VPN on a Zyxel router

Until 2017, Keenetic routers were sold under the Zyxel brand. If yours is one of them, it can reach our server over PPTP, and the steps for its old menu are below. About other Zyxel models we’ll tell you what we know.

Zyxel Keenetic
PPTP
Web configurator
my.keenetic.net
Section and tab
Internet → PPPoE/VPN
Other models
untested
Open the Router section

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PPTP in the old interface

This is for a Zyxel Keenetic whose Internet section has a PPPoE/VPN tab. The model is on the sticker, Keenetic Giga or Lite next to the Zyxel logo, for example. PPTP offers weaker protection than OpenVPN, so look through the type list first. If OpenVPN is there, use it, see the questions below.

  1. Open the web configurator

    Go to my.keenetic.net or 192.168.1.1. The password is the one set during the first setup.

  2. Add a connection

    Choose the Internet section, open the PPPoE/VPN tab and press the button that adds a connection.

  3. Fill it in and apply

    The type (protocol) is PPTP. Copy the server IP and your login details from your account. Make sure the box that allows this connection to carry your internet traffic is ticked, then apply.

If the menu looks different

Some of these routers got the current Keenetic menu after an update, with an Other connections section. In that case, go to the Keenetic page, which also covers the ready-made OpenVPN file.

We haven’t tried VanyaVPN on today’s Zyxel devices, whether office firewalls or home routers. Check the menu. If you find a client for PPTP or for OpenVPN, not just a VPN server and IPsec, the steps on the main router page will work. If you don’t, a VPN on a Zyxel router of that model won’t happen, and the app on your computers and phones is what’s left.

Zyxel Keenetic questions

Does a Zyxel Keenetic support OpenVPN?

It depends on the firmware. Open the type (protocol) list. If OpenVPN is there, grab the “for Keenetic” file, it already contains your login details. If it isn’t, PPTP is what you have.

It says connected, but websites open as before

Check the box from step three. Without it the router keeps the connection to the server but doesn’t send internet traffic through it.