The VPN router experience with Aircove is now better than ever with faster VPN speeds, a new privacy feature, and enhanced security standards—all in a single update.
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS; 17 FEBRUARY, 2025 — Leading consumer privacy and security company ExpressVPN today announced a suite of privacy and performance upgrades to its award-winning range of routers, Aircove and Aircove Go. In its latest release, AircoveOS v5 delivers a new guest Wi-Fi feature for more privacy control, industry-leading security enhancements with Lightway, and up to double the VPN speeds seen previously. Furthermore, AircoveOS v5 has also been independently audited by experts at Cure53—validating its industry-leading security standards.
Optimized for speed and performance, AircoveOS v5 now achieves up to 330 Mbps speed when using Lightway TCP protocol. This achievement, seven times faster than legacy VPN-compatible routers and nearly twice that of its previous version, significantly transforms the VPN router experience for every user – eliminating streaming delays, accelerating downloads, and enhancing gaming performance.
“Every enhancement in AircoveOS v5 was shaped by direct feedback from our customers and their digital security needs. We listened carefully to what mattered most—from faster connections to isolated network access for your friends and family—and intentionally built these improvements into every aspect of Aircove’s architecture,” said David Gilbert, staff product manager for Aircove. “Not only have we doubled the performance of our speeds, but we’re also introducing more privacy tools and raising our security standards.”
“The result is our most secure and performant OS yet, and we are thrilled to be delivering an enhanced VPN router experience on Aircove,” added Gilbert.
Expanded privacy controls with new guest Wi-Fi feature
When untrusted devices or unfamiliar users share a home network, users risk enabling access to other connected devices, opening doors to data breaches, privacy violations, and network exploitation. The latest feature on Aircove, guest Wi-Fi, introduces a new security control that allows users to isolate untrusted devices in an independent network.
The new feature ensures guest Wi-Fi devices experience the same powerful VPN encryption—without interacting with other devices on users’ home networks. For added security, guest devices are locked in their designated group and prevented from switching, remaining fully isolated from other device groups.
Industry-leading security standards with Lightway—now on Aircove
The latest release introduces two major security enhancements in ExpressVPN’s proprietary VPN protocol—Lightway. Fully implemented on Aircove, these upgrades ensure that Aircove remains powered by the latest VPN encryption technology—future-proofing users’ privacy and digital experience:
- Post-quantum encryption with ML-KEM: with ML-KEM newly minted as the NIST standard for post-quantum encryption technology, ExpressVPN has now integrated it into Lightway and applied it across all platforms—including Aircove. This means users of Aircove can now unlock the highest standard of post-quantum encryption with Lightway, protecting themselves from upcoming threats.
- Lightway reimplemented in Rust: in this major upgrade, Lightway has been reimplemented in the modern coding language, Rust, which has been widely recognized for its security and performance capabilities. The source code rewrite, validated twice by third-party security audits, is now implemented on AircoveOS v5—making Aircove users the first to benefit from this significant enhancement of speed, security, and performance.
“By implementing both post-quantum encryption and Rust-based architecture in Lightway on Aircove, we’re not just meeting today’s security standards—we’re building for tomorrow’s challenges. This dual upgrade represents a significant leap forward in VPN technology, combining quantum-resistant encryption with Rust’s inherent safety features to deliver unparalleled protection for our users’ privacy,” said Pete Membrey, Chief Research Officer at ExpressVPN.
Independent audit reinforces Aircove’s security credentials
Built with user privacy and security as the top priority, ExpressVPN invited cybersecurity firm Cure53 to conduct a penetration test and source code audit of Aircove before its release. The test, conducted in November 2024 with fixes reviewed in February 2025, validated Aircove’s strong security standards.
Through an extensive assessment, only a small number of low-risk findings were identified with none exceeding a medium impact score, and it has “reflected favorably on the Aircove’s security performance”. Cure53 report concluded that the “Aircove router received an admirable final verdict”.
Read the full report from Cure53 here.
“For Aircove’s major release, we sought a rigorous security assessment to ensure Aircove meets the highest standards,” said Gilbert. “Our users trust us with their digital lives, so this is our way of upholding our commitment to safeguarding their security and privacy—by providing full transparency.”
Learn more about the AircoveOS v5 in our blog and audit results. Aircove and Aircove Go are available for sale on Amazon and from the ExpressVPN store.
