4 Ways Setup VPN on Roku or Any Device That Doesn’t Support Native VPN.
Unlike Firestick, Android TV, or even Apple TV, Roku has one big flaw. You cannot install a VPN app on it or change its DNS to access geo-restricted content. But luckily, there are several ways to get a VPN on Roku.
The trick here is to connect the Roku to a Wi-Fi hotspot that already has a VPN. There are several ways to do this, and almost all of them require good technical skills. But here are four of the most popular.
1. The easiest way is to share the VPN connection from your Windows PC, Mac or Android. While you can’t just do it directly, there are a few settings you can change from the Windows and Mac command line to make it work. We will provide a detailed guide on how to do this shortly. For Android, you can use apps like VPN Hotspot.
2. Some routers (eg Linksys WRT AC3200) support VPN out of the box in their settings. All you have to do is simply log into the router’s web portal and enter the credentials of your VPN provider. And that’s it, every device on your network (including your Roku) can connect directly to the VPN.
3. If your router does not support VPN functions but does support third party firmware, you can flash it with custom firmware such as DD-WRT, OpenWRT, or Tomato. To see if your router supports custom firmware, you can do a quick google search, for example the one we have (Netgear nighthawk R7000) supports DD-WRT. These custom routers allow you to set up OpenVPN, which will allow you to set up a VPN on your router. Here’s a detailed step-by-step video on how to set up OpenVPN on your router.
4. If you have a basic router that does not support VPN functions and does not support custom firmware, then you can buy a cheap computer such as a Raspberry Pi. Connect your Raspberry Pi to your VPN provider, enable IP forwarding, then set an iptables rule to allow redirected traffic, and then another rule for SNAT traffic to the VPN IP address. Once you’ve done that, you’ll need to configure Roku to use the Raspberry Pi as the default gateway. Here’s a good article to get you started with.
Overall, the easiest way is to share the VPN connection from your Windows, Mac, or Android. But this also means that your computer or mobile devices must be turned on at all times while you are using Roku. The most practical and long-term solution is to either flash custom firmware like DD-WRT on your router or use a Raspberry Pi. At Techwiser, we set up a VPN on our router using DD-WRT firmware. And the advantage is that the router works 24/7, you don’t have to worry about turning it on / off.
Anyway, let me know which method you prefer or if you think we are missing something, in the comments. Happy overeating.
Read Also: Best Free VPN Apps We Recommend on TechWiser
4 Ways Setup VPN on Roku or Any Device That Doesn’t Support Native VPN