How to access the router remotely

If you’re on the road and want to check your home network, you can do so by remotely accessing your router. Most of the users we interacted with weren’t familiar with this feature, but accessing the router remotely allows you to control your family, roommates, and even access devices connected to the router via a USB drive.

You can also achieve this using some third party apps like Teamviewer. However, you will need to install it on a host computer that must always remain powered on and connected to the network. If the device is powered off or removed from the network, it will lose this ability.

You won’t have to worry about these possibilities because when you access the router directly, the router is always on and connected to the network.

So, if you also want to access your router remotely, the article we have prepared for you below will help you to do so.

Why you may need to access the router remotely

How to access the router remotely

We have already talked about this before; One option you have is to install and configure a third-party app like Teamviewer. However, we do not prefer to use such applications as they require a host device to run.

The host device must be powered on and connected to the Internet at all times. And lastly, you will also need to install and configure the same third-party app on the remote device.

Instead, we’ll look for a method that allows you to remotely access the router without the need for a third-party app. In fact, all you’ll need is a browser with Internet access.

However, keep in mind that messing up the wrong router settings can prevent you from accessing the Internet. Therefore, please follow the steps below carefully.

Set up remote access on your router

If you want to access your router from within the network, simply enter the router’s gateway provided in the router’s documentation. Most routers also have the gateway address (private IP address) printed on them, so you can find it directly that way as well.

Alternatively, you can also use the ipconfig command on Windows to find your router’s gateway.

1. Press Win + R and type cmd to throw the symbol of the system.
2. At the prompt, run the command ipconfig.
3. Write down the IP adress beside Default Gateway under ethernet adapter ethernet (if there is an ethernet connection), or Wi-Fi Wireless LAN Adapter (if WiFi connection) .

You can now launch a browser and type the gateway IP in the address bar to access the router from your network.

However, if you try the same thing from outside your network, you will not be able to access your router.

This is because the IP address you need to enter in the browser is now an external IP address (public IP) provided by your ISP. You will also need the specific device to have an open port to connect to it.

Therefore, you will first need to configure your router for remote access.

1. Start a browser and connect to router.
2. navigate to setting related to remote connection. In the following example, we are connecting to a Prolink PRC3801 router, and the option is located in Adjustment > Internet. The location of your remote access settings may vary depending on your model, so check your documentation or user manual.
3. toggle the Remote access option to In.
4. Or change the port number assigned (default 8080 here), or leave the default port and write it down.
5. Save money settings.

After completing the steps above, you can now connect to the router by simply typing the public IP of your network followed by the port address.

You can find your public IP from Windows Powershell.

1. Press Win + R and type powershell to throw the Windows PowerShell.
2. At the prompt, run the command: (Invoke-WebRequest ifconfig.me/ip).Content.Trim()
   

You can get a “Internet Explorer is not available…” error when you try to run the above command. If so, you can simply start an instance of Internet Explorer and close it again to fix this problem. The command should run without issue.

Configure dynamic DNS

Once you have set up remote access on your router, you can access it from anywhere over the Internet. That is, until your router reboots. When this happens, your ISP assigns a new public IP to the router every time it reboots, thus foiling your brilliant plan.

One solution to this problem is buy static IP from your ISP that does not change. In fact, this is the preferred solution for many enterprise-grade use cases. However, as an individual just looking to monitor your home network, buying a static IP might not be the right solution for you.

In this case, we can configure a dynamic DNS. By setting up DDNS, you can forward communications on your home network to a fixed DDNS server, which keeps track of your dynamic IP and forwards packets to you.

So instead of keeping track of your ever-changing dynamic public IP, you can rely on the DDNS service provider’s IP to locate your home router from an external network.

Most routers also have DDNS settings built in. In fact, it could also list some DDNS providers already included among the selections in a dropdown menu for you to choose from.

However, please note that some of these DDNS providers are paid services and may require you to sign up for the service with a subscription fee.

Some of the popular DDNS providers are:

• Duck DNS (free)
• Dynu (free)
• free DNS (free)
• No IP (free)
• Afraid.org (free)
• DynDNS (paid)

You will need to choose a DDNS service provider. Thereafter, please follow the steps below to set up DDNS on your router.

1. Create an account with the DDNS service provider of your choice.
2. Configure the your DDNS domain providing a hostname.
   
3. Open the web browser and log in to your router.
4. navigate to the Dynamic DNS set it up and change it IN.
   
5. Under host nameEnter the domain you just created with the DDNS provider.
6. also input Username Y Key code to the DDNS provider, if necessary.
7. Save settings and exit or reboot the router as necessary.

You are now configured to access your router remotely. In the example above, you can access the router remotely by launching a web browser and typing 8183k.duckdns.org:8080 in the address bar from anywhere in the world.