ac68u - problems with openvpn after update

[gabell]

Got myself into a real muddle.
Had my ac68u running good on merlin 380.68 and ipvanish vpn, but after reading various posts on speed of the openvpn (was getting around 20mb) I decided to reset everything and start from scratch to see if I could improve it.
I downloaded the latest Firmware from ASUS (AC68U_30043807743) ad flashed it, in the hope that it might have come with some new features in the CFE. All was ok, but didn't try OPENVPN as I then upgraded the firmware again to Merlin 380.68 and performed a factory reset to start the initialisation from scratch.
Set up the router following the quick-setup - all worked fine.
Loading the IPVanish OPENVPN settings and connected - however, instantly lost all internet traffic and the ability to change or move pages on the router webgui.
Cleared all browser cache and rebooted router and tried again - same issue.
Downgraded to Merlin 380.66.0 , this time when connected via OpenVPN , the router webgui stayed responsive and could move around pages etc. PC browsers would not connect to any pages. Android Speedtest app ran and gave me same result of 20mb.
Tried upgrading to Merlin 380.66.6 - with the updated OpenVPN , router WebGui remained resposive, but still no connections to any sites from the desktop PC. Android speedtest refused to connect this time.

Can anyone advise or suggest what Asus firmware I should first install before running the latest Merlin.

Was also thinking of upgrading to AC88u - would this give me any greater/useful speed increase on Openvpn.

Thanks in anticipation....

 

[martinr]

If you can't connect to the Internet maybe look at your DNS settings in the WAN page.

In the meantime, I believe perseverence will pay off. Try over again with the factory reset. Perhaps reflash 380.68 first and then reset. Then just do the very minimum to get online eg router username and password then wireless WPA2 setup. Once you have Internet and the webui is working in your browsers, then progress to the more exotic settings, vpn etc.

Then if, even on the most minimal settings, you still have problems, we'll know there's something more fundamental needs fixing.

 

[RMerlin]

Can anyone advise or suggest what Asus firmware I should first install before running the latest Merlin.

It doesn't matter. CFE upgrades will also be done by my firmware if there's one available for the router, there's no need to switch back to stock.

 

[gabell]

Thanks guys for the advice......
Eventually updated to an AC88 - been looking at doing this for a while.
Set it up with the latest firmware (Merlin of Course) ad was getting exactly the same problems as the AC68.
So, after scratching my head, and reading the first reply again (thanks MARTINR) I tried changing the DNS setting from Auto to the servers from OPENDNS and ....... hey presto it works great.
Auto was using the Virgin Media defaults (UK) which must be messing around with the OPENVPN or maybe they have a way of detecting you trying to connect to VPN services when you use their DNS servers and then making it awkward to connect. Might be worth noting for others with similar problems when trying to use IPVANISH with Virgin Media.

On a second note - connection speed on AC68 peaked at 20Mbps, with the AC88 I now get 45Mbps .

Thanks for your help - special thanks to RMerlin for this superb firmware.....

 

[martinr]

Well done and sincere thanks for letting us know the outcome; I'm sure it will help others in future.

I told you perseverance would pay off!