Use my home IP address whilst in another location

General Chat Tech & Gaming
1

So I’m moving abroad soon and I want to be able to access and watch U.K. tv on their respective catchup sites.

I recently lived in the US for a short time and used one of the many vpn service providers. However as the IP addresses they assign are pooled, the tv sites cotton on pretty quickly that it’s a vpn IP addres and block it, they then share these to other providers to blacklist them. It then takes a little while for the vpn providers to catch up and assign a new IP address that works again…

So, I was wondering if there is a way to create a private vpn (my best way of wording it), to connect to my mums home network, so that my IP address appears to be from the U.K.? It needs to be secure and reliable.

Thanks!

2

You can pay for a dedicated IP from some VPN companies.

But from experience VPNs on standard internet lines aren’t very fast at all especially if the line is being used in the home at the same time.

What speeds do you get at your mum’s house?

The easiest way would be to swap the router out(if the ISP let’s) for something like a draytek or unifi router and use the built-in VPN server , if there isn’t a static IP at your mum’s you’ll probably want to get a DDNS service and you can follow some videos on YouTube on how to set the VPN up.

Unifi will be easier to setup

But issues both will be either no or weak built in WiFi, so you’ll likely be looking at a decent WiFi access point also.

Also if you have apple devices it gets even more complicated due to certificates.

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3

Thanks!

She has a virgin media router at the moment. Running about 15mb download, 10mb upload, she is on the basic package though.

Is there any of their routers you have in mind that would work? As there is loads on their website.

And do you need a router at both ends?

4

10Mbps upload will be enough for HD streaming on most services. 4K might be a challenge though.

You need a router that has VPN server functionality or a separate machine to which you forward the right ports. You do not need a router at the other end if your device supports connecting to whatever flavor of VPN technology you’re using (IKEv2 is supported natively on iOS and most likely Android too so I’d go with that).

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5

OP it’s all about their upload so the more they have the better.

In terms of setup you could go the VPN router route which - you need a relatively decent spec router though.

You could also use a raspberry Pi instead: https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/raspberry-pi-vpn/ . Just be aware you have to setup port forwarding and if at all possible it needs to be wired to the router.

In terms of on the other end I would suggest an android box/TV/ Amazon Device and the openvpn for android app. This does per App VPN so you could have the VPN always on and then only iplayer/4od going through the vpn server (Pi at base).

Speed will be an issue you should get HD “just” however if you can and they can increase the package to get a better upload speed I would say it’s worthwhile.

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6

Just adding to my post as well…

For UK TV you could get a HD Homerun then use the same Pi as a Plex server and access live UK TV in the same way you can at home with a guide and everything. You could even plug in a hard drive and record if you need to.

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7

Ive literally just been watching videos using a raspberry pi. I think I’m going to have a bash at it that way. The video I watched had open vpn installed which handled it all apart from the DDNS service. He had his home router update the DDNS provider as his router supported it. Is there not a program/ software for the Pi to update it?

So you have raspberry pi with a vpn server and DDNS updater on it?

Ill hold off on recording live tv until ive managed the basics :joy:

8

You would ideally want the router to do it as it then knows when the IP changes however the Pi can definitely do it.

https://www.dynu.com/DynamicDNS/IPUpdateClient/RaspberryPi-Dynamic-DNS

I use no-ip as it’s free you just have to click 2 things every 28 days but it does remind you:

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9

Even with a 10mbps upload don’t expect anything above 2-3mbps download via the VPN

10

I uses to do this as I travelled a lot for work and spent a lot of time in a hotel room bored of an evening.

I used my original Raspberry Pi and installed PiVPN

I then setup a DDNS service with No-IP for free and used their client on the Pi to keep the IP updated.

Once running, stuck it next to the router plugged in and forgot all about it. Never had an issue with it anywhere in the world. Just used the open VPN client on all my devices and worked like a charm. Apart from when I was in the arse end of nowhere with a crap connection!

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11

Quick update on this.

I’m now in Cyprus. I bought a raspberry pi 4 and had my friend configure it. His virgin media is 200mb download and 20mb upload.

I now get 20mb download through the vpn (obviously a little less if he’s using upload bandwidth) and all U.K. tv services work perfectly :ok_hand:t3:

Took him all of an hour to set up.

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12

Just reviving this for a similar problem.

Does anyone know how to setup open vpn on a Firestick? I’ve sideloaded the open vpn client, installed mouse toggle and installed my open vpn profile.

It connects, but it doesn’t change my ip. The vpn works fine as I tested it on my phone and laptop, so that isn’t the issue.

I don’t know whether it’s because the Firestick isn’t rooted? I have no experience in cracking the software on these things (if that’s the issue)

Cheers

13

Nord vpn works and can be installed on newer fire sticks to provide the change in IP address you want but not the early ones

14

The first gen firestick can’t have VPNs which might be your issue?

Only place a 1st gen belongs is the bin unfortunately.

15

Someone I know was getting rid of one so I asked them if I could just see if it would work before I went ahead and bought one.

Useless if a first gen won’t work though! :joy:

So you think a new gen will work with side loading open vpn?

16

does your router support l2tp tunnelling?

17

I have no idea. I’d have to have a look in the settings when I get back home. I’m not holding out much hope, it’s an ISP provided router.

18

Ah, may not be likely then! Let me know if you’re able to find out! There’s a U.K. based ISP that sells a L2TP tunnelling service, so you appear as though you’re using a U.K. ISP and it grants you uncensored and unfiltered access to the Internet. Could be an option for you if your router supports l2tp tunnels.

You can read about it here:
https://www.aa.net.uk/broadband/l2tp-service/

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19

Sorry for veering sightly off topic. I’ve got an ISP provided router too that loses connection quite often.

Is it worth investing in something like Nest WiFi? My partner is working from home and needs a stable connection for video meetings etc.

Cheers

20

This would depend on what’s causing the dropped connection. And where within the network the drop is occurring.

Could be anything from a faulty router, to a dodgy line, or even an issue within the backhaul network, so would need more info here to help you better.

Is your internet cable, DSL, or FTTP?

Mesh networks only really solve the issue of WiFi coverage.

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