Port Forwarding to access recordings on the Arlo Pro Smart Hub (VMB4540) when overseas

[ArloUser2673]

Hi all! Me and the partner are currently on Vodafone's "5G Home Broadband Plus" internet plan, and our modem is the Sagemcom Fast 5866T. Whilst my partner (the primary account holder) is in the area she can see the local recordings on the Arlo Pro Smart Hub (VMB4540) without issue. Recently however we realised that whilst overseas she can't access the recordings without a VPN or port forward (which is very unfortunate). I've followed the steps on https://kb.arlo.com/000062337/What-is-Direct-Storage-Access-and-how-do-I-use-it to port forward, but have been unable to get it to work. Below shows what I've done (The Internal IP address on the phone screenshot is the same as the Local IP in the access control)

Am I doing anything wrong? 

And is port forwarding even possible on a 5G Home Broadband internet plan? I'm confused cause I've read some sources that say no, but then the modem provides the option to port forward

Thanks for any help ☺

[StephenB]

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@ArloUser2673 wrote:

And is port forwarding even possible on a 5G Home Broadband internet plan? I'm confused cause I've read some sources that say no, but then the modem provides the option to port forward

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Most mobile broadband networks aren't set up to allow inbound connections.  When that's the case, neither a  VPN or port forwarding will work.  

Vodophone might be an exception as they do have some info on the website on how to set it up - you can test if the ports are opened with this using https://canyouseeme.org/ 

BTW, it's easy to test access at home - just turn off wifi on the phone.  Of course if you do are using a friend account, you'd also need to log in using her credentials.

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@ArloUser2673 wrote:

 (The Internal IP address on the phone screenshot is the same as the Local IP in the access control)

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Just to clarify this, the IP address is the local IP address assigned to the base station by the Sagemcom gateway.  So you could also check the address in the gateway's attached device list also.  Note that these are private (not internet routeable) IP addresses, so they are safe to post.

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@ArloUser2673 wrote:

Below shows what I've done (The Internal IP address on the phone screenshot is the same as the Local IP in the access control)

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Did you take these screenshots on your phone?  If you did, then you must be the primary account holder (not your partner), as you can only manage local storage settings from the primary account.

[ArloUser2673]

Thanks for the info!

I called Vodafone and a staff said I can port forward

My partner (currently overseas) took the phone screenshot. I took the PC screenshot as I'm not overseas. But I've now logged into my partner's account on my phone

I tried port forwarding 2 more times. The 1st time I used "192.XXX" as the Local IP. It didn't let me see the local recordings unfortunately, and https://canyouseeme.org/ said the port was closed

The 2nd time I tried using "101.XXX" (from https://canyouseeme.org/) as the Local IP. This time the modem wouldn't even let me save the change (said "Invalid IP address")

[StephenB]

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@ArloUser2673 wrote:

The 2nd time I tried using "101.XXX" (from https://canyouseeme.org/) as the Local IP. This time the modem wouldn't even let me save the change (said "Invalid IP address")

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101.xxx would be the external ("WAN") IP address of the modem.  That is assigned by Vodaphone, and can change w/o notice.  The port checking website gets the current WAN address for the router from your browser connection.

You can't use this address for forwarding, as what the modem needs to know is what internal IP address to forward inbound traffic to (the destination for the traffic, which is the Arlo base station).

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@ArloUser2673 wrote:

I called Vodafone and a staff said I can port forward

 https://canyouseeme.org/ said the port was closed

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If you

1. forwarded the port in the modem to the base station's local IP address and
2. are seeing the port as closed when you use the port checking website (letting it autodetect the IP address).

then the issue is with Vodafone, and you'll need to follow up with them.

Or have your partner get an Arlo Secure subscription, which will give both you and your partner access to the recordings.

[ArloUser2673]

So my understanding is I should do the following (based on the pics I sent earlier)

1. Forward the port in the modem to the 192.XXX IP address 

2. Check if the port is closed using https://canyouseeme.org/ and letting it autodetect the IP address (which is the 101.XXX)

Is that correct? 

[StephenB]

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@ArloUser2673 wrote:

So my understanding is I should do the following (based on the pics I sent earlier)

1. Forward the port in the modem to the 192.XXX IP address 

2. Check if the port is closed using https://canyouseeme.org/ and letting it autodetect the IP address (which is the 101.XXX)

Is that correct? 

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Yes.