very easy to setup and three times as fast as OpenVPN maybe you do not want WireGuard now but at least you should choose a provider which makes it possible to use WireGuard as a client on the *router* (NordVPN does not, although with a hack you can make it work)
I have now flashed the router with factory-to-ddwrt.bin and all seems well. sorry to be such a noob but there were two ddwrt files available:
factory-to-ddwrt.bin
and
dwrt-linksys-wrt1900acv2-webflash.bin
do I actually need dwrt-linksys-wrt1900acv2-webflash.bin? whats it for?
Joined: 04 Aug 2018 Posts: 1447 Location: Appalachian mountains, USA
Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2022 16:35 Post subject:
ho1Aetoo wrote:
The webflash / webupdate files are used when dd-wrt is already installed and you want to update to a newer dd-wrt version [friendly edit: FROM dd-wrt. It's about what software you run the update process from, not what's on the router. This is a dual-partition router that supports keeping two firmware installations on the router. Some people keep the factory firmware in one partition and dd-wrt in the other. By default an update will update the non-running partition and then boot into the new firmware. See the "Cliff Notes" sticky in this forum for more on setting up this router.].
_________________ 2x Netgear XR500 and 3x Linksys WRT1900ACSv2 on 53544: VLANs, VAPs, NAS, station mode, OpenVPN client (AirVPN), wireguard server (AirVPN port forward) and clients (AzireVPN, AirVPN, private), 3 DNSCrypt providers via VPN.
Joined: 04 Aug 2018 Posts: 1447 Location: Appalachian mountains, USA
Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2022 16:55 Post subject:
Just stick with the idea of factory-to... when you are flashing dd-wrt from the Linksys firmware and webflash... when you are running dd-wrt and ready to upgrade it to a new dd-wrt version. See the Cliff Notes sticky for some further useful details.
Upgrading to the latest version a couple of times a year is a good idea, to keep up with security improvements. Read over the new-build thread first for the version you intend to flash. Rarely matters, because most versions are super solid out of the gate, but better safe than sorry. _________________ 2x Netgear XR500 and 3x Linksys WRT1900ACSv2 on 53544: VLANs, VAPs, NAS, station mode, OpenVPN client (AirVPN), wireguard server (AirVPN port forward) and clients (AzireVPN, AirVPN, private), 3 DNSCrypt providers via VPN.
For each router in the list there will always be two BIN files:
factory to dd-wrt
dd-wrt webflash
*Please pay close attention to this:
The factory to dd-wrt is for installing DD-WRT from the Linksys GUI. This file will be used under two circumstances.
1. You are installing DD-WRT for the first time.
2. You have switched back to opposite partition and you have the Linksys Stock Firmware on that partition.
The dd-wrt webflash is for upgrading a current DD-WRT installation. This file will result in the following circumstances.
1. A new version of DD-WRT will be installed on the opposite & inactive partition.
2. The previous DD-WRT version will be left on what is now the inactive partition (after reboot).
3. All settings and configuration will be kept and applied to new version (unless a reset is selected in Firmware Upgrade Sub-Tab).
Note: It’s only one file per Install / Upgrade. If you use the ‘factory to dd-wrt’ file followed by the ‘dd-wrt webflash’ file you will have installed the same version of DD-WRT on BOTH partitions and overwritten the Linksys OEM Firmware.
Important: Never Install / Upgrade via wireless. Always use a LAN Cable
*It will be up to you to decide if you want to return to the Linksys OEM Firmware and Install each new version of DD-WRT over the previous and thus keeping the Linksys OEM Firmware on one partition at all times.
This will make trying out other Third-Party Firmware much easier as you must Install from Linksys GUI. This includes OpenWRT, LEDE, Tomato, Gargoyle, Merlin, etc.
I find it EASIER to just upgrade and keep configuration intact.
This isn’t as important as it once was as the newer DD-WRT versions have the ability to return to Linksys OEM. Simply upload the Linksys Stock Firmware from DD-WRT GUI Administration Tab – Firmware Upgrade Sub-Tab. (Same as you would upgrade DD-WRT)
the only question is why you should make it so complicated when you can easily flash the factory fimrware via dd-wrt gui
ok thanks as indicated above I've flashed with router with factory-to-ddwrt.bin and all is working fine. I don't want to complicate things, just wanted to make sure I didn't need to do anything else.
