Netgear Router VPN Setup via Windows Computer – Easy Guide

VPN is an acronym for Virtual Private Network and it serves the purpose of masking the IP address of the device on which you’ve enabled it. If you’ve installed a Nighthawk router in your house and wish to connect too many WiFi client devices to its network, then enabling a VPN might help. It will encrypt the data being transmitted throughout the home network and you can surf the internet more securely. Moreover, with the help of a VPN, you can use internet services that are not supported in your geographical location. For example, your Netflix account may work at your home but not in other countries. In that case, the VPN service on the WiFi router will help you a lot.

Just in case you don’t know the process to enable Netgear router VPN services, we’ve got you covered. Here, you will learn the step-by-step instructions to enable the VPN feature on the Nighthawk router using a Windows computer. Read on.

Before Netgear Router VPN Setup

Since VPN allows you to use the internet so that you can securely access the home network remotely, you are supposed to complete the following prerequisites before starting the process:

Install the Open VPN software on each laptop or computer that will be used to connect to the router remotely i.e. via VPN.
Enable Dynamic DNS before completing the Netgear router VPN setup process. It is because a VPN uses a Dynamic DNS account to connect with the router.
Check whether your router supports the feature or not. It is because, like the Nighthawk app, some routers do not support VPN services.

Once you’re complete the aforementioned prerequisites, you can proceed to set up a Virtual Private Network on the WiFi router. Given in the next section are the steps that you must follow to complete the process easily.

How to Enable VPN on Netgear Router via Windows Computer?

Step 1: Access the BASIC Home Screen

First of all, launch an internet browser on a computer that is connected to the router’s WiFi.
You also have the choice of connecting the router and computer via a LAN cable.
Now, enter www.routerlogin.net or http://192.168.1.1 into the address bar.
A login window named Netgear router login will appear.
Here, enter “admin” into the User Name field, and “password” into the Password field.
Both these details are in lowercase and are case-sensitive.
Use the new password in case you’ve set a personalized value.
You will get welcomed by the dashboard of your WiFi router as soon as you select Log In after inputting the valid router credentials.
The dashboard of your router is the BASIC Home screen.

Step 2: Enable VPN Services

Now, select Advanced > Advanced Setup.
Click VPN Service.
The VPN Service page will come into view.
Here, check the Enable VPN Service check box.
Hit Apply.

Step 3: Install OpenVPN for Windows

The next step for Netgear router VPN setup is to download OpenVPN.
Click For Windows and download the configuration files.
You can visit http://openvpn.net/index.php/download/community-downloads.html to download the OpenVPN client utility.
Now, locate the Windows Installer Section and find the OpenVPN-install-xxx.exe link
After that, download and install the Open VPN software by clicking the OpenVPN-install-xxx.exe file.
Select Next and accept the License Agreement.
Specify the destination folder for software by clicking Browse.
Click Install.
Select Finish as soon as you see the final installation window.

Step 4: Set Up Netgear Router VPN Tunnel

Unzip the configuration files that you downloaded and copy them to the folder where the VPN client is installed on your computer.
For client devices with Windows, you are suggested to modify the VPN interface name to Netgear-VPN.
Go to Network Settings via the path: Start > Settings > Network and Internet > Ethernet.
Click Change Adapter Settings.
Find the local area connection with the device name TAP-Windows Adapter in the local area connection list.
Now, change the local area connection name and change its name to Netgear-VPN.
Keep in mind that if you do not change the VPN interface name, the VPN tunnel connection will fail.

Final Words

The time to put a full stop to the guide explaining the Netgear router VPN setup process via a Windows computer has come. We hope that the instructions provided here will help you enable VPN services on your WiFi router. So, feel free to access your own internet service even when you’re away from home.