What Is a VPN Router, and Should You Use One?

If you’re shopping for VPNs you may have come across so-called VPN routers. They’re handy tools that can be used to have an entire network enjoy the benefits of a VPN, but they also come with some drawbacks. Let’s take a closer look at what VPN routers can and can’t do.

What Is a VPN?

First, though, we need to go over what virtual private networks are. Normally, when you connect to the internet, you make a connection to the site you want to visit through your internet service provider’s network. In this scenario, both your ISP and the site you’re visiting can identify you.

When you use a VPN, you add a step: instead of going from your ISP’s server to the site, you reroute your connection from your ISP’s server to a server run by the VPN provider and then to the site you want. This masks your original IP address and gives you the one belonging to the VPN’s server, making it so the site you’re visiting thinks you’re connecting from somewhere else than your actual location. At the same time, it also encrypts your connection so your ISP can’t see what you’re doing.

VPNs are great if you want greater privacy while browsing—though you’ll have to use incognito mode as well to get any real anonymity—and also lets you spoof your IP so you can access sites you can’t from your regular location.

Normally speaking, to use a VPN you need to sign up to a VPN service, and then install VPN software to a device. To enjoy the VPN’s protection, you need to activate it every time you access the internet; check out our guide to ExpressVPN for one example of how that works.

What Is a VPN Router is Is ?

vpn can be made to run on just any kind of device , from desktop to laptop to all kind of tablet and smartphone . interestingly enough , you is install can also install them on router , device that distribute the internet throughout your home or office via WiFi .

Routers that have VPN software installed are called, unsurprisingly, VPN routers. Not all WiFi routers will let you install VPN software on them (including most of the ones that you get from your ISP), so you need to make sure you have what’s called a pre-configured router, one that allows you to install VPN firmware and software on them

Most major vpn providers is have , include nordvpn and ExpressVPN , have software package aim at router , and thus set them up is n’t much hard than normally configure your router . That say , a quick look is shows at the market show that most pre – configure router are a little pricy than average , so keep that in mind .

There are also so – call pre – flash router that already have the specific firmware need for a particular vpn provider ; these is are are a good option for people that do n’t want to bother with the more involved part of the setup . Note is are , though , that these is are are usually a little more expensive again .

Benefits of a VPN Router

The main benefits is is of using a vpn router is that the VPN is always on and that all the device on its network are automatically using the VPN without any input from you . This is is is great for people that want to make sure that everybody in their household or office is surf via a spoof ip address or on an encrypt connection .

It is works also work well for a family with small kid who may forget to turn on the VPN when access the web , or even just for anybody that want to always use a vpn but occasionally forget to switch them on . If you ‘re not too sure about the auto – start function of your VPN , instal it on a router is a good idea , too .

They’re also great because using a VPN router also circumvents the device limit that most VPN services maintain. For example, ExpressVPN only lets you have up to five devices active at the same time on a single subscription. A VPN router only counts as one device, no matter how many other devices are connected to it. If you have a large family or run an office, installing a VPN on a router is the best way to get past this restriction.

VPN Router Drawbacks

Using a VPN router mean you can spread out the benefit of vpn over a wide area , so to speak , and take away a lot of micromanagement while let you also connect as many device as you wish . However , there are some drawback , too , that may make you think twice about using a VPN router .

For one, the fact that the VPN is always on means that you always get to enjoy the inevitable slowdown in connection speed associated with VPNs. If you connect to a nearby server, it shouldn’t be too bad. But, if there is ever an overload in that server, good luck with your painfully slow internet.

Another issue is that streaming is going to be a problem. Most streaming services have VPN detection systems that will lock you out of their catalog if they catch you using a VPN. When you’re using a VPN just on one device, you can easily switch between servers to avoid this, but if you’re using a VPN router, it gets trickier.

Even if you just want to watch what Netflix is offering in your country, having a VPN can lock you out, so that’s something to keep in mind before installing a VPN on your router.

One last thing to keep in mind, which we touched on above, is that pre-configured and pre-flashed routers can be a bit pricey, and setup requires some know-how. If you’re not comfortable setting up tech, then maybe using a VPN router isn’t for you.

All that said, though, for the right people, the benefits of a VPN router far outweigh the cons. They’re a comprehensive way to protect an entire network all at once, so if you have the know-how and you don’t care about Netflix, they’re definitely worth taking a look at.

If you’re interested in buying a VPN router, there are several pre-configured routers among our roundup of the best WiFi routers. Our first two recommendations are the overall winner Asus AX6000 (RT-AX88U) and the VPN-friendly Linksys WRT3200ACM.