Uncategorized
Adding a VPN to your WiFi
What is a VPN?
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network, and by routing your activity through a “tunnel”, it masks your IP address and disguises who you are and what you are doing.
The activity makes the same journey back from the public internet back through the tunnel to you. VPN connections are encrypted, allowing for great security and anonymity when browsing online.
Why use a VPN?
Spoof Your Location
If you are reading this it is likely that you are an owner of a mobile vehicle, such as a motorhome or caravan. Perhaps the main reason for you may be for watching UK TV when you are away, for example in France or Spain.
Companies like Netflix and BBC iPlayer check your IP address for your location and display a version of their website depending on that. What you can do is “pretend” that you are in the UK when you are not.
This allows you to watch BBC iPlayer when you are in another country, or the UK version of Netflix. If you really want you can also watch the USA version of some streaming platforms, if they have a specific programme that’s only available in the UK.
All of this information is subject to change, for example last time I used a VPN with Amazon Prime Video it insisted that I turn it off before allowing me to watch.
Stay Anonymous and Secure
Aside from this, it is just a lot more secure and private way to browse the internet, especially if you are entering card details or other private information on a regular basis. There are a lot of sinister actors on the internet much like there is in real life so this serves as an extra layer of protection for you.
Being a Digital Nomad
Finally if you are a Digital Nomad, you may need a VPN to access your local server if your current country differs from your work country, allowing you to roam around without interruptions to work.
How do I use a VPN?
Firstly you need a subscription to a VPN provider, there are many out there but among the most popular are ExpressVPN, NordVPN and SurfShark.
We are going to give you a guide on how to install these VPNs on your Roam or Roam X router. You might ask “why would I install it on the router when I can do it easily on my phone or TV?” Well you can do that, no problem, but if you put it on the router then all activity on all devices is going through a VPN.
Also a lot of TVs don’t have the capability to add a VPN, and any new devices that use the network will have to be set up each time if you do not have it on the router.
Firstly you will need a NordVPN subscription, to get this you will need to sign up with one of their packages at www.nordvpn.com
When this is complete you will need to go to their Server section here:
Go to “Recommended Server” and you should see the following:
Because I am in the UK NordVPN has recommended me a UK server but you can choose a different country with the “Select country” box on the right.
When you are happy with the country you can do “show available protocols” and you will see the following options:
Download this configuration to your device then go and log in to your NordVPN homepage, accessible when logged in on this link, which should look like this:
If you scroll down you can see your Service Credentials here:
Keep this page open for later. Now you will need to connect to your Maxview Roam router in your WiFi settings, then go to a browser on your device and type 192.168.1.1 (unless you have changed it from the default).
Then enter your username and password for this interface, this will be the same as the Roam app, or if you have not logged in then the default credentials are on the side of the router.
When logged in, go to “Services” then “VPN” and “OpenVPN” like the above. Then you can type in a name for your VPN setup (any basic name is fine). Choose “client” as the Role and click “Add”.
Configure the settings like the above, making sure to select NordVPN as the provider and adding in the configuration file from earlier in that section.
Then you add the username and password from the Service Credentials from the NordVPN page from earlier. Press “Save and Apply”
When you go back to the OpenVPN configuration page you should see that your new VPN configuration is there and within a couple of minutes it should say “Connected” under the status.
Congratulations, you should now be anonymous and secure when using the internet from this router.
Firstly you will need a NordVPN subscription, to get this you will need to sign up with one of their packages at www.nordvpn.com
When this is complete you will need to go to their Server section here:
Go to “Recommended Server” and you should see the following:
Because I am in the UK NordVPN has recommended me a UK server but you can choose a different country with the “Select country” box on the right.
When you are happy with the country you can do “show available protocols” and you will see the following options:
Download this configuration to your device then go and log in to your NordVPN homepage, accessible when logged in on this link, which should look like this:
If you scroll down you can see your Service Credentials here:
Keep this page open for later. Now you will need to connect to your Maxview Roam router in your WiFi settings, then go to a browser on your device and type 192.168.1.1 (unless you have changed it from the default).
Then enter your username and password for this interface, this will be the same as the Roam app, or if you have not logged in then the default credentials are on the side of the router.
When logged in, go to “Services” then “VPN” and “OpenVPN” like the above. Then you can type in a name for your VPN setup (any basic name is fine). Choose “client” as the Role and click “Add”.
Configure the settings like the above, making sure to select NordVPN as the provider and adding in the configuration file from earlier in that section.
Then you add the username and password from the Service Credentials from the NordVPN page from earlier. Press “Save and Apply”
When you go back to the OpenVPN configuration page you should see that your new VPN configuration is there and within a couple of minutes it should say “Connected” under the status.
Congratulations, you should now be anonymous and secure when using the internet from this router.
Firstly you will need an ExpressVPN subscription, to get this you will need to sign up with one of their packages at https://www.expressvpn.com/
When this is complete you will need to log in and to their set up page here and go to “Manual configuration” like the below:
We recommend to download the server which is closest to you. In this case. But if you are aiming to “spoof” being in a specific country you should choose that country:
Download the relevant country’s configuration file.
Now you will need to connect to your Maxview Roam router in your WiFi settings, then go to a browser on your device and type 192.168.1.1 (unless you have changed it from the default).
Then enter your username and password for this interface, this will be the same as the Roam app, or if you have not logged in then the default credentials are on the side of the router.
When logged in, go to “Services” then “VPN” and “OpenVPN” like the above. Then you can type in a name for your VPN setup (any basic name is fine). Choose “client” as the Role and click “Add”.
Configure the settings like the above, making sure to select ExpressVPN as the provider and adding in the configuration file from earlier in that section.
Then you add the username and password from the Service Credentials from the ExpressVPN configuration page here:
Copy and paste those into the username and password boxes of the VPN configuration box above and press “Save and Apply”.
When you go back to the OpenVPN configuration page you should see that your new VPN configuration is there and within a couple of minutes it should say “Connected” under the status.
Congratulations, you should now be anonymous and secure when using the internet from this router.
Firstly you will need an ExpressVPN subscription, to get this you will need to sign up with one of their packages at https://www.expressvpn.com/
When this is complete you will need to log in and to their set up page here and go to “Manual configuration” like the below:
We recommend to download the server which is closest to you. In this case. But if you are aiming to “spoof” being in a specific country you should choose that country:
Download the relevant country’s configuration file.
Now you will need to connect to your Maxview Roam router in your WiFi settings, then go to a browser on your device and type 192.168.1.1 (unless you have changed it from the default).
Then enter your username and password for this interface, this will be the same as the Roam app, or if you have not logged in then the default credentials are on the side of the router.
When logged in, go to “Services” then “VPN” and “OpenVPN” like the above. Then you can type in a name for your VPN setup (any basic name is fine). Choose “client” as the Role and click “Add”.
Configure the settings like the above, making sure to select ExpressVPN as the provider and adding in the configuration file from earlier in that section.
Then you add the username and password from the Service Credentials from the ExpressVPN configuration page here:
Copy and paste those into the username and password boxes of the VPN configuration box above and press “Save and Apply”.
When you go back to the OpenVPN configuration page you should see that your new VPN configuration is there and within a couple of minutes it should say “Connected” under the status.
Congratulations, you should now be anonymous and secure when using the internet from this router.
A blog to explain what a VPN is, why you would use it and how to set one up with your Roam or Roam X router.