OpenVPN & L2TP Clients Setup for ASUSWRT-MERLIN Router

This guide provides a detailed walkthrough on how to configure L2TP and OpenVPN clients on your ASUS router flashed with Asuswrt-Merlin firmware. ASUS RT-AC66U_B1 router with Asuswrt-Merlin firmware 384.8_2 was taken as an example. So, how to configure OpenVPN client for Asuswrt-Merlin router? How to setup VPN on Asus router? Let’s check it out!

I. How to configure OpenVPN Client for Asuswrt-Merlin router

II. How to set up L2TP client for Asuswrt-Merlin router

I. How to configure OpenVPN Client for Asuswrt-Merlin router 

1. First of all, you need to generate manual configuration files. To do that, follow a few simple steps outlined in the tutorial about how to manually create VPN configurations.
2. Open the web interface of your Asuswrt-Merlin router in a browser, login to the router control panel, and start setting up a VPN client on your router.
3. Find Advanced Settings in the side menu and go to the VPN tab.

4. Navigate to the VPN Client tab. 

5. Import the .ovpn file you’ve previously generated in your User Office. For that, click Choose File and select the file you want to import. Then, click Upload and wait until the page is refreshed.

After the upload is complete, most of the fields will be filled out automatically. 

6. Enable Automatic start at boot time in the Client control to make our Asus Merlin VPN auto connect on boot. 

7. Proceed to the Network Settings section and find the option Accept DNS Configuration. We recommend setting it either to Strict, so that VPN DNS servers have the priority over those of your ISP, or to Exclusive. In the latter case, only VPN-provided DNS servers will be used.

8. Click Apply at the bottom of the page and wait for a few seconds for the changes to come in force.

9. Navigate to Client control > Service state and enable the Asus Melin VPN connection. The green ON button will indicate that you’ve successfully connected.  

Note: Asuswrt-Merlin firmware allows you to create several VPN client interfaces. To do that, select another client instance in the Client control and complete the same steps for VPN setup.  

Setting up Kill Switch 

OpenVPN client supports Kill Switch. To configure it, follow the steps below.

1. In Advanced Settings > Redirect Internet Traffic select the option Policy Rules.

2. Enable the option Block routed clients if the tunnel goes down. 
3. Configure the Rules for routing client traffic through the tunnel in the following way: 

• Description: All devices
• Source IP: 192.168.1.0/24 (if you have a different network or subnet mask, change it accordingly)
• Destination IP: Leave the field blank
• Iface: VPN

II. How to set up L2TP client for Asuswrt-Merlin router

Asuswrt-Merlin firmware also allows configuring L2TP connection. How to configure our L2TV VPN client? Follow the few simple steps below:

1. Generate L2TP configurations in your User Office following the guide about how to manually create VPN configurations. 
2. Navigate to L2TV VPN > VPN Client tab and click on the PPTP/L2TP button in the top right corner of the tab.

3. Click Add profile. 

4. Complete the fields using the configurations generated in your User Office.
   
   Description: Type a custom name for the VPN connection
   VPN Server: Enter the domain name of the selected VPN server 
   User Name: Enter the login from the generated VPN configurations
   Password: Paste the password from the VPN configurations   
   
   Once completed, click OK. 

5. The profile will appear in the Asuswrt VPN Server List. Click Activate to enable the connection. 

Bottom line on setting up VPN for Asus router 

That’s it! We hope that our tutorial has helped you and know you will easily setup our VPN on Asuswrt-Merlin router. If you need to set up VPN on other devices, check out our manuals section for the relevant guides.