Suggestions for setting up remote VPN access into my home network

[drssg]

We seem to have a few computer people that hang around here, so I thought I'd give this a shot.

I have a few network cameras and a computer on my home network that I occasionally want to access when I'm not at home, using my iPhone or Windows 10 laptop. The need is not frequent or critical enough to justify any sort of monthly service fee.

I have a three-year-old Netgear Nighthawk X4S R7800 router, and I have configured it multiple times to do what I want. The router has built-in support for the OpenVPN client, and I don't need to do any port forwarding to get to specific devices from outside my network. The problem is that something periodically gets messed up, and it stops working. I recently went through the configuration process again, and I can't get it to work. The router, phone, and laptop all get software updates over time, so I can't really pin down what causes the issue.

The router might be having other issues, too. I need to reboot it periodically to maintain internet access, so I'm considering swapping out the router anyway.

Does anyone have favorable experience with a router that has good built-in support for what I'm trying to do? Or is there a better solution that I'm missing?

 

[/pine]

What are you using for a modem? is the mode, also a router?...Does it have a DHCP server that is enabled?...Does your Netgear router also have an active DHCP server?...if so this will cause conflicts and IP addresses will change...Make sure there is only one active DHCP server on the network...

 

[drssg]

What are you using for a modem? is the mode, also a router?...Does it have a DHCP server that is enabled?...Does your Netgear router also have an active DHCP server?...if so this will cause conflicts and IP addresses will change...Make sure there is only one active DHCP server on the network...

I’m pretty confident that my router is the only DHCP server and router on my home network. My ISP uses fiber optics, and I *think* their modem is in the box on the outside of my house.

When they setup internet access in my house, they initially tested with one of their routers. Then they swapped in my router.

 

[RNeumann]

My first guess is it stops working when the IP address of the modem changes. If you aren’t paying for a static IP address (most don’t) then it typically changes every so often. Either with power outages or from the ISP. I assume the VPN service would need the IP address updated.

 

[/pine]

If the router is functioning correctly the IP address it assigns to the camera (or other devices on the network) should not change (it's internal i.e., 192.168...) the router would continue to allow access to the Internet regardless of the router/modem IP address..

? for the OP...do you have a firewall running?

 

[drssg]

My first guess is it stops working when the IP address of the modem changes. If you aren’t paying for a static IP address (most don’t) then it typically changes every so often. Either with power outages or from the ISP. I assume the VPN service would need the IP address updated.

When the basic internet access through the router became unstable, I suspected it might be due to the router not handling it when my ISP changes my external IP address. So I made a note of that address, which I can view on the router configuration pages. Then I checked that address again after rebooting the router to restore internet access. I found that sometimes the address had changed and sometimes it had not. It makes me suspect that the IP change is an occasional effect of the router going down, instead of the cause.

As for the VPN, I currently can’t get that to work at all. The VPN client times out when attempting to establish the connection to the router. I did check the client log and verified that it was attempting to connect to the current external IP address for the router.

 

[dnw64]

I use the free Chrome Remote Desktop to access my computers remotely. Works great for my use, maybe it wouldn't for you?

 

[drssg]

If the router is functioning correctly the IP address it assigns to the camera (or other devices on the network) should not change (it's internal i.e., 192.168...) the router would continue to allow access to the Internet regardless of the router/modem IP address..

? for the OP...do you have a firewall running?

I do have fixed internal IP addresses assigned to the devices I wish to access remotely.

As for a firewall, I’m assuming you mean on the PC or cameras to which I’m trying to connect. I’m not running a firewall there, but the connection never gets that far. The VPN client fails to establish a connection to my router.

Historically, if I get the client to connect, then I can access all the devices that I want.

 

[/pine]

FWIW...From the Netgear FAQ:

Does the Nighthawk X4S R7800 Router have SPI firewall?
The router has SPI firewall built-in but it cannot be customized. It cannot be enabled or disabled because it is not available even in the UI.

Not sure that this is related but generally a firewall is the first thing to check if you can't tunnel into a remote system if the address and protocols are correct...

 

[Oaktree]

Have you tried Teamviewer? More secure than leaving ports open on your router since all access is thru their servers. Free for personal use.

 

[drssg]

Have you tried Teamviewer? More secure than leaving ports open on your router since all access is thru their servers. Free for personal use.

I have never heard of it, but I’ll do some research. Thank you.

FWIW, I don’t directly open any ports. The router has built-in logic to accept a connection from an OpenVPN client, provided that the client presents a certificate that was previously downloaded directly from the router during the client configuration process. I *think* it’s pretty secure, but I’m not a security expert. I guess it’s especially secure right now because I can’t even get it to work!

 

[LittleBill21]

if your router is dropping internet connection a lot. there may be a issue with the router itself. do you have another router to test with? vpn is nothing special, just find a router with the openvpn software built in. there are other protocols as well your not limited to openvpn.

 

[drssg]

if your router is dropping internet connection a lot. there may be a issue with the router itself. do you have another router to test with? vpn is nothing special, just find a router with the openvpn software built in. there are other protocols as well your not limited to openvpn.

I don’t have another router available for testing, and I’m open to buying a new one. I was hoping for some feedback on specific routers that have provided a good experience.

I thought the router I have was pretty good, but it hasn’t lasted that long, and the VPN has been problematic.

 

[/pine]

Are you running the latest firmware for the router?

 

[LittleBill21]

I don’t have another router available for testing, and I’m open to buying a new one. I was hoping for some feedback on specific routers that have provided a good experience.

I thought the router I have was pretty good, but it hasn’t lasted that long, and the VPN has been problematic.

i would factory default it, update to the latest firmware, and start over. you may have a config issue

 

[drssg]

Are you running the latest firmware for the router?

Yes. I've been checking more frequently for updates - hoping there might be a bug fix that will clear things up for me.

 

[drssg]

i would factory default it, update to the latest firmware, and start over. you may have a config issue

That's worth a shot. I'll need to allocate a chunk of time when no one else needs the internet at home.

 

[thekkfan]

Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X is the best device I've found for the money, but not for the novice user. If you do not have a solid understanding of what you're doing, you'll assume its no good. But there are tech forums to assist with configuration. I run them at a few clients needing to get back to their network, and it does support openVPN client.

Put your provider device in passthrough and let this handle everything else.

Gig on all ports and supports Ubiquiti POE on 1 port for AP, etc.

https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-EdgeRouter-Advanced-Gigabit-Ethernet/dp/B00YFJT29C/ref=sr_1_4?gclid=Cj0KCQjwgLLoBRDyARIsACRAZe5CcS0ub0JkryrnBWuucEw48-3D9FWacxMkhTjBrZ6BfeR8FoxazCQaAsOwEALw_wcB&hvadid=153633816453&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9009639&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=5948695661174301109&hvtargid=kwd-19845967137&hydadcr=18005_9429560&keywords=ubiquiti+router&qid=1561163474&s=gateway&sr=8-4

AP... https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Unifi-Ap-AC-Long-Range/dp/B015PRCBBI/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2FPVV14LT6W39&keywords=ubiquiti+long+range+access+point&qid=1561163820&s=gateway&sprefix=ubiquiti+long+rang%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-3

 

[Industrial Toys]

Always wondered if having a VPN just draws attention to you. That would make the job of the inteligence community infinitely easier to find bad guys if they possibly can (and I can't for a minute believe they can't) watch and record your traffic.

 

[drssg]

Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X is the best device I've found for the money, but not for the novice user. If you do not have a solid understanding of what you're doing, you'll assume its no good. But there are tech forums to assist with configuration. I run them at a few clients needing to get back to their network, and it does support openVPN client.

Put your provider device in passthrough and let this handle everything else.

Gig on all ports and supports Ubiquiti POE on 1 port for AP, etc.

https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-EdgeRouter-Advanced-Gigabit-Ethernet/dp/B00YFJT29C/ref=sr_1_4?gclid=Cj0KCQjwgLLoBRDyARIsACRAZe5CcS0ub0JkryrnBWuucEw48-3D9FWacxMkhTjBrZ6BfeR8FoxazCQaAsOwEALw_wcB&hvadid=153633816453&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9009639&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=5948695661174301109&hvtargid=kwd-19845967137&hydadcr=18005_9429560&keywords=ubiquiti+router&qid=1561163474&s=gateway&sr=8-4

AP... https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Unifi-Ap-AC-Long-Range/dp/B015PRCBBI/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2FPVV14LT6W39&keywords=ubiquiti+long+range+access+point&qid=1561163820&s=gateway&sprefix=ubiquiti+long+rang%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-3

Thanks for that! I have never heard of them, and they are inexpensive. I think I understand what I’m doing, but I won’t swear that my understanding is solid.

Particularly with the VPN, I need to follow directions and hope that it works.