The following is required for Namecheap VPN to work with a DD-WRT v3 router:
- A secure Namecheap VPN connection (Don’t have one? Sign up for VPN service).
- An internet connection
- DD-WRT compatible router running v3
Before following this guide, you will need to install DD-WRT on your router. To do this, you will need to go to DD-WRT
router database and search for your router model number to see if your router is compatible or find a
beta build for your router. This guide uses KONG's beta build of DD-WRT v3.0-r31520M on a Netgear R7000.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Certain beta builds may not work with OpenVPN. Please read the feedback in the build forum before installing a beta build. Also note, regardless of what model router you have or version of DD-WRT you are installing, there is a chance of bricking your router (i.e. rendering the router completely useless) if the process of putting DD-WRT on the router does not complete properly. Please thoroughly read and follow the related documentation regarding the updating procedure for you router, to minimize the risk of bricking your router.
Initial DD-WRT Setup and Important Notes
1. Please check and consider the following before setting up your VPN connection in DD-WRT:
- If you are running a router-behind-router configuration you will want to make sure your DD-WRT router is on a different subnet than any other router/modem on your network. This can be done by going to Setup/Basic Setup tab and changing your Local IP address to "192.168.8.1" without quotes.
- We suggest adding the following static DNS addresses: 198.18.0.1 and 8.8.8.8, on the basic setup tab.
- Please check to ensure the NTP client is enabled and set to the correct time zone, which can be found at the bottom of the basic setup tab.
2. Enable Syslogd so you can get logs if you run into any trouble with your DD-WRT v3 VPN router setup. You can do this by going to Services tab and scrolling down to System Log, then enable Syslogd.
Configuring the VPN Connection
3. To setup the VPN connection on your router, go to the Services/VPN tab, enable the OpenVPN Client, and set the connection up using the following settings:
- Server IP/Name: Choose a server location and enter the address in this field
- Port: use 1194 or 443
- Tunnel Device: TUN
- Tunnel Protocol: use UDP or TCP
- Encryption Cipher: AES-256-CBC
- Hash Algorithm: SHA256
- User Pass Authentication: Enable
- Username: username@namecheap, available from the Namecheap VPN dashboard (more details can be found here)
- Password: Namecheap VPN Password, from Namecheap VPN dashboard
- Server Address: Choose a server from our Server list in Namecheap VPN dashboard
- Advanced Options: Enable
- TLS Cipher: None
- LZO Compression: Adaptive
- NAT: Enable
- Copy and paste the following into your Additional Config:
persist-key
persist-tun
persist-remote-ip
keysize 256
remote-cert-tls server
CA Cert:
Copy and paste the whole contents of the
file.
4. Save and Apply settings, then go to the Administration tab and click Reboot at the bottom of the page.
Check the VPN Connection
Once your router has finished booting up, verify you are connected by going to the Status/OpenVPN tab and checking the IP at https://www.whatismyip.com/ and validate on ipinfo.io that you are on the proper location.
If you have any questions about this guide, please contact Support Team.
