Hello, I have purchased the GL-AR750S-Ext travel router and I have some questions on how best to set this up for my application.
When I travel to hotels or AirBnb’s, I want the AR750 to be able to join the guest Wifi and then once it does, I will have it connect to my VPN server in my home and provide WiFi back to my home for all of my devices connected it it.
Here are my questions / comments:
I assume to accomplish the above, I will need to join the WiFi with the AR750 and therefore the router needs to be configured as a ‘Repeater’. It looks like this can be set under the ‘Internet’ tab or under the ‘More Settings’ and then ‘Network Mode’; which is the correct one?
Once set as a repeater, how do I log back into it in the future to join other networks? Is there some kind of management IP address I should assign to it for web access? Or how would I get into it in the future to tell it to join a specific network and then enter the WiFi password?
I have uploaded my *.ovpn file under the ‘VPN’ tab and ‘OpenVPN Client’
I have set the ‘Button Settings’ to OpenVPN Client Toggle (which is an awesome feature by the way!)
Once the above is answered, my follow up question is how to authorize the AR750 on WiFi networks that have a captive portal? In AirBnb’s, it is just the homeowner’s Wifi network, but in a large hotel chain, they will have a captive portal.
I use an AR750 for the same use case. Router mode is the default mode, and is what you want to use, so if you have not selected something else, the router should be in router mode. There is a scan function under the Internet tab that will search for available access points, allow you to select one to attach to, and enter the WIFI key if needed. The default option of the router is to remember access points that you have attached to, so you don’t have to enter the WIFI key again.
Captive portals are a pain. I find when I need to connect to a captive portal, I have to leave my VPN off, and do not use a custom DNS server. If you do a search of the forum, you will find several posts on dealing with captive logins.
I recommend that you take your router and PC to a local coffee shop or library with free WIFI and test out your router before heading out on your first trip, as there is a learning curve with these devices.
NOTE: Updated to clarify that router mode is the default mode
I guess my question is do I need, or can I set a management IP address when it is set to Repeater mode? I found that when the AR750 joins a Wifi network (for repeater mode), I’m having a problem getting into the web GUI of the AR750 (VPN is not connected at this time).
The IP of the AR750 is 192.168.8.1, but the Wifi network that it joins is a 192.168.1.x. Also, there is a chance that I could join at 10.x.x.x or 172.x.x.x Wifi network in the future at a coffee shop, etc.
I just updated my first reply to you, as I meant to state the router mode is the default and what you want to use. Lets assume the router IP address is 192.168.8.1, its default, and the AP is on 10.1.1.1. The router will give all your devices 192.168.8.x addresses. Use the 192.168.8.1 address as the router management address. Attach the router to the AP on 10.1.1.1 using the router’s scan function. You can then access the internet and setup OpenVPN to your house.
Hello, I just wanted to update you on this post… only 2 months later
Everything is working great - with my GL-AR750S-Ext, I can join a public Wifi hotspot using the scan function and then I can enable (connect to my OpenVPN server in my home) by either using the actual ‘mode’ button on the side of the router or by going into the menu in the web GUI under VPN, then OpenVPN Client, then click on ‘Connect’.
If I used the ‘mode’ button on the side router to connect to my VPN server, I would think that I should be able to disable (turn off) the VPN and I would have regular local internet access, but I don’t. If I turn the ‘mode’ button to the ‘off’ position, I don’t have any internet access. I have to hold the ‘reset’ button on the outside of the router for about 10 seconds to restore local internet access.
What do I need to do so that when I turn off the VPN connection using the ‘mode’ button, that I have local internet access? Not sure if this is anything related to a ‘kill switch’?
Thanks for this… I’ll retest this and let you know my results to see if it is the same. I’m using OpenVPN and you are using NordVPN, so not sure if that will make any difference.
