Need a VPN for your router?
Get ExpressVPN Now
Love ExpressVPN? Want a free month?
Refer a Friend NowThis page answers common questions for the ExpressVPN for routers.
To set up ExpressVPN on your router, refer to the corresponding guide for your router.
Jump to:
Setting up your router
How do I find my router’s default password?
How do I change the router’s admin password?
How do I access my router’s settings?
How do I connect my router to my ISP’s modem or router?
What network configurations are supported?
Protecting your devices
How many devices can be connected to the router?
Can I select which devices are protected by the VPN?
How do I set a static LAN IP for a device?
How do I remove an inactive device from the router?
Why do some devices appear twice on my dashboard?
How do I identify unnamed devices on my dashboard?
Can I set up a guest Wi-Fi network?
Does Aircove have Network Lock?
Using your router
How do I verify that the VPN is working correctly?
How do I test the speed of my internet connection?
How do I change the Wi-Fi name and password?
How do I split the 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi networks?
How do I update the ExpressVPN firmware?
How do I reboot my router?
How do I enable or disable auto-reboot?
What do the LED activity lights on the front of Aircove indicate?
How do I switch activity lights off?
Can I power Aircove Go with a USB-C power bank?
Which Wi-Fi encryption protocols are supported by Aircove Go’s Wi-Fi Link?
Does the VPN encrypt device-to-device communication within the local area network (LAN)?
Advanced settings
How do I configure port forwarding?
How do I configure Dynamic DNS?
How to I set up a static WAN IP?
How can I configure custom DNS?
How can I reset my router to default settings?
Why is my router reaching out to unexpected domains?
Setting up your router
How do I find my router’s default password?
You can often find your router’s default credentials on the label printed on the back or bottom of the router. Learn more about finding the default credentials on specific Asus, Linksys, Netgear and Aircove routers.
How do I change the router’s admin password?
You can change the router’s admin password by accessing your router dashboard and going to Advanced Settings > Router Settings. If you have forgotten your router admin password, you will need to reset your router.
How do I access my router’s settings?
You can access your router’s settings by going to expressvpnrouter.com in a web browser on a device connected to the router. Learn more.
How do I connect my router to my ISP’s modem or router?
You can connect your ExpressVPN router to your ISP’s modem or router by connecting a LAN cable from the LAN port of your ISP’s modem or router to the “WAN” or “Internet” port of your ExpressVPN router. Learn more.
Alternatively, if your router is an Aircove Go, you can use its Wi-Fi Link feature to connect it to another router’s Wi-Fi network for wireless internet access. Learn more.
What network configurations are supported?
There are multiple ways to set up your ExpressVPN router. You can connect your ExpressVPN router to another Wi-Fi network, to an Ethernet switch, or have it as part of a mesh network. You can also use it with Wi-Fi extenders, and even daisy-chain multiple ExpressVPN routers. Learn more.
Protecting your devices
How many devices can be connected to the router?
You can connect as many devices as you want to the router. Learn more.
Can I select which devices are protected by the VPN?
By default, all devices connected to your router are protected by the VPN. If you want some devices not to use the VPN or receive an internet connection, you can use the Device Group feature to create a new device group without VPN protection or the internet and assign devices to it. Learn more.
How do I set a static LAN IP for a device?
Access expressvpnrouter.com in a web browser on any device connected to the router. Select the device you want to set a static LAN IP for, and edit the Device IP address field. Learn more.
How do I remove an inactive device from the router?
You can remove a device with these steps:
- Access expressvpnrouter.com in a web browser on any device connected to the router.
- Select the device you want to remove, and then choose Reset Device Settings.
The device will be removed from the dashboard after 24 hours or if you reboot the router.
Why do some devices appear twice on my dashboard?
Every device has a default MAC address used by routers to identify it on a network. If it uses a randomized MAC address instead of the default one, this might cause it to appear more than once on your router dashboard. Learn more.
How do I identify unnamed devices on my dashboard?
You can confirm whether the unnamed device entry belongs to your device by comparing the last six digits of the device entry to your device’s MAC address. Lean more about how to find your device’s MAC address.
Can I set up a guest Wi-Fi network?
It is currently not possible to set up a separate guest Wi-Fi network. In the meantime, you can use the Device Groups feature which allows you to create a new group and assign your guests to it. Note that all the device groups are still connected to the same local network. Learn more.
Does Aircove have Network Lock?
Yes, the Network Lock feature is built into your Aircove. If your VPN drops, Network Lock is activated to disable all internet traffic. This protects your IP address and other sensitive information from being exposed. When your VPN connection is restored, your secure internet access resumes. Network Lock cannot be turned off manually on Aircove.
Using your router
How can I verify that the VPN is working properly
You can use ExpressVPN’s IP address checker to confirm the VPN is working properly. If your VPN is connected properly, it will show that you are connecting from your VPN location instead of your actual location. For example, if you are located in Japan but are connected to a U.S. VPN server, the IP address checker will say that you are connecting from the U.S. Learn more.
Back to top
How can I test the speed of my internet connection?
To check your internet connection speed, you can use an online tool like Ookla Speedtest. Learn more about testing VPN speeds.
How do I change the Wi-Fi name and password?
Access expressvpnrouter.com in a web browser on any device connected to the router. Go to Network Settings > Wi-Fi Settings. From there, you can change your settings such as the network name, password, channel, WPA3 security, and visibility. Learn more about how to choose the optimal Wi-Fi settings.
How do I split the 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi networks?
Access expressvpnrouter.com in a web browser on any device connected to the router. Go to Network Settings > Wi-Fi Settings, and select Separate 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi. Learn more.
How do I update the ExpressVPN firmware?
By default, your ExpressVPN router will automatically install any available updates daily at 4 a.m. If you want to update your router manually, you can download the latest firmware from expressvpn.com/latest#router. After that, go to your router dashboard, then navigate to Advanced Settings > Software Update to install the firmware. Learn more.
How do I reboot my router?
There are two ways to reboot your router:
- Option 1: Access expressvpnrouter.com in a web browser on any device connected to the router, and select Reboot Router from the sidebar.
- Option 2: Power the router on an off at the wall socket or using the power switch on the router if it has one.
How can I enable or disable auto-reboot?
You can toggle auto-reboot by accessing expressvpnrouter.com in a web browser on any device connected to the router, going to Advanced Settings > Router Settings, and selecting Reboot router daily at 4:00 a.m.
What do the LED activity lights on the front of Aircove indicate?
When enabled, the blue and white LED activity lights on the front of Aircove can help understand the state of your router:
| Scenario | LED status |
| Aircove starting up | White pulsing |
| Internet (WAN) not connected | Blue pulsing |
| Internet (WAN) connected | White solid |
| Aircove rebooting | Blue solid then white pulsing |
| Reset to factory defaults (hold reset button while powering on) | 1 white blink then 4 blue blinks When blinking changes from blue to white, the reset pin can be released. |
| Reset to factory defaults (hold reset button during normal operation for more than 5 seconds) | White pulsing until the reset button is released. Then 1 white blink and 4 blue blinks while the settings are reset. |
How do I switch activity lights off on Aircove?
To switch Aircove’s LED activity lights off, access your router dashboard, go to Advanced Settings > Router Settings, and then select Activity lights.
Can I power Aircove Go with a USB-C power bank?
You can power Aircove Go with a USB Power Delivery (PB) power bank but as Aircove Go does not support the PD protocol, your power bank will need to supply 5V at 3A. For the best performance we recommend using Aircove Go with its supplied power adapter.
Depending on your setup and usage, a power bank supplying 5V at 2A may work but we do not recommend it.
There are many different brands and models of power banks on the market, and they can vary in their quality and performance. As such, if the first power bank you try does not seem to work as expected, we suggest trying a different one.
Note: We recommend dedicating the power bank to only the Aircove Go. Some power banks may briefly disconnect all connected devices when you connect a new device to it, which would force a reboot of the Aircove Go.
Which Wi-Fi encryption protocols are supported by Aircove Go’s Wi-Fi Link?
On Aircove Go, the Wi-Fi Link feature allows you to use another Wi-Fi network for internet access. Wi-Fi Link works with networks using the following common Wi-Fi encryption protocols:
- WPA
- WPA/WPA2-Personal
- WPA2/WPA3-Mixed
- WPA3
These protocols are not supported:
- WPA2/WPA3-Enterprise
- WEP
Does the VPN encrypt device-to-device communication within the local area network (LAN)?
Aircove’s VPN encrypts your internet traffic but not communications between devices on the same local area network (LAN). For example, with Aircove’s VPN running, connections between your devices and internet services like websites or apps are protected, but file-sharing between two laptops connected to Aircove is not. This ensures your local network operates as expected while still providing security for your internet activities.
Advanced settings
How do I configure port forwarding?
From your router dashboard, go to Advanced Settings > Port Forwarding. Learn more.
How do I configure Dynamic DNS?
From your router dashboard, go to Advanced Settings > Dynamic DNS. Learn more.
How to I set up a static WAN IP?
From your router dashboard, go to Network Settings > Internet Settings, and select Static IP as your connection protocol. Learn more about static IPs and other ways to connect to your internet service provider.
How can I configure custom DNS?
You can set custom DNS servers to be used when the VPN is disconnected by accessing your router dashboard and going to Network Settings > Internet Settings. Learn more.
How can I reset my router to default settings?
- Option 1: From your router dashboard, go to Advanced Settings > Back Up and Restore, and select Reset All Router Settings.
- Option 2: Find the reset pinhole button on the back of your router. Use a paperclip to hold down the button for ~10 seconds until the power light starts flashing then release the button.
Why is my router reaching out to unexpected domains?
ExpressVPN routers regularly check a number of domains to detect any internet connectivity issues:
- http://connectivity-check.ubuntu.com
- http://connectivitycheck.android.com
- http://connectivitycheck.gstatic.com
- http://developers.google.cn
- http://maps.gstatic.com
- http://mt0.google.com
- http://www.google.cn
- http://www.airport.us
- http://www.ibook.info
- http://www.itools.info
- http://www.thinkdifferent.us
- http://fedoraproject.org
- http://www.msftncsi.com