Access Hubitat through internet

I was referring specifically to controlling your desktop via a phone.

Please don't take my post as a "my solution is better than yours" type post. I was trying to define the differences between the 2 approaches for others that might be trying to decide on how to remotely access their HE hubs. I have used quite a few Remote Desktop applications over the years and think they are a great solution. Once I started using VPN, I realized it was the best solution for me and my needs.

3 Likes

Donā€™t flatter yourself I could care less about whoā€™s is better I was clearing up the fact that whether your using Remote Desktop on mobile or pc there is no scrolling problems. I was simply correcting your false statement.

I have to scroll on my, now tiny by today's standards, phone if I use Team Viewer...

Ok...I was unaware that mobile phones were now able to capture a high resolution desktops in a way that did not require "zoom and scroll". I stand corrected.

2 Likes

Me too... Which is why I use VPN instead of RDP/teamviewer/chrome remote desktop... 4K desktop... 2K phone screen.... Either way even if I size to fit, everything is WAY too small for me to see the desktop without zooming/scrolling.

2 Likes

Yup, would 100% prefer that over RDP.
I have to figure out why OpenVPN only lets me SSH to my PI and not anything else on my network.

To each their own I donā€™t need any rasberryā€™s, strawberries, or watermelons hahaha I just log in and get what I need done! Itā€™s not like Iā€™m performing surgery I just need it to check a rule or make a quick change when Iā€™m away from home.

You're not allowing it :smiley:

OpenVPN (default) uses NAT... typically issuing 172.16 addresses to "visitors'.

There's an option to allow users to "see" the local network, which I think is off, by default.

I'll visit my config in a few and see if there's a useful screen cap.

OpenVPN is built into my internet security UTM (Untangle), so only took me about 10s to setup. Ok maybe 3m including time to copy the OpenVPN config to my phone. :smile:

But I agree - each to their own. Whatever works for you in a way you can live with is the right answer for you. :+1:

The nice thing also about VPN access is on my phone I can run apps as if I connected directly to my LAN. Or access HE right in my Chrome browser on the phone or any other device's web portal for that matter. If you want total control over your devices through a secure connection its the way to go.

4 Likes

So if I'm out somewhere and I wanna turn on a light or change my temperature on my Thermostat or even disarm my alarm, I need to do that with a VPN?

Yes, or insecure your network opening a port to access the hub, not recommended

Or use a dashboard

1 Like

No. You can create a dashboard that is accessible via the cloud.

Edit: except thermostat controls arenā€™t currently supported on dashboards, I believe (I donā€™t have a smart thermostat).

1 Like

No, you would use a Hubitat Dashboard to handle those tasks.

2 Likes

I'm new to Hubitat, like 2 days new. How do I do that?

https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=Hubitatā„¢_Dashboard

1 Like

Sweet. Thank you.

1 Like

You can also use Google Home/Alexa app or Sharptools as alternatives

1 Like

Also, a new, updated version of Hubitat Dashboard is in the works which should address many of the current shortcomings, like lack of a dedicated thermostat tile.

1 Like

My recipe for exposing the Hubitat admin interface on the internet uses Dataplicity, a Raspberry Pi, and the Nginx web server acting as a proxy. This scheme has the advantage (or the security risk, depending on who you ask) that the admin interface is accessible like a normal web site on the internet without requiring a vpn client.

Here is the recipe:

  1. Connect a Raspberry Pi (or comparable linux machine) to the same local network that the Hubitat is connected to.
  2. On the Raspberry Pi, install Dataplicity (run the python bootstrapping installer from the url provided on the Dataplicity setup page).
  3. On the Raspberry Pi, install Nginx (sudo apt-get install nginx).
  4. Enable the Dataplicity wormhole mode (this is done on the Dataplicity device page).
  5. Modify the nginx config file (/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default) to look like this:
server {
    listen 80 default_server;
    listen [::]:80 default_server;
    root /var/www/html;
    index index.html index.htm index.nginx-debian.html;
    server_name _;
    location / {
        #------------------------------------------------------------------
        #|  The below configuration assumes that the hubitat hub's web 
        #|  interface is reachable on the local network at 
        #|  "http(s)://hubitat" . Your configuration might vary. For 
        #|  instance, if you have configured your hubitat hub to have a 
        #|  static ip address and are not relying on dns, then you could 
        #|  replace "hubitat" below with the ip address of your hubitat 
        #|  hub. 
        #------------------------------------------------------------------
        proxy_pass http://hubitat:80;
        proxy_redirect default;
        proxy_redirect http://hubitat/ /;
        proxy_redirect https://hubitat/ /;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "Upgrade";
    }
} 

Once this is done, the Hubitat's admin interface should be accessible on the web at the wormhole URL provided by Dataplicity.

1 Like