Live in UK.
Current provider is Virgin Media.
If I fork out for a compatible router which supports VPN config on it, modem the isp given router/modem to modem only mode and put the vpn router as the main unit for the house (WiFi access, connected lan etc…) and associate Proton VPN to it and use it on random non uk servers (anything not eu), I have two questions:
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In the house we use on demand tv services such as Netflix, STV player, iPlayer, you get the idea - some of these services are Geo locked to the UK. If the router has a vpn config for Proton VPN and traffic goes through that, how will I be affected?
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I sometimes work from home for my work place, having this vpn should not be an issue?
If you use a VPN, you should not expect Netflix or any streaming service to work. BBC iPlayer is particularly heavy handed with IP bans. I’ve never used a VPN where iPlayer did not already have a ban in plane.
With my Asus router I can configure which devices I want to go through my Proton VPN, so you could exclude your work laptop. The speed gets cut to about 200mpbs down going through a nearby router, and some of my smart stuff apparently doesn’t like going through the VPN. I haven’t tried streaming through a foreign to me (non-US) router, but Netflix and Amazon worked in a brief test. Still a work in progress for me.
If you have the time to learn, Mikrotik would be real powerful in this situation
If you are sourcing a router, make sure you get one that allow you to assign VPN to specific device on the LAN. That way your can configure your computer to route through VPN, while leaving your TV to go out without it.
i did this exactly what you want to do.
the router doesn’t really matter in all honesty, all you need to do is get a router that supports openwrt or ddwrt i use lynksys wrt3200acm.
openwrt firmware allows you to configure vlan tagging and install several services to configure the vpn such as policy based routing where you can tell which devices goes through the vpn and which doesn’t
you can simply apply the wireguard configuration or openvpn configuration and you are set all your devices are connected to the vpn. if you choose to.
now you say you want to connect to random non-uk server but you use uk based services… that is going to pose a problem indeed
if you were to connect to an UK server and open iplayer it would work (as long as you are subscribed and use a 'plus server. if you connect to a random server in argentina or ecuador or anywhere where iplayer is not available then it will not work but that is unrelated to the vpn
for netflix you could be able to connect as netflix is available almost everywhere but the catch is that netflix has this anti password sharing policy and if you connect to an ip far from where you got the service or far from where you payment card is, you will get an error saying you are only able to connect from your own household. again that is netflix problem and not the vpn’s per se.
As from work… that is corporate policy it depends on your sysadmins if they allow foreign ip to connect to their network…you can ask your helpdesk. I work in IT and i know that ip that are outside the immediate vicinity are blocked unless you ask an exception to HR. they don’t want to go pretend to wfh from south africa or brazil…
If you use a VPN on your router, all of your devices will look like they are in the same place as the VPN server. If the VPN server is not in the UK, you might not be able to access geo-locked content like iPlayer. If you want to watch those services, you’d have to switch to a VPN server in the UK. It should be fine to work from home, but some places of business may block VPN data or certain IP ranges. Before you use a VPN, you should check with your company’s IT policy to see if it will affect your ability to get to work tools.
See, that’s wrong, cos I connect to UK servers and watch iPlayer from abroad all the time… I literally did it last night from Thailand.
it works if you subscribe to protonvpn and use plus servers they have:
https://protonvpn.com/support/get-started/streaming-guides
and if doesn’t work support can help… it may be your a leaking dns or a router is misconfigured.
What router would you suggest that can carry out such task?
Then it’s just a matter of time.
I’ve used multiple VPN companies, multiple servers. This just never works.
I have Proton configured over Wireguard using cloudflared to prevent DNS leaks, which I’ve verified. Not misconfigured.
Every time I’ve tried to use it it’s blocked. So I gave up trying. Maybe their latest batch of IPs aren’t blocked, but they will be in time.
You may consider the GL.INET series of router. Personally I use Firewalla.
yes its leaking if you use cloudflare… i been there, done that. somehow it doesnt work unless you use proton’s own dns server or…use the app if you cannot/ do not want to change your cloudflare settings
you shouldn’t touch the setting from the wireguard.conf that you download from proton. I have test extensively.
tes with the app and you will see it works… i stream max, prime video, disney+ paramount+ connected from europe/asia/usa, to colombia as its there i created my accounts no issue whatsoever.
I use a nvidia shield btw
if a service that proton say doesn’t work, indeed doesn’t they will assist you… basically they check ip,me output, dnsleaktest.com basic test and if all is okay they ask you to test using the app 99.999% of the time it doesn’t work it works using their app…
I mean a selling point of their vpn is streaming if an ip is blocked hey add a new one and so on until eternity…
the hiccup of wireguard is that you must choose a vpn server and if that server is compromised you have to start from scratch… download a new config. etc they should provide country configs for wireguard like they use for openvpn…
No, not cloudflare DNS.
I’m using another DNS via a cloudflared tunnel and DNS over HTTP. I have verified that it is not leaking.
Besides, on my laptop or any mobile device just using the Proton app, I have still never seen it work.
are you proton ultimate using a plus server?
weird i am watching the champiosleague from star+ and i am in EU at the moment. it does work. there is something in your setup blocking it… or using a service they do not support yet.
per instance it doesn’t work with starz its not on their list here: https://protonvpn.com/support/streaming-guide/
i opened a ticket they confirmed they haven’t been able to add it yet.
Yes, I use Proton Unlimited.
This isn’t my first rodeo. VPN providers have ZERO control on circumventing geo-blocks. If it works, it’s only a matter of time until an IP gets blocked. It’s a cat and mouse game.
yes and there is nothing wrong with that… same as torrenting, cyber security… everything basically is a cat and mouse game… a reason why tom never caught jerry!
there is always going to be a loophole somewhere
so for the moment is working (for me and for many) the day it stops… then it stops and that is okay.
yes and there is nothing wrong with that
I take issue with VPN providers claiming to provide something that is outside of their control. They all do it, including Proton