Step-by-step guide
- Go to https://www.hotspotshield.com/ and click on Account. Sign in if you’re asked.
- Go to https://hotspotshield.aura.com/app/hotspotshield/router
Select location and pick the virtual location that the router will use. Now click on “Download file.” The configuration file (config.ovpn) will be downloaded to your computer. (Note where the file will be located, as you will need this later).
- In the separate browser window, sign in to the Control Panel of your router. For most routers, you’ll want to enter 192.168.1.1 in the address bar or refer to your router documentation for your router’s address.
Note: The user name and password for your router are different from the credentials you obtained from the Hotspot Shield account page. - Navigate to the Setup tab and disable IPV6.
- Click Save and then click Apply Settings.
- Select the Services tab then the VPN tab
-
Enable OpenVPN Client and make sure that OpenVPN Server/Daemon is disabled.
OpenVPN Client settings menu will appear after it is enabled and you will perform the following operations: - Remember the configuration file (config.ovpn)? Open it in a text editor.
- Copy server name (after remote …… .us) from the config.ovpn file and paste it into the Server IP/Name field
- Enter the following information into the router:
- Enter 8041 into the Port field
- Tunnel Device = TUN
- Tunnel Protocol = UDP
- Encryption Cipher = AES-256 CBC
- Hash Algorithm = SHA256
- Enable User Pass Authentication
- Go back to the Router Account page (https://hotspotshield.aura.com/app/hotspotshield/router) and copy the username and password.
- Then paste it into the username field in the router.
- Enable Advanced Options and make sure that:
- TLS Cipher = None;
- LZO Compression = No
- NAT = enabled;
- Firewall Protection = enabled;
- IP Address and Subnet Mask are blank;
- Tunnel MTU settings = 1500
- Tunnel UDP Fragment is blank;
- In the Additional Config field, copy/paste the following (make sure you change server_name into the name of your actual server):
verify-x509-name server_name name
resolv-retry infinite
remote-random
nobind
tun-mtu 1500
tun-mtu-extra 32
mssfix 1450
persist-key
persist-tun
ping 15
ping-restart 0
reneg-sec 0
remote-cert-tls server
comp-noadapt - Open configuration file, copy the section between <ca> </ca> tags (do not copy <ca> tags) and paste into CA Cert field.
- Copy the section between <cert> </cert> tags from config file into the Public Client Cert field
- Copy the section between <key> </key> tags from config file into the Private Client Key field
- Click Save and then Click Apply Settings
- To verify connection, go to Status -> OpenVPN tab and make sure that client is listed as Connected Success under State.
Note: To double-verify if your VPN connection is established, go to https://whatismyipaddress.com or http://www.findipinfo.com/ and check if your IP address is different from your default IP that’s provided by your ISP
Disconnecting from Virtual Location
When you want to disconnect from the VPN service, you can log in to the Control Panel of your router and click the Deactivate button in the VPN Server list.
Troubleshooting
When you enable the VPN but for some reason VPN cannot connect to the server, there will be no Internet in your network. Some of the reasons the VPN might not be able to establish a successful connection are:
- Your ISP does not allow VPN to be enabled (leased equipment, firewall, etc.)
- Your Premium subscription has ended
- Our server is temporarily unavailable for a particular virtual location
Please, contact our customer support team to help you troubleshoot connection issues.
Restore your previous settings
If you need to turn off the VPN, go back to the Control Panel on the router and select the Services tab and then the VPN tab. Disable the VPN client.
