Should You Install a VPN on Your Router? Pros & Cons

do not install a VPN on your router until you watch this video a VPN is a fantastic privacy tool and connecting a VPN to your router means your entire network is protected without having to set up each individual device on the network however installing a VPN on your router has a few downsides that you may not know about and these downsides may make you think twice before setting one up in this video we'll discuss three downsides to vpns on a router but first what is a VPN router it's basically a Wi-Fi router with VPN software installed on it it's really that simple once the VPN is installing the router every device in your network automatically uses the VPN every device there are a number of reasons why VPN router is a great tool for your network privacy first this setup gets around the restrictions that most vpns put on the number of devices that can be active at the same time which is called simultaneous connections Pia and expressvpn only allow five simultaneous devices while nordvpn allows six you can install these vpns on as many devices as you want but you are limited to how many can connect at the same time with a VPN on a router the this counts as one connection and this means you connect your entire network through one connection allowing dozens or hundreds of devices secondly with a VPN router you can have any device on the VPN like smart TVs iot devices streaming boxes or gaming consoles most of these devices cannot install VPN software directly to them or are limited to what VPN software can be installed and just a heads up Amazon Fire TV does support VPN software but most TVs do not and third with the VPN router your VPN is always on which means your entire network is always protected if you use a client or app on your device like a phone you need to switch it on manually or set to be on automatic with a VPN router it's always running which is fantastic for those who forget to turn it on when browsing the internet or downloading torrents but now let's talk about the three downsides to using a VPN router first having your entire network protected at the same time means your entire network will experience the slowdowns associated with vpns the fact is vpns slow down your connection and there's nothing you can do about it some vpns will claim they can speed up your connection this is not possible outside of a very specific set of conditions these slowdowns may not affect your network to a great degree if you connect to a nearby server so don't connect to a server in Siberia unless you live in Siberia and what are you doing living in Siberia also if you have a fiber connection or a fast cable connection this slowdown will hardly be noticed secondly the Netflix dilemma and other streaming devices streaming devices are not a fan of vpns and will typically block you if they are detected and Netflix is very good at detecting vpns and normally when a VPN is detected you just switch the servers till you find one that works but on a VPN router it's a lot trickier since you can't access the VPN quickly to switch servers so if you binge watch Netflix you may want to think twice before setting up a VPN on your router and lastly setting up a VPN router requires some technical know-how however if you're familiar with setting up a router and getting into the menus then setting up a VPN on your router shouldn't be too difficult and just a heads up not all routers are compatible with vpns you need a router with a correct firmware to allow VPN software some vpns will sell pre-flashed routers with their own software but these are more expensive than the average routers and I'll have some VPN routers listed in the description below that we recommend so remember these three downsides before you buy or install VPN on a router and if these three downsides do not deter you then VPN routers are a fantastic investment and if you want to learn how to block malware adult websites and all ads on your internet browser then watch this video right here and remember like share and subscribe it's what the cool kids are doing peace