Three questions before you buy anything
Does a device you care about refuse to run a client, such as a smart TV or a console? Do you want guests and gadgets covered without touching each one? Are you happy to open an admin page now and then? Three yeses and a router as VPN makes sense. Any no, and an easier route further down will serve you better. People get excited about routers and VPN builds and then find that the rest of the household wanted Netflix to work the way it did yesterday.
The hardware reality
Boxes sold as VPNs for routers nearly always mean OpenVPN or WireGuard in the menu. Neither can read a VLESS key. What you need is open firmware, OpenWrt being the usual choice, plus a package built on sing-box or Xray. Check three things on a candidate router: that OpenWrt lists it as supported, that it has 128 MB of memory or more, and that its processor is from the last several years, because every packet gets encrypted on that chip. Travel routers from GL.iNet are popular for this since they already run OpenWrt under their own interface. The modem your provider gave you will not cooperate. Leave it alone and plug your own router into it.
The build, in outline
Flash OpenWrt by following the page for your exact model. Read it twice. This is the step where routers get bricked.
From the package manager, install one of the sing-box or Xray front ends.
Get a key from @valideo_bot. The free days are enough to see the whole thing working.
Import the vless:// line. Most packages have a paste field.
Choose what goes through the tunnel: everything, one Wi-Fi network or a list of devices.
Test from a phone on that Wi-Fi with an IP lookup and then a DNS leak test.
Lighter alternatives
- Your Windows PC as a hotspot: client in TUN mode, mobile hotspot on, TV joins it.
- Your computer as a proxy: enable LAN access in the client and enter the PC's address and port in the TV's network settings.
- A streaming stick that runs Android apps: install v2rayNG on it and skip the router entirely.
- A second router dedicated to one room, so that the main network stays as it was.
- Chaining a VPN to VPN router pair is possible and almost never worth the trouble.
What you take on
- One exit city for everybody at once, unless you write rules per device.
- Occasional complaints from banking apps and some streaming services.
- Your speed is capped by the router's chip as well as by your line.
- You are the help desk. When it breaks at nine in the evening, you open the admin page.
- Updates to firmware and packages are on you.
How it counts against the key
The router holds one of your five connections, however many devices sit behind it. That leaves four for phones and laptops when they leave the house. For a family this is often the cheapest way to cover everything. Just be honest with yourself about the upkeep. Do the whole build during the free days, so that if it turns out to be a chore, you have paid nothing to find out.
Q.Will the router from my internet provider work?
A.No. Its firmware is locked. Put an OpenWrt router behind it.
Q.How many key slots does a router take?
A.One, however many devices are connected to it.
Q.Does a VPN router slow the internet down?
A.It can. A weak processor becomes the bottleneck. Recent mid range models keep up with normal home lines.
Q.Can I buy one that is ready to go?
A.Routers that ship with OpenWrt come close. You still add one package and paste the key.
Q.What is the simplest way to cover a TV?
A.A Fire TV or Android TV stick with v2rayNG, or a hotspot shared from a Windows PC.
Q.Can some devices skip the tunnel?
A.Yes. The OpenWrt packages let you include or exclude devices one by one.