EdgeRouter routers with EdgeOS firmware version 2.0.9 and later support long passwords and can be used to establish a connection to our servers using the OpenVPN protocol. If you are using an older version of the firmware, please update it before following this guide. Instructions on how to update the router firmware can be found on the official Ubiquiti website.
Here are the instructions on how to set up an OpenVPN connection to NordVPN servers on EdgeRouter via SSH:
1. Create a new file on your computer and call it "nordvpnauth.txt. "Open it and type in your NordVPN service username in the first line and NordVPN service password in the second line:
username
password
You can find your NordVPN service credentials (service username and service password) in the Nord Account dashboard:
Follow the steps below to find the service credentials for manual connection setup:
-
Log into your Nord Account, click NordVPN, and, under Manual setup, click on Service credentials. Here you'll find the Username and Password needed to connect manually.
2. Go to your NordAccount dashboard to download your manual connection configuration files:
Follow the steps below to find the best server for your connection:
-
Log into your Nord Account, and click NordVPN.
- Scroll down to Advanced Settings and click Set up NordVPN manually.
- Select the Server recommendation tab. According to your location, the best server will be recommended.
-
By pressing Advanced filters you can further customize the recommended servers by selecting the Server type and the Security protocol.
In case you wish to select a specific server, follow these steps:
- Under Set up NordVPN manually, select OpenVPN configuration files.
- Find the server you wish to connect to by using the Search bar or by scrolling down and download it by clicking Download UDP or Download TCP.
3. Open the downloaded server configuration file (for example, “de978.nordvpn.com.udp1194.ovpn”) and make the following changes:
Your configured file should look like this:
client dev tun proto udp remote 5.180.62.90 1194 resolv-retry infinite remote-random nobind tun-mtu 1500 tun-mtu-extra 32 mssfix 1450 persist-key persist-tun ping 15 ping-restart 0 ping-timer-rem reneg-sec 0 comp-lzo no remote-cert-tls server auth-user-pass /config/openvpn/nordvpnauth.txt route-nopull verb 3 pull fast-io cipher AES-256-CBC auth SHA512 <ca> -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- MIIFCjCCAvKgAwIBAgIBATANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQ0FADA5MQswCQYDVQQGEwJQQTEQ MA4GA1UEChMHTm9yZFZQTjEYMBYGA1UEAxMPTm9yZFZQTiBSb290IENBMB4XDTE2 MDEwMTAwMDAwMFoXDTM1MTIzMTIzNTk1OVowOTELMAkGA1UEBhMCUEExEDAOBgNV BAoTB05vcmRWUE4xGDAWBgNVBAMTD05vcmRWUE4gUm9vdCBDQTCCAiIwDQYJKoZI hvcNAQEBBQADggIPADCCAgoCggIBAMkr/BYhyo0F2upsIMXwC6QvkZps3NN2/eQF kfQIS1gql0aejsKsEnmY0Kaon8uZCTXPsRH1gQNgg5D2gixdd1mJUvV3dE3y9FJr XMoDkXdCGBodvKJyU6lcfEVF6/UxHcbBguZK9UtRHS9eJYm3rpL/5huQMCppX7kU eQ8dpCwd3iKITqwd1ZudDqsWaU0vqzC2H55IyaZ/5/TnCk31Q1UP6BksbbuRcwOV skEDsm6YoWDnn/IIzGOYnFJRzQH5jTz3j1QBvRIuQuBuvUkfhx1FEwhwZigrcxXu MP+QgM54kezgziJUaZcOM2zF3lvrwMvXDMfNeIoJABv9ljw969xQ8czQCU5lMVmA 37ltv5Ec9U5hZuwk/9QO1Z+d/r6Jx0mlurS8gnCAKJgwa3kyZw6e4FZ8mYL4vpRR hPdvRTWCMJkeB4yBHyhxUmTRgJHm6YR3D6hcFAc9cQcTEl/I60tMdz33G6m0O42s Qt/+AR3YCY/RusWVBJB/qNS94EtNtj8iaebCQW1jHAhvGmFILVR9lzD0EzWKHkvy WEjmUVRgCDd6Ne3eFRNS73gdv/C3l5boYySeu4exkEYVxVRn8DhCxs0MnkMHWFK6 MyzXCCn+JnWFDYPfDKHvpff/kLDobtPBf+Lbch5wQy9quY27xaj0XwLyjOltpiST LWae/Q4vAgMBAAGjHTAbMAwGA1UdEwQFMAMBAf8wCwYDVR0PBAQDAgEGMA0GCSqG SIb3DQEBDQUAA4ICAQC9fUL2sZPxIN2mD32VeNySTgZlCEdVmlq471o/bDMP4B8g nQesFRtXY2ZCjs50Jm73B2LViL9qlREmI6vE5IC8IsRBJSV4ce1WYxyXro5rmVg/ k6a10rlsbK/eg//GHoJxDdXDOokLUSnxt7gk3QKpX6eCdh67p0PuWm/7WUJQxH2S DxsT9vB/iZriTIEe/ILoOQF0Aqp7AgNCcLcLAmbxXQkXYCCSB35Vp06u+eTWjG0/ pyS5V14stGtw+fA0DJp5ZJV4eqJ5LqxMlYvEZ/qKTEdoCeaXv2QEmN6dVqjDoTAo k0t5u4YRXzEVCfXAC3ocplNdtCA72wjFJcSbfif4BSC8bDACTXtnPC7nD0VndZLp +RiNLeiENhk0oTC+UVdSc+n2nJOzkCK0vYu0Ads4JGIB7g8IB3z2t9ICmsWrgnhd NdcOe15BincrGA8avQ1cWXsfIKEjbrnEuEk9b5jel6NfHtPKoHc9mDpRdNPISeVa wDBM1mJChneHt59Nh8Gah74+TM1jBsw4fhJPvoc7Atcg740JErb904mZfkIEmojC VPhBHVQ9LHBAdM8qFI2kRK0IynOmAZhexlP/aT/kpEsEPyaZQlnBn3An1CRz8h0S PApL8PytggYKeQmRhl499+6jLxcZ2IegLfqq41dzIjwHwTMplg+1pKIOVojpWA== -----END CERTIFICATE----- </ca> key-direction 1 <tls-auth> # # 2048 bit OpenVPN static key # -----BEGIN OpenVPN Static key V1----- e685bdaf659a25a200e2b9e39e51ff03 0fc72cf1ce07232bd8b2be5e6c670143 f51e937e670eee09d4f2ea5a6e4e6996 5db852c275351b86fc4ca892d78ae002 d6f70d029bd79c4d1c26cf14e9588033 cf639f8a74809f29f72b9d58f9b8f5fe fc7938eade40e9fed6cb92184abb2cc1 0eb1a296df243b251df0643d53724cdb 5a92a1d6cb817804c4a9319b57d53be5 80815bcfcb2df55018cc83fc43bc7ff8 2d51f9b88364776ee9d12fc85cc7ea5b 9741c4f598c485316db066d52db4540e 212e1518a9bd4828219e24b20d88f598 a196c9de96012090e333519ae18d3509 9427e7b372d348d352dc4c85e18cd4b9 3f8a56ddb2e64eb67adfc9b337157ff4 -----END OpenVPN Static key V1----- </tls-auth>
4. Now, access your EdgeMax router via SSH:
5. Then perform these commands:
sudo -i
cd /config/
mkdir openvpn
chmod 770 openvpn
6. If you're using Linux, disconnect from SSH and copy the created “nordvpnauth.txt” and the downloaded “.ovpn” (in this case “de978.nordvpn.com.udp.ovpn”) files into your EdgeMax router's “/config/openvpn” directory via SCP:
scp nordvpnauth.txt ubnt@routersIPaddress:/config/openvpn
scp de978.nordvpn.com.udp1194.ovpn ubnt@routersIPaddress:/config/openvpn
To copy these files into the EdgeRouter while using Windows, upload them via SFTP. The default port for the SFTP connection is 22:
7. Use SSH again to connect to your router and run the following commands (adjusting some lines according to your network and file names):
configure
set interfaces openvpn vtun0 config-file /config/openvpn/de978.nordvpn.com.udp.ovpn
set interfaces openvpn vtun0 description 'OpenVPN VPN tunnel'
commit
set service nat rule 5000 description 'OpenVPN Clients'
set service nat rule 5000 log disable
set service nat rule 5000 outbound-interface vtun0
set service nat rule 5000 source address 192.168.1.0/24
set service nat rule 5000 type masquerade
commit
set protocols static table 1 interface-route 0.0.0.0/0 next-hop-interface vtun0
set firewall modify SOURCE_ROUTE rule 10 description 'traffic from 192.168.1.0/24 to vtun0'
set firewall modify SOURCE_ROUTE rule 10 source address 192.168.1.0/24
set firewall modify SOURCE_ROUTE rule 10 modify table 1
set interfaces ethernet eth1 firewall in modify SOURCE_ROUTE
commit
save
Note: The last command can also be “ethernet eth2,” depending on which slot is used for the LAN cable, or “switch switch0” if you are using a switch interface.
If you are using a different subnet (or want to set up the connection for specific devices only), modify 192.168.1.0/24 on all lines to your values.
8. To check the connection log, type in:
run show log
Scroll down until you see “Initialization sequence completed.” That means your router has successfully connected to our service. You can also check our “What is my IP?” page to see if you are connected to NordVPN.
Additional notes:
- Change the line “auth-user-pass” to “auth-user-pass /config/openvpn/nordvpnauth.txt” (without the quotation marks.)
- After “auth-user-pass /config/openvpn/nordvpnauth.txt,” insert a new line with “route-nopull” (again, without the quotation marks.)
- Save the file.
- For UNIX-like machines, use the command “ssh ubnt@routersIPaddress” (no quotation marks) and enter your EdgeRouter password.
- For Windows devices, download this app.
- To disable a VPN, use the following commands:
configure
set interfaces openvpn vtun0 disable
commit
save - To re-enable a VPN after disabling it, use the following commands:
configure
delete interfaces openvpn vtun0 disable
commit
save - To change your VPN server, simply upload a new file to your router (as described in step 6) and use the following commands:
configure
set interfaces openvpn vtun0 config-file /config/openvpn/new_file.ovpn
commit
save
