Hello! I'm not sure if I'm permitted to post VPN questions in this category. If not can someone point me to the correct sub forum?
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This section is fine. What is your question?
Hi psherman. Ok i have a tplink archer c7 v5 which i've upgraded to OpenWrt 24.10.0 r28427-6df0e3d02a / LuCI openwrt-24.10 branch 25.014.55016~7046a1c.
I have the tplink router connected to my IPS's fibre router.
I'm trying to configure VPN as per https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i33nJ1clybE
Well here's where I'm confused. I managed to get it setup so when i google what's my ip it tells me I'm in the USA, I'm not!
Ok so this is where my problem lies. When I connect to the WRT router with my pc and i try to visit thepiratebay.org it just keeps timing out.
But wait there's more. If i use my vpn providers software directly from my pc i can access it.
I'm using the ovpn file provided my my vpn provider.
Side note: I'm running Kubuntu 24.10, not sure if that's relevant ?
OK it's weird. I checked up my ip address. It says I'm based in
City: New York City
Region: New York
Country: United States
but when I try to load crackle.com it tells me " Unsupported Region"
I tried a UK IP and tried to visit the * BBC iPlayer site but it says "Not available in your region"
Complain to your VPN provider and to BBC
Is that seriously all the advice you have?
You are their customer, not us. Nothing Openwrt can solve.
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Streaming Services block access to VPN Provider Servers even if your VPN Provider places you in the correct Region.
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If you know someone(friend/relative) you could place a Tailscale Exit Node on their premises to give you their Public WAN IP. This will give you a better chance of access to BBC iPlayer. I say better chance because some apps will interrogate your phone SIM to obtain geolocation information.
BBC and a lot of other domains (Netflix, Amazon etc) actively try to block VPN's
So it is a cat and mouse game between VPN providers and Streaming services.
So in the end even when your setup is optimal you can be blocked.
About setup check with ipleak.net that both IPv4, IPv6 and DNS are going through the tunnel (research DNS leak) as the streaming service not only look at IPv4 and IPv6 address but also for DNS origin.
Next disable WebRTC in your browser.
Most browser can have information about your location so if you want to connect to streaming services be sure to use private/incognito mode.
This way I can connect to the BBC iPlayer with Mullvad but as said they are hunting for common IP addresses and actively block those so in the end you might loose
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Of course providers of online services, like streaming, don't want you to fake your location. So they block IPs which are known to be "VPN" exit nodes. A VPN is not a guarantee that you can watch content that is usually not available on your country.
Besides the term VPN is misguiding here. The goal of a VPN is to add a secure layer with authentication and encryption over an existing network, to give you a secure access.
What these so called VPN providers give you is essentially a secured proxy, not a VPN in its original meaning.