We may earn a commission from links on this page.When you install a VPN on a device, it’s like locking the door to a single room in your house. That room may be safe from intruders, but the rest of the house stays open and exposed. Going with that analogy, VPNs that work directly from your router lock down your front gate. They protect the entire house, with all the rooms and safes in it. By configuring your VPN at the router level, you are forcing all connected devices in your network to go through the encrypted tunnel created by your VPN. That means any devices that don't natively support VPN apps, like your smart TV or PS5, are also covered by the same level of network security. That said, there are caveats. For example, some users have claimed that Xbox has banned them for using VPNs, though I have found no official source to confirm this at the time. Some banking platforms and financial apps may even refuse access to VPN traffic, forcing you to use a separate network for those tasks. With that in mind, I’m going to walk you through the pros and cons of setting up a VPN on your router, along with instructions on how to do it depending on your router model. How a router-level VPN worksEnabling a VPN through an app on your device creates a TCP tunnel that routes your traffic through a remote server, which encrypts all traffic going in and out of that specific device. If a provider or website tries to trace that traffic back to its originating IP address, they’re pointed to the remote server instead of your local network. But this only works for the device that has a VPN enabled, while all the other traffic moving through your home network is still unencrypted and exposed. Configuring your VPN connection for every device on the network can take a lot of effort, which can lead to slip-ups that expose your online activity unintentionally.Many advanced wifi routers come with built-in firmware support for secure communication protocols like OpenVPN, WireGuard, PPTP, and L2TP Over IPsec. This makes it possible for you to set up your VPN directly on your router, so that every device on your network stays within the encrypted tunnel all of the time, unless you disable it. You enable the VPN through the router’s own firmware, usually through a dedicated settings page that lets you enter your VPN server and credentials.There are many benefits to this method. When you configure your VPN on a single router instead of ten different devices with their own separate apps, firmware updates and security patches are much easier to install. Many routers also offer a kill switch that will automatically block all internet traffic if your VPN is somehow disconnected, which adds another layer of protection from sudden exposure. What you should be aware of when using a router-level VPNThat said, there are some caveats that come with this arrangement. You should be aware of them now so you can plan ahead before you continue with this setup. Installing a VPN on your router means creating a single point of failure for your home network’s encryption tunnel. Hackers who successfully breach your router’s firmware can disable your VPN across every device, a common attack pattern that targets older router models. While traffic between your router and the internet goes through the VPN tunnel, any traffic passing between your local devices and the router is still unencrypted and exposed to anyone who has access to your home network.As previously mentioned, certain platforms, like banking apps and streaming services, may automatically block VPN traffic to comply with local security, privacy, or IP protection laws. When accessing these services, you’ll have to disable your VPN at the router level, which may also leave other devices exposed. In addition, advanced features like cookie blockers, split tunneling, or post-quantum encryption (PQE) may only be accessible through a provider’s VPN apps, which won’t be available if you configure it through your router’s firmware.Finally, since your router’s processor now handles the TCP encryption, a weak router with a suboptimal processor can cause performance issues across your entire network. You shouldn’t experience issues with more powerful router models like the ASUS RT-BE58U or Synology RT6600ax, but these can cost anywhere between $100 and $350, or even more. How to set up a VPN on your routerFirst, you must confirm that your wifi router model supports VPN protocols. Look for any mention of OpenVPN or WireGuard protocol support in the router’s product documentation. Many popular VPN providers like Surfshark, ExpressVPN, and Nord VPN will also maintain a list of supported router models on their own websites, with step-by-step instructions for configuration. While individual steps can vary quite a bit depending on your router’s make and model, firmware version, and VPN protocol, some things remain similar across manufacturers and vendors:ASUS routersASUS makes it as painless as possible to get a VPN working on their routers, though not all models support all vendors and protocols. You can usually double-check with your VPN’s documentation to see if your existing model is supported. After you confirm support, here are the steps to actually get it working: On a device connected to your router’s wifi, access the ASUS Router WebGUI and make sure that your firmware is updated to at least version 3.0.0.4.388.23000. You can also use the ASUS Router mobile app on your phone if you prefer.Navigate to VPN, then VPN Fusion. In the VPN Fusion tab, click Add profile and set your VPN type or provider, such as OpenVPN, WireGuard, PPTP, or L2TP. From here, you can upload your VPN’s configuration file or manually enter the VPN service’s IP address and Port. Once done, make sure to toggle on Apply to all devices and click Apply all settings to save. Enabling the profile you just created in the VPN Fusion tab will automatically connect your router to the VPN server.GL.iNet routersOn GL.iNET routers running a 4.x firmware version, you can access a VPN client directly from your router’s admin GUI. These routers support all OpenVPN and WireGuard-based VPN services.Download your VPN configuration file (WireGuard or OpenVPN) from your provider’s website. Sign into your GL.iNET router’s admin panel, then navigate to VPN > VPN Client Profile. Click on Add Manually to upload your VPN configuration file. Once configured, VPN protection is extended to all devices on the network by default. To enable or disable VPN on specific devices, you can use the VPN Dashboard. From here, you can also choose which VPN server your router connects to and set rule-based exceptions to bypass the VPN when accessing certain whitelisted IP addresses. After finishing, remember to click Apply on the VPN Dashboard.TP-Link routersNot every TP-Link router supports VPN configuration, while even fewer support VPNs that use the WireGuard protocol. That said, if you’re on the Archer BE, GE, AX, AXE, GX, MR, or TL-MR models, you’ll find a VPN client baked into the online GUI. Here’s how to set it up:While connected to your TP-Link router, go to tplinkwifi.net. From there, navigate to Advanced > VPN Client. Enable the VPN Client toggle and click Save.Under the Server List section of the VPN Client tab, click Add and choose your VPN type. TP-Link routers support up to six VPN profiles and WireGuard, OpenVPN, PPTP, as well as L2TP/IPSec protocols. You can upload your VPN configuration file directly to create a new profile. Then enable it by flipping on the toggle next to the profile. Unlike other router manufacturers, TP-Link does not enable VPN on all connected devices by default. You must manually enable VPN connections per device by enabling them under the VPN Device List. Other router modelsBeyond the manufacturers we just covered, there are plenty of other router models that support VPNs. While default VPN support on different router models can be a mixed bag, you can also flash custom firmware on your router to enable support. However, note that improperly flashing custom firmware on your router can render it unusable. If you intend to go this route, be sure to follow your VPN provider’s official documentation for the specific steps for your router. For example, Proton VPN has published router-specific flashing guides for different manufacturers and model numbers.Popular pre-configured routers with built-in VPN featuresIf you don’t want to go through the trouble of uploading configuration files or flashing firmware, many router models now ship with pre-configured VPN support for popular services like ExpressVPN or Nord. ExpressVPN Fortify: Layered on top of GL.iNet's Flint 2 hardware, ExpressVPN Fortify is a pre-configured VPN router that launched this September. It costs $199.99 and comes with 12 months of ExpressVPN Advanced. This router model can support 86 concurrent devices and speeds of up to 900 Mbps on WireGuard. FlashRouters: FlashRouters sells various router models with its own open-source VPN firmware pre-configured on arrival. You can choose from ASUS, GL.iNet, and TP-Link models. But if you would rather keep your existing router, FlashRouters also offers a “Flash My Router” service for your existing hardware. Cudy Mesh: Cudy’s mesh-ready router models like the WR5000 or WR3600 ship with a native Surfshark integration built into the Cudy App or GUI. If you subscribe to an annual Surfshark VPN plan through Cudy, you’ll also get four months of complimentary access thanks to a partnership between the two companies. Test your new router-level VPN setupOnce you have your VPN up and running on the router, don’t assume that it works by default. Connect a device to your router’s wifi network and visit an IP detection tool like DNS Checker, What Is My IP Address, or BrowserLeaks to verify that your real IP address isn’t exposed with the VPN enabled. If your router comes with a VPN kill switch, you should test that too. Disconnect the VPN, then try to access any website using your web browser while connected to the router’s network. If internet access is immediately disabled, the kill switch is working.