Preparing for NordVPN TP-Link Setup
Obtain your NordVPN manual Username and Password
If you are not already an NordVPN user Sign Up Now.
1. Log in to your account on the NordVPN website.
2. Click NordVPN on the left hand side and then click Setup NordVPN manually.
3. Enter in the verification code that was sent to your email.
4. Copy and paste your NordVPN manual username and password to a secure location. This is the username and password you will enter into the router settings to connect to NordVPN.
Download your NordVPN .ovpn file
1. There are two options for obtaining the .ovpn file. The first and recommended is to navigate to NordVPN’s server recommendation page. Click Recommended Server to display the fastest server based on your actual location. You can adjust the country if you don’t want to connect to the recommended country.
Then click Show Available Protocols. Click Download Config next to OpenVPN UDP. This will download the .ovpn file to your computer for this server. Do not open this file.
The second method to obtain a server is for connecting to a specific server number that you know you want to use. This applies to NordVPN Dedicated IP servers if you are signed up for that service. Go to NordVPN’s .ovpn file page. Then search for the server number that you want to use and click Download UDP.
TP-Link Router Setup for NordVPN
Login to TP-Link firmware settings in a browser on any computer or smart device connected to the FlashRouter’s network.
1. Navigate to the Advanced tab.
2. Navigate to the VPN Client tab.
3. Check the Enable box next to VPN Client. Then click Save at the bottom of the page.
4. Click the Add button in the Server List area.
5. In the Description field enter in the name you’d like to use for this OpenVPN Client profile. We typically advise entering in the location or server number here. Our example server was us6821 so I have entered in NordVPN us6821.
Set the VPN Type to OpenVPN.
In the Username and Password fields paste in the NordVPN username and password we obtained earlier.
Click Browse and select the .ovpn file you downloaded earlier. Then click Save.
By default no devices will be assigned to the VPN Tunnel. With TP-Link firmware you must manually assign the devices that you want connected to the VPN tunnel. Proceed with the next steps to do so for all devices you want connected to VPN.
6. Click the Add button in the Device List area.
7. A list of devices connected to the FlashRouter’s network will appear. Check the devices that you want to connect to VPN. Then click OK.
8. Now that the devices have been assigned to the VPN connection click the Enable toggle in the Server List area.
Verify a successful NordVPN connection
- You should now see a CONNECTED message.
- Visit NordVPN’s IP Check to verify your new IP address and virtual location.
In some cases you may notice that the location is not showing the same location as the server you have input in your router settings; this is because geo tracking tools are often tricked by VPN connections. As long as you see an IP address that is not the same as your normal Internet IP address then you are indeed connected to NordVPN.
How to change the NordVPN server
- Follow the steps at the top of the page to obtain a new .ovpn file.
- Then proceed with the settings same as initial setup.