How to Securely Access Your Wi-Fi Router From Anywhere
There are a few different ways to access and manage your wireless router remotely. You can enable the remote monitoring option in some routers or use a DDNS service if you have dynamic IP to access and control the Wi-Fi router remotely. However, these are insecure methods and, thus, are disabled by default.
When exposing your router or devices to the internet, securing the connection is critical to avoid unauthorized access and attacks. In this guide, you will learn to access and manage your Wi-Fi router and other instances, such as local web servers, securely using the free and secure Cloudflare Tunnels.
Reasons to Access Wi-Fi Router Remotely
Before we head to the setup part, it’s essential to discuss the need to access a Wi-Fi router remotely. Below are a few examples:
In case there’s an issue with your home Wi-Fi or LAN network, here’sall you need to know about fixing your internet connection.
Things You Will Need
You can use any old laptop or a Raspberry Pi, such as Raspberry Pi Zero W, to set up a Cloudflare Tunnel for secure access to your Wi-Fi router remotely.
Install and Set Up a Cloudflare Tunnel
Follow the steps below to install and set up a Cloudflare Tunnel on Raspberry Pi Zero W for secure remote access to your Wi-Fi router.
Step 1: Add Domain to Cloudflare
After registering the domain and creating the Cloudflare account, follow these steps to add it to Cloudflare.
That’s it. Your domain will now be added to Cloudflare.
Step 2: Install and Authenticate Cloudflared
On your Raspberry Pi Zero W SD card, flash the Raspbian Lite OS using Raspberry Pi Imager.
After flashing the OS file, create an empty SSH file in the boot partition. Also, create awpa_supplicant.conffile and add the following.
Replace theNETWORK-NAMEandNETWORK-PASSWORDfields, and then copy/paste the file into the root of the boot partition.
Next, insert the SD card into the Raspberry Pi Zero W and connect the power supply. Once it boots, useAdvance IP Scannertool to find the IP address.
Then, openPuttyon your Windows PC, enter the Raspberry Pi IP, and clickOpen. ChooseYesand thenlogon as: pi withpassword:raspberry.
Now, run the following commands to install and set up cloudflared.
Copy the URL displayed in the terminal window, paste it into the web browser and authorize the domain.
Step 3: Create a Secure Tunnel to Access the Router Remotely
To create a tunnel, run the following command in the terminal window,
This will create a tunnel with a UUID and generate a JSON file. Copy the UUID and JSON file path.
Then, configure the tunnel by creating and editing the configuration file or config.yml file.
Now, paste the following line of code.
verify to replace the tunnel UUID andcredentials-filepath (JSON file path), and the hostname you want to give for accessing the router remotely. You can create as many hostname entries as you want to access other devices or services remotely. For example, if you have an IP camera, you can redirect the feed to a hostname and access the camera feed remotely. It’s secure and encrypted.
PressCTRL+Xand thenYfollowed by theEnterkey to save the changes. Next, create a DNS entry by executing the following command,
You can also log in to the Cloudflare account, open Domain, and add aCNAMEentry for the hostname in the DNS settings.
Finally, you can start the tunnel to access and manage your Wi-Fi router remotely.
Once the tunnel has started, you’re able to open the web browser and visit the hostname you created to access the router remotely. Further, it’s recommended that you follow oursimple tips to secure your router and Wi-Fi router.
However, if you receive any errors, check the configuration file and fix the hostname entries and verify the tunnel ID and the JSON path.
Moreover, you’re able to create, delete, start, stop, or restart Cloudflare Tunnels by using following commands.
Create a Cloudflare Tunnel
cloudflared tunnel run
Delete a Cloudflare Tunnel
cloudflared tunnel delete
List Cloudflare Tunnels
cloudflared tunnel list
Stop Cloudflare Tunnel
cloudflared tunnel stop
Restart Cloudflare Tunnel
cloudflared tunnel restart
Run Cloudflare Tunnel
To learn more about cloudflared tunnel, you may visitCloudflared’s Githubpage.
Better, Faster, and Reliable Way to Remotely Access Wi-Fi Routers
Although you may use remote desktop apps such as TeamViewer or open port and enable the Remote Management option to remotely access and manage your routers, none of these is secure.
However, you could install a Cloudflare Tunnel on any supported device, such as Windows, Mac, or Linux PC, or Raspberry Pi Zero W, 2,3, 4, or an old laptop, without much hassle. Anyone with little to no knowledge can configure the Cloudflare Tunnel and securely access their router or other local instances from anywhere in the world.
Just bought your first ever router? Upgraded your old one to a new one? Take these important steps and make sure it’s set up properly.
Flagship price, mid-range phone.
You can block out the constant surveillance and restore your privacy with a few quick changes.
Your phone’s camera app doesn’t show this, so it’s easy to miss.
Your phone is a better editor than you give it credit for.
Obsidian finally feels complete.
