In order to follow this guide, your Asus router MUST be running Asus Merlin - Asus Merlin is an enhanced version of the original Asus firmware, with more features and stability fixes.

This guide covers installing your StreamVia Residential IP VPN, on an Asus router that is already running Asus Merlin.

If you need assistance in the Initial Setup of an Asus router (i.e straight out of the box) and then installing Asus Merlin, there are 2 links below that covers these processes.

• Asus Router (straight out of the box) Initial Setup
• Asus Router upgrade to Asus Merlin, from the Asus Original firmware

The speed that can be achieved over the VPN, is often related to the processor in the router - lower powered processors, means slower VPN speeds. For example:

• RT-AC68U - About 30-50Mbps, WiFi5 device
• RT-AX58U - About 70-100Mbps, WiFi6 device
• RT-AC86U - About 200-250Mbps, WiFi5 device
• RT-AX86U - About 200-250Mbps, WiFi6 device

The above does not take into account any outside factors, such as the distance you are from the VPN server, your ISP peering/connectivity to the UK/BT network. These figures are just what the processor on the router is physically capable of.

If you use wifi, rather than cabled connections, maximum speed may be slower because of the processing overhead of the wireless network encryption. Use cabled connections for as many devices as possible.

You must have a Residential VPN account to use this service.

Step 1
Retrieve your VPN username, VPN password and OpenVPN Configuration Files from the 'My Services' section of the Client Area:

Please note, the below is a screenshot of the Client Area. Use the link above, to access the Client Area.

Step 2
Locate the OpenVPN Configuration Files you downloaded in Step 1, in your Downloads folder, extract/decompress the zip file.

A new 'BT-xxx' folder will be created, which contains the OpenVPN Configuration Files.


Step 3
Make sure your computer is connected to the 'StreamVia VPN' wifi network, or whatever you called your new VPN wifi network.


Step 4
In a browser, open the below page - this will open the router configuration screen:

http://router.asus.com


Step 5
Login to the router, with the router username/password you created during setup.

Step 6
We will now upload the VPN configuration file to the router:

Advanced Settings → VPN → VPN Client → OpenVPN → Choose File

Step 7
Navigate to the OpenVPN Configuration Files, i.e the BT-xxx' folder, that you downloaded/extracted in Step 1 / Step 2.

We recommend you start with the 'Port 1 - Performance' configuration.

Step 8
Once you have chosen the OpenVPN Configuration file, click the 'Upload' button

Step 9
Wait until it shows 'Complete', the page will then reload automatically - and the various fields will be configured/populated.

Step 10
Scroll down to 'Accept DNS Configuration' and set to 'Exclusive'


Step 11
Set 'Redirect Internet traffic through tunnel' to 'Yes'


Step 12
Scroll down further, enter your VPN username/password as retrieved in 'Step 1'


Step 13
Scroll down again to 'TLS control channel security', set to 'Encrypt Channel' (NOT Encrypt Channel V2)


Step 14
Scroll down to the very bottom of the page, click 'Apply'


Step 15
Now to connect the VPN, move the 'Service State' slider to 'On'. The VPN will then attempt to connect.

Step 16
If the VPN connects, the 'Service State' will show 'Connected'.

Open something like https://whatismyipaddress.com and check that your VPN IP address is shown.

Step 17
Assuming all is connected, we recommend you also enable 'Automatic start at boot time', so that the VPN will connect automatically when the router starts up.

Make sure you click 'Apply' at the bottom of the page, after changing 'Automatic start at boot time' to 'Yes'

Step 18
Any device you now connect to the 'StreamVia VPN' wifi network (or the yellowed cabled ports on the back of the Asus) will now automatically use the VPN connection on the router.

As a final step, you may wish to setup a 'Kill Switch' - this means that if, for whatever reason, the VPN on the router should become disconnected, your devices will be prevented from accessing the Internet (i.e your real IP address will not leak) until the VPN is connected again.

Click Here to learn how to setup a Kill Switch on Asus Merlin