@ed50 

 

Here is a FAQ on setting up OpenVPN for a Mac, UI may be different, but the process should still be the same.

 

https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/1238/

@Tony 

Thanks so much. This was very helpful, much appreciated! I was able to download Tunnnelblick and set up the VPN.

 

One follow up to this. However, after setting it up, my IP address remains unchanged even after connecting and confirming VPN connection. Isnt the IP address supposed to change?

 

The Tunnelblick log literally has the last line with "This computer's apparent public IP address (XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX) remains unchanged after the connection was made."

@ed50 

 

Your IP should reflect what was configured in the VPN section of the router. If you tried to make the VPN subnet the same as your LAN the router should throw an error so your IP should be different.

 

Rather then the client you are using have you tried to use the OpenVPN client?

@Tony 

Thank you for your continued responses, I find this more informative than most user guides and sense more progress. 

 

When I check the LAN settings, and the VPN Subnet/Netmask the addresses are the same. Should the address for the VPN Subnet/Netmask be changed? Or the LAN address?

 

I have tried OpenVPN client, and it fails to connect despite being able to export a configuration file. It does list the same IP address that remains unchanged for my Mac. Which means its the LAN address being the same as the VPN Subnet?

@ed50 

 

Say the TP-Link router is running: 

 

LAN IP: 192.168.0.1

Subnet: 255.255.255.0

 

Your OpenVPN setup would be something like:

 

 

So when you Mac connects it should get an IP of: 10.8.0.x

Whenyou are on your PC and in a browser, what does a site like https://www.ipaddress.com/ show as your IP both with and without VPN. (do not post it. just tell us if it is the same or different).

@ArcherC8 

Its the same

I would have expected different IP. I use a device based VPN and not a router based VPN as my current router does not support a VPN. Because mine is device based VPN, I can not see if the IP address changes in my router settings. Without a VPN, your message is sent with your IP address and other information to the ISP whose servers pass it out to the internet and on to the site to be processed. The receiving site has your IP address so it knows where to return the message. It returns the data requested to your ISP and on to your modem, router and to your computer based on the IP address. When you add a VPN to the mix, your computer/device or your router will encrypt the entire message and sent it to the VPN server address, not the address you requested. The VPN server receives the message, un-encryptes it, and passes your request on using the VPN server's IP address. The site you sent it to does not have your IP address, just the VPN server's IP address. When the site replies, it is sent to the VPN server, the VPN server encrypts the message, and appends it to your real IP address so it can be routed to your computer via your ISP, modem, and router. The IP address between the router and the ISP will be the same whether you use a VPN or not because that is how the ISP connects to your modem/router. When you look at the settings in your router, I would think you would always see the public IP between the router and ISP (VPN or not). I would not think the router would go out to some site to see what your outside public IP is. However, if you look at the IPv6 or IPv4 address the receiving web site gets using one of the many web site tools, it will show the VPN server's IP address when using a VPN.

@ed50 

 

I removed the post that had your IP, just for safety, but I was able to see what may be going on.

 

I think the issue is how the OpenVPN works on the router.

 

When you set up the OpenVPN connection on the TP-Link router that it is only meant to have the ability for a remote device to connect to your router securely. So to connect from the outside in. 

What the OpenVPN server on the router does not do is to provide a VPN connection to client devices that are connected to it to the outside world. So say you connect your computer to the TP-Link via OpenVPN, you are just connecting to the router, that's where the VPN stops. You can browse to the internet but it will be as if you are physically near the router and browsing the internet. That is why you still have the same WAN IP.

 

If you wanted a computer that is connected to the TP-Link router to have its connection encrypted to the internet then you would use a third party or subscribe to a third-party VPN service like NordVPN for example. You would then run the VPN client software on the computer, the router will not do anything but pass the VPN connection through. and your client device will then have a different IP for itself.

 

To summarize, the router VPN is to provide an encrypted connection to it only, not to the internet so you can browse anonymously.

Hi @Tony 

 

Thank you for your continued responses and diligence to solving the problem. I thought it may have been unwise to include screenshots of the IP address immediately after I posted it, so thank you for addressing that. 

 

I do believe I understand what you mean. I have a subscription to Nord VPN IKE for my Mac & iPhone, as well as my spouses. It works on those devices, but does slow down the loading of certain webpages. The main impetus to have a VPN was to create a secure environment for the numerous devices that connect via WiFi to the router(content streaming devices, smart TV, WiFi printer, smartphones, nanny cameras, etc) and to encrypt senstivie data while connected to the internet as well. Both are of equal importance. 

 

To summarize, should I attempt to use the Nord VPN IKE applications, as well as OpenVPN together? I still have trouble getting the OpenVPN Connect application to actually manage the router connection on my Mac. But Nord VPN IKE works as is, on laptop or smartphone, seamlessly. That alone would grant encryption on laptops & smartphones while connected to the internet wherever they are, but not the numerous other WiFi devices behind the router. I'd really prefer to have the router VPN to secure the other devices.