Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 5:15 Post subject: ExpressVPN firmware opinion and thoughts
I've got a WRT1900ACS router. I'm running DD Wrt firmware on it. The main reason I got the modem is to run a VPN on the router level. I've recently swapped to Express VPN who have their own firmware for this router. I believe it's based on Open-Wrt has some specific features like kill switch and quick location changing. Not sure how similar it is to open WRT otherwise. Any feedback of anyone that has used it? How it compares to either Open Wrt or dd-wrt
Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 10:02 Post subject: Re: ExpressVPN firmware opinion and thoughts
dan801 wrote:
I've got a WRT1900ACS router. I'm running DD Wrt firmware on it. The main reason I got the modem is to run a VPN on the router level. I've recently swapped to Express VPN who have their own firmware for this router. I believe it's based on Open-Wrt has some specific features like kill switch and quick location changing. Not sure how similar it is to open WRT otherwise. Any feedback of anyone that has used it? How it compares to either Open Wrt or dd-wrt
I use it and like it.
There has been some discussion on this forum; search for "ExpressVPN" _________________ Linksys 3200 (Express VPN v1.3.3)
Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2017 17:42 Post subject: Re: ExpressVPN firmware opinion and thoughts
dan801 wrote:
I've recently swapped to Express VPN who have their own firmware for this router. I believe it's based on Open-Wrt has some specific features like kill switch and quick location changing. Not sure how similar it is to open WRT otherwise. Any feedback of anyone that has used it? How it compares to either Open Wrt or dd-wrt
I am not convinced that this is the correct forum and I will probably get shouted at, but since you ask:
Yes, I believe that their bespoke FW is based on OpenWRT. It has particular useful features such as the kill switch, that you mention, which disconnects the internet should the VPN service be lost and reconnects once it is restored. It can also be used on a wide variety of platforms (routers, computers, smart 'phones, tablets, games consoles, etc) and changing VPN destinations for foreign streams is a doddle. Because the FW is specifically made for ExpressVPN users it is very straightforward to install, setup and use, although it is much less flexible than the likes of DD-WRT and OpenWRT.
For me, it is a very good solution which is in use all the time on a number of machines. As Chris points out, it is not the cheapest, but it's good value and a good service for me.
Regards, lim _________________ WRT1900ACS v1
WRT3200ACM
Regulatory Domain: UK
Old thread, but I've tried ExpressVPN Router firmware more recently and found it surprisingly handy when traveling! At least the ExpressVPN versions from 2022 to present are actually based on DD-WRT version r42366 small.
The ExpressVPN GUI doesn't offer many options (e.g., couldn't turn off 2.4G nor turn on WPA3), and the built-in backup to json only backs up the options shown. But, since it's really DD-WRT small underneath, it's possible to do a lot more from the CLI.
For example, from telnet or SSH, you can set temporary and/or NVRAM variables and do NVRAM backup/restore.
Code:
#From Putty on ExpressVPN f/w:
nvram backup nvram-backup-r42366small-ExpressVPN-Orig.bin
#use winscp to transfer the NVRAM backups to PC
#let's see what it's got
iwlist
iwconfig
ifconfig
#scan 5 GHz
iwlist ath0 scanning
#scan 2.4 GHz
iwlist ath1 scanning
#ifconfig wlan0 up/down
#but older f/w uses ath instead of wlan
#this worked to turn off the 2.4GHz radio on a WRT3200ACM
ifconfig ath1 down
#confirm ath1 off
ifconfig
reboot
#but the 2.4G radio came back up after reboot
#try turning off 2.4 GHz to stay off even after reboot
nvram set ath1_mode=disabled
nvram commit
nvram backup nvram-backup-r42366small-ExpressVPN-24G-OFF.bin
reboot
#that worked! :)
#try enabling wpa3:
nvram set ath1_wpa3=1
nvram set ath1_akm=wpa3
nvram set ath0_wpa3=1
nvram set ath0_akm=wpa3
nvram commit
nvram backup nvram-backup-r42366small-ExpressVPN-wpa3-ON.bin
reboot
#that didn't quite work - still just wpa2 likely due to older r42366 and/or small version of dd-wrt underneath
_________________ My DD-WRT Routers:
Linksys WRT3200ACM - Marvell
Linksys WRT1900ACS - Marvell
Netgear R9000 - Atheros
Netgear R7000 - Broadcom
PC x86-64 VM - Atheros
