Trying to get OpenVpn to work Using Asus RT-N66U Router with Netgear MR1100 Hotspot

wilddog

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Trying to get OpenVpn to work Using Asus RT-N66U Router with Netgear Mr1100 Hotspot. I can connect the RT-N66u with the MR1100 Nighthawk with an ethernet cable and access the internet thru the Rt-N66u wireless. This part seems to work fine. But when I try to set up OpenVpn on the Rt-N66U I cannot access the router from the outside via the internet using openvpn. It never connects. There is a note in the Rt-N66U setup page that says that portforwarding needs to be setup with the hotspot. How to set up VPN server with port forwarding? | Official Support | ASUS Global. I did this, but the note is still there. And I edited the client file as the instructions said. I also tried to change to bridge mode, access point mode, and repeater point mode, but Openvpn option does not appear in the RT-N66U setup pages in any of these modes. I can't figure out what settings must changed to make OpenVpn work in this configuration. Any ideas are appreciated.
 

wilddog

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on the MR1100 I did what the document said, I set port forwarding to the ip address of the router, in this case 192.168.2.1, port 1194, protocal UDP. I also tried turning IP passthrough on and off but it didn't help. I updated the firm ware on both devices too. DHCP is set to on, on the MR1100.
 

civic17

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You are using OpenVPN client on phone/laptop accessing the IP of the hotspot right and not 192.168.2.1 ?
 

wilddog

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You are using OpenVPN client on phone/laptop accessing the IP of the hotspot right and not 192.168.2.1 ?
yes, i'm using my phone accessing thru my data plan. i have another openvpn setup in different location that is working fine except it has a wired internet connection, using the same phone ect.
 

wilddog

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What port forwarding did you setup on the MR1100?

on the MR1100 I did what the document said, I set port forwarding to the ip address of the router, in this case 192.168.2.1, port 1194, protocal UDP. I also tried turning IP passthrough on and off but it didn't help. I updated the firm ware on both devices too. DHCP is set to on, on the MR1100.
 

MakeItRain

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Ditch the Asus router's VPN and just buy a $30 raspberry pi and run Open VPN on that. Problem solved. That's what I've been doing for over a year now. Or you can buy a Edgerouter ERX.
 

civic17

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Check the logs in the openvpn client and openvpn server for any clues?
 

SouthernYankee

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I do not think the DDNS for asus will work behind a the first router.

Try entering your physical external network address in the phone app.
On the asus router is the true external address displayed ?
is the first router firewall blocking the DDNS update from the asus router to Auscomm ?
 

mikeynags

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I do not think the DDNS for asus will work behind a the first router.

Try entering your physical external network address in the phone app.
On the asus router is the true external address displayed ?
is the first router firewall blocking the DDNS update from the asus router to Auscomm ?
Specifying the IP address should get you around the DDNS issue and should connect if the forwarding is done correctly. The IP forward from the MR1100 should be forwarding to the external interface of the ASUS correct?
 

wilddog

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I do not think the DDNS for asus will work behind a the first router.

Try entering your physical external network address in the phone app.
On the asus router is the true external address displayed ?
is the first router firewall blocking the DDNS update from the asus router to Auscomm ?
Specifying the IP address should get you around the DDNS issue and should connect if the forwarding is done correctly. The IP forward from the MR1100 should be forwarding to the external interface of the ASUS correct?
Check the logs in the openvpn client and openvpn server for any clues?
I spent the last 2 days changing settings on both devices. I have reset to factory settings and started over but still nothing seems to get it to work. It gets down to this msg in the rt-n66u "This router may be in the multiple-NAT environment and DDNS service cannot work in this environment." It also says it has a private IP address which I cannot figure out. I tried turning NAT off and on but nothing changed except I lost internet access. Really I've turned everything on and off. I did the port forwarding as explained in that doc I mentioned in my first post but that didn't make any difference. When I hook these two together I can access the internet just fine thru the router using the hotspot internet, but when I try to set the openvpn it will not do it because of this private IP problem. I am beginning to think I should ditch the MR1100 and look for a different hotspot to use to access the internet. That's what I am trying accomplish anyway since there is no wired service at this location it has to be a hotspot that will work with a router that I can setup openvpn on. Thank you guys for helping with this, if you have any ideas I'd appreciate it.
 

SouthernYankee

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why not put the asus first then the MR1100. What is the MR110 providing that the ASUS is not providing ?
 

wilddog

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why not put the asus first then the MR1100. What is the MR110 providing that the ASUS is not providing ?
The Mr1100 hotspot is my only access to the internet, the asus has no internet without it. If only I had a hotspot that would do it all, including support openvpn then I would be golden. It would have to work on att though too.
 

civic17

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You need to on the MR1100 port forward 1194 to the IP that MR1100 handed out to the Asus router. It is probably not 192.168.2.1 . 192.168.2.1 is the IP on the local interface for you to access the Asus when you connect devices to it. Easiest way is to log into the MR1100 and see what clients are connected and what IP it is.

Forget the DDNS for now. Use the public IP on the MR1100 in OPENVPN to connect.
 

wilddog

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You need to on the MR1100 port forward 1194 to the IP that MR1100 handed out to the Asus router. It is probably not 192.168.2.1 . 192.168.2.1 is the IP on the local interface for you to access the Asus when you connect devices to it. Easiest way is to log into the MR1100 and see what clients are connected and what IP it is.

Forget the DDNS for now. Use the public IP on the MR1100 in OPENVPN to connect.
Yes, the IP of the router is 192.168.1.79, how it got that I don't know, but that is what I put in the port forwarding with port 1194, however it still says the router has a private IP address and still will not work. I feel like I'm am missing something here. I tried to set up port forwarding going both ways but that seemed to cause more problems. It seems the MR1100 will not let the router have a public IP address or let one be assigned to it. I don't see a way to do what you recommend: "Use the public IP on the MR1100 in OPENVPN to connect."
 

wilddog

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Yes, the IP of the router is 192.168.1.79, how it got that I don't know, but that is what I put in the port forwarding with port 1194, however it still says the router has a private IP address and still will not work. I feel like I'm am missing something here. I tried to set up port forwarding going both ways but that seemed to cause more problems. It seems the MR1100 will not let the router have a public IP address or let one be assigned to it. I don't see a way to do what you recommend: "Use the public IP on the MR1100 in OPENVPN to connect."
I forgot to mention that I thought the IP pastthrough function on the MR1100 would take care of this, but apparently it doesn't work that way.
 

wilddog

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I spent the last 2 days changing settings on both devices. I have reset to factory settings and started over but still nothing seems to get it to work. It gets down to this msg in the rt-n66u "This router may be in the multiple-NAT environment and DDNS service cannot work in this environment." It also says it has a private IP address which I cannot figure out. I tried turning NAT off and on but nothing changed except I lost internet access. Really I've turned everything on and off. I did the port forwarding as explained in that doc I mentioned in my first post but that didn't make any difference. When I hook these two together I can access the internet just fine thru the router using the hotspot internet, but when I try to set the openvpn it will not do it because of this private IP problem. I am beginning to think I should ditch the MR1100 and look for a different hotspot to use to access the internet. That's what I am trying accomplish anyway since there is no wired service at this location it has to be a hotspot that will work with a router that I can setup openvpn on. Thank you guys for helping with this, if you have any ideas I'd appreciate it.
I just noticed that everytime I turn off or reset the MR1100 hotstop I get a new public IP, so I may not be able to make it work right? Would OpenVpn ever be able to find the router if the IP address changes? So, if for some reason the system reset itself the MR1100 would wind up with a new IP and I would not be able access the camera system. If OpenVpn can't find it again, then I may be wasting my time with this.
 

SouthernYankee

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Wilddog

Power cycling the router or modem on some networks will cause you to get a new IP address, this is normal behavior.

Have you placed the MR1100 in passthrough mode, so all it is is a modem, it provides no addition capabilities, no wifi no nothing except data to the asus router.

Also I am surprised that the cell service provides a IPV4 address.
 

wilddog

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Wilddog

Power cycling the router or modem on some networks will cause you to get a new IP address, this is normal behavior.

Have you placed the MR1100 in passthrough mode, so all it is is a modem, it provides no addition capabilities, no wifi no nothing except data to the asus router.

Also I am surprised that the cell service provides a IPV4 address.
Yes, passthrough mode doesn't seem to work. And it turns off the wifi and esentially works like a modem except that the public Ip doesn't show up at the router. The router still has the same private IP it had before. I see several posts online that the MR1100 had this problem but I also found some people that said it could not be worked around easily. The firm ware is up to date. And there is only IPV4 no IPV6 available. I tried several combinations inside the router even tried setting a static IP address but nothing works. The MR1100 isn't letting the public IP thru it seems. I am about ready to just buy some other hotspot or something if I can find one that will work so if you have any suggestions I appreciate knowing them.
 
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