What Asus model?
Asus RT-AX56U
That seems to support OpenVPN and PPTP as both server and client.
A pair of them, one in the UK and one in France might well do you nicely.
Thanks again. I have just read a couple of Asus articles on setting up a OpenVPN and PPTP server on the router and I have become a lot clearer on how to proceed.
@billybutcher
You’ve been amazingly helpful; after this question I’ll leave you in peace at least for a few weeks!
I have just ordered a second router having checked with Airband that it will be compatible.
I have read the web page on setting up a VPN server using PPTP and it all looks pretty straight forward, as does the client set up.
Asus offer a free DDNS service which removes the need for a fixed IP address or Airband will provide a fixed address for £6 pcm. Do you think it’s worth going down the fixed IP route?
We return to France at the end of May so that will be the moment of truth. I will, however, set up PPTP client on my laptop and test it on a different network to ensure of got it right here in the UK.
Either way I’ll let you know how it goes.
Many thanks again, Peter
£6 a month is pretty steep just for a fixed IP but it’s probably the easiest, if you need to watch the pennies go for the DDNS solution.
Yes, testing thoroughly before going to France is a good idea. Best if you can connect the laptop through a phone hot-spot to ensure your UK router sees a connection from a truly “external” IP address.
We live in rural Shropshire and phone hotspots are some distance. Our daugher’s WIFI is much easier and there’s free tea! Thanks again.
I do not use a VPN as such, but I do use a StreamLocator Hub which gives me access to all UK TV and catch -ups and world wide access to Netflix, Disney and Prime with no fannying about setting up any of the usual nonsense.
The fannying around is still there, of course; just done for you.
The various VPN solutions all have the disadvantage that the broadcasters will try to block them if they can. It’s a game of whack-a-mole though and the advantage probably with the VPN providers (note, I’m using this in a generic sense - I know not all of these services are VPN based, some tweak DNS).
I prefer to know what my boxes are doing.
@billybutcher
One step forward one step back. My Asus router for use in the UK was delivered and local set up was fine. However, VPN Server and DDNS are not straightforward. Both tell me my router is using a private WAN address and set up therefore is not possible. (Technically the VPN Server is possible but only by using port forwarding on the bit of kit upstream) . IP-DNS Detect confirms my Public WAN is different from the one the router displays. Airband use PPPoE and from what I’ve read that will be the reason. I’m waiting for response from Airband but I expect I will be forking out £6pcm for a fixed IP address
Sounds like the dreaded carrier grade NAT 
Hopefully “fixed” also means public in this case
Private addresses (as my post above) are ones which start
10.x.x.x
172.16.x.x to 172.31.x.x
192.168.x.x
And for CG NAT
100.64.x.x to 100.127.x.x
Depending on what you are paying you might want to look at changing ISP.
Sorry, can’t help you I’m afraid. We’re with Bouyges (BBox) and use a
laptop with HDMI through an old (non smart) Sony TV set and it seems to
work well pretty much most of the time. I’ve just tried ITV hub and it’s fine.
All that I can suggest is to do what I’ve done, which is use a WiFi
laptop and a spare HDMI on your set and use the TV as a screen extension.
@timmartin
Thanks for your reply. I did try to run ITV Hub on my laptop using Surfshark but with no success, maybe geolocation was having an effect. I’m back in the UK now so can’t try it.
Incidentally I also tried a 14 day trail of Unlocator (smart DNS) and that would run ITV Hub on my laptop but not on the TV so I used an HDMI connection. It failed on other services so I won’t be taking the subscription.
Thanks, Peter.
@billybutcher
Our lane in rural Shropshire doesn’t have a great “real” choice of ISPs. There’s fibre from Airband but every other one uses Open Reach’s copper which gives 5Mbps if your lucky. Apparently it was not considered cost effective for Open Reach to lay in fibre even though they had all the poles in place. Airband (with a subsidy) did and had to add their own poles where ever the existing ones carried power cables as well as phone. Crazy!
@billybutcher
Progress report and more advice please.
I now have a fixed IP address and have successfully set up the VPN server on my router using PPTP. I haven’t yet been back to France but did conduct a test on my Android phone using my daughter’s WIFI.
When connected without the VPN active I achieved a download speed of 70Mbps; with the VPN active it plunged to 2.5Mbps.
I hadn’t thought about it before but clearly the upload speed of my service is as important as the download as the VPN is using both. My logic’s correct isn’t it?
I checked the speed on a PC connected to the router by ethernet and it’s 100Mbps up and 24.3Mbps down. Would you expect the degradation I experienced? Is it likely to be better router to router?
I also tested the VPN on my phone when connected to the home network and that was fine (98.9Mbps) so I don’t think the phone itself is an issue.
Once again thanks for any advice you are able to give.
Peter
Apologies for the delay in replying - was travelling back to the UK yesterday.
You are quite correct that when operating via the VPN the “download” speed is limited by your upload speed at home, though I wouldn’t expect the deterioration to be to 1/10th of the upstream bandwidth.
With my set-up I get about 10mbps download in France through the VPN - exactly matching the 10mpbs upload on my 50/10 speeds at home. Using my new 500/500 fibre connection (currently running parallel with the VDSL connection, I’ve not quite got it fully integrated with my network) I’m actually limited only by the 70Mbps download speed in France (that’s on VDSL).
That said running a speedtest on a mobile phone might not be the best way to see what speed you will ultimately get - lots of factors in play with the Wi-Fi connection and the speedtest app/server, it proves that the VPN is working at least which is good to know.
If you get poor speeds in France it could be that Airband is playing silly beggars and throttling the connection 
I’m with Bouygues for both mobile and 4G internet.
If my 4G internet router seems a bit slow, I can test the speed from the Bouygues mast (1.2km away) on my mobile (not using WiFi so connecting to the mast independently) and then run the fast utility on my Linux box connected by Ethernet to the router via a data switch. If there is a significant discrepancy, I usually reset the Bouygues 4G router and turn it back on after a few minutes and hey presto! the speed between both matches more often than not.
I guess that as both test are on the same mast and being run from more or less the same location in the house, there is a fair chance that there will be égalité which seems to be borne out by the results although I appreciate that this might not always be the case in every use-case.
I appreciate that local conditions might also skew the results… there is a major route which passes by the mast and if there are a significant number of lorries going through the cell…
Thanks again and no need to apologise for delays!!I don’t think Airband are throttling the connection the 24.3 is what I measured not their service promise.
Next trial will be in France at the end of next month.
Peter
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Not the whole service but they could specifically throttle VPNs - which would be rather gittish of them.
Hello all I fell upon this forum by accident so a newbie I know nothing about computers or the internet having lived a sheltered life in France since 1996 nevertheless I have no problems receiving world wide TV from Nord VPN with just 12.5 mb no buffering or problems
Steve down near the Spanish frontier