Port forwarding to access videos remotely . TP-Link router. Can someone please help, I'm new to this

[PeteGa]

Hi all and thanks in advance for your help. 
I am really interested in viewing recorded video outside my local network without a subscription. 

I have a TP- Link router can someone please point me in the right direction. 

I also read that I can enable VPN to access video remotely??  

Thank you for any help. 

Pete

[StephenB]

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@PeteGa wrote:

I have a TP- Link router can someone please point me in the right direction. 

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Details are in your router manual.  What exact model it is?

[PeteGa]

Archer VR600v

Cheers

[StephenB]

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@PeteGa wrote:

Archer VR600v

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So your user manual is here:

• https://static.tp-link.com/res/down/doc/Archer_VR600v(DE)_V1_UG.pdf

It doesn't have a suitable VPN.  Information on forwarding is on section 11.1 (page 78).

[Edinburgh_lad1]

😹

You're too kind StephenB

[arlo_shmarlo]

I went through a lot of frustration trying to figure this out, so here's what I found (in case you get a router that works).

1) Get your router connected to the internet and your Arlo Hub connected to the router via ethernet.

2) Open a browser on a PC connected to the router (ethernet or WiFi), usually go entering 192.168.0.1 into the web address bar.

3) Log in to the router (see router manual for password).

4) Go to VPN Server or similar. If you have VPN Client and VPN Server, you want the server. 

5) Set up an OpenVPN or similar and turn it on. It should generate a configuration file. 

6) Download that configuration file to your smartphone or whatever device you will be using to view the recordings remotely. 

7) Download OpenVPN (or similar, if you are using a different VPN) app to your phone. Import that configuration file to create a VPN profile. 

😎 Open the OpenVPN app while away from home and turn on this VPN connection. 

9) Open the Arlo app, go to recordings, and turn it to Hub. You should see recordings here. Note, it will probably be VERY VERY SLOW compared to when you are on your home network. It may be so slow that the app gives up on loading the recordings. 

[PeteGa]

StephenB.   Thank you very much. Even with the instructions I'm a still unsure what I'm doing. 😞 

I did manage to get it working, so once again, thank you kindly. 

Not all are computer whiz like Edinburgh lad....

Pete

[PeteGa]

Thank you..   Unsure what is safer port forwarding or using VPN..  

I did manage to get it working via port forwarding so I'll stick with this for the time being. 

Thanks for your help. 

Pete

[StephenB]

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@PeteGa wrote:

Unsure what is safer port forwarding or using VPN..  

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With Port Forwarding, anyone can attempt to reach the smarthub through the forwarded port.  So you are relying on Arlo's firmware in the smarthub to thwart any hacking attempts.  I haven't seen any evidence here (or elsewhere) suggesting that someone was actually able to hack into the base.

With the VPN, only authenticated connections are accepted by the router.  So in that case you are relying on a combination of the security of the VPN software and the Arlo firmware.

So both require some trust (either in Arlo and/or the VPN provider) that the security is properly implemented.  In your case, setting up a VPN wouldn't be easy (unless you replace your router).  While I would personally give the VPN a bit of an edge, I think port forwarding is also ok.