How to set up Surfshark VPN on an AsusWRT router

In this tutorial, you will learn how to configure the Surfshark VPN tunnel on your AsusWRT router.

To proceed, you need a router with AsusWRT firmware and an active Surfshark subscription. You can find the available plans on Surfshark’s pricing page.

NOTE: If you have updated your Asus router's firmware and have VPN Fusion instead of VPN Client available, set up OpenVPN on Asus VPN Fusion or set up WireGuard on Asus VPN Fusion.

Here are the AsusWRT VPN connection steps that we will go through:

1. Get your credentials
2. Choose a Surfshark server
3. Configure the AsusWRT OpenVPN client
4. Ensure your connection is successful

Get your credentials

NOTE: These are not your regular credentials, such as your email and password.

1. Enter the Surfshark login page and log in. Then, click on VPN > Manual Setup > Router > OpenVPN to generate your credentials.
   
   
   

2. Once there, make sure that you are in the Credentials tab and click on Generate credentials.
   
   NOTE: Keep this tab open as we'll need it later.

   

Choose a Surfshark server

1. Open the same page on another browser tab, go to the Locations tab, and locate the server that you wish to connect to.
   
   
   
2. Click on the download icon to the right of the server name and click on Download UDP. 
    

Configure the AsusWRT OpenVPN client

1. Connect to the Control panel of your Asus router. You can access it by entering your Default Gateway address into your browser's URL address bar. By default, it usually is 192.168.1.1

2. You will see the login prompt. If you have never configured your router before, know that the credentials should be admin/admin or admin without a password. You can also check the back of your router for the default credentials.


3. When logged in to the Control panel, you should see the VPN tab in the left sidebar.

4. Select VPN Client in the VPN tab.


5. Click on the Add profile button at the bottom.


6. Select the OpenVPN tab and enter the following:

7. Add a configuration file of the server you'd like to connect to. Click Choose File. A prompt will appear asking you to select the configuration file you want to use.


8. Select the directory that you have downloaded the configuration files to and then click Open. If you have a .ovpn file, select that.


9. After selecting the configuration file, click Upload, and you should see a message stating Complete if it was successful.


10. Now, click the OK button. Import the CA file or edit the .ovpn file manually option should be left unticked.

11. You should see a new connection set up. Click on the Activate button to connect your router to a Surfshark server.

NOTE: You can only create one VPN connection at a time. If you'd like to have another connection configured, you should add another VPN profile (you will see a button for that).


12. After a successful connection, a blue checkmark should appear in the Connection Status column.

Ensure the connection is successful

We always recommend checking if Surfshark VPN is working after setting it up for the first time. You can easily do it by performing Surfshark IP leak test and a DNS leak test. For your convenience, both are available on our website.

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