A router with Merlin build firmware can also be configured to connect to a VPN connection. To configure the router with the desired firmware, you need to access the web interface of the router, which can be accessed by entering the address “192.168.1.1” in the address bar of your internet browser. However, if you already have a router, which is already using the address mentioned above, the default address for the Asus router will change to “192.168.2.1”. After logging in to the web interface of your Merlin based router, you need to follow the steps mentioned below:
- From the options given on the left side of the screen, move to the ‘WAN’ tab and select the “Internet Connection” option. This will display you a form that you need to fill in the desired values to configure the router for the desired connection.
- Select the value “Automatic Type” for the ‘WAN connection type’ field and then enable the next options labeled ‘Enable WAN’, ‘Enable NAT’, ‘Enable UPnP’ by selecting the option “yes” for each.
- Set the ‘Internal Port range’ from “1024 to 65535” and the ‘external port range’ from “1 to 65535”.
- Select the value ‘No’ for ‘connect to DNS server automatically’, after which you need to enter the desired values for the fields “DNS Server1” and “DNS Server2”.
- In the next field, enter the desired value for ‘MTU’ and select “None” for ‘Authentication’ field.
- Leave the fields named ‘Host Name’ and ‘MAC Address’ empty and select the option “Aggressive Mode” for ‘DHCP query frequency’. Now, click on the ‘Apply button to save all the settings and proceed to the next step of configuration.
- You must disable the firewall integrated with the router to avoid any problem with the connection setup, which you can enable again after finishing the configuration. Click on ‘Apply’ button after making necessary changes in the “firewall” tab from the left side menu.
- After making these settings, move to the ‘VPN’ tab from the left side menu and then select the “PPTP/L2TP” option from the tab options displayed at the top.
- Click on the “Add Profile” button to add a new VPN profile within the router.
- Select the ‘L2TP’ option from the top and then enter a desired name for the profile in the ‘Description’ field.
- In the ‘Server’ field, enter the value of the VPN server that you wish to connect through this connection.
- Next, you have the fields named ‘User Name’ and ‘Password’, where you should enter the values for the log in credentials of your VPN service.
- Click on the ‘OK’ button to save these values and proceed with the configuration.
- Now, you will be able to see the profile that you have created in the ‘VPN’ menu, where a ‘Connect’ button is provided to create a connection.
- Click on the ‘Connect’ button to connect to the desired VPN server and hence, surf securely and anonymously.
This guide helps you configure an Asus Merlin router to connect to an L2TP protocol based VPN connection.
| Rank | VPN Provider | Starting Price | Money Back Guarantee |
Visit Provider Site |
| 1 |  |
$6.67/ Month | 30 Days |  |
| 2 |  |
$6.55/ Month | 30 Days | |
| 3 |  |
$10.00/ Month | 7 Days | |
| 4 |  |
$21/ 3 Months | 7 Days | |
| 5 |
 |
$14.95/Month | 7 Days | |
