Guide to remotely and remotely access and control the Fastweb, TIM, Vodafone or other models router
The home router allows you to access important configuration parameters for the Internet network and to change the settings relating to the Wireless connection or to the connection of a single device or a single service (for example port forwarding). These changes could only be applied when we were connected to the network managed by the router (by typing 192.168.1.1 or similar addresses), but on the new models we can manage router modifications even remotely, taking advantage of the integrated VPN services or of the special remote connection methods offered by proprietary routers.In this guide we will show you how to control the router remotely, using both the tools made available by the telephone operator provided by Fastweb, TIM and Vodafone, and the external services that use VPN networks for remote control.
ALSO READ: Log into the router for easy access to settings
How to remotely control the Fastweb router
If we have a Fastweb fixed line and the new Fastgate modem, we can control it remotely without configuring anything: all we have to do is download the free MyFastweb app (available for Android and iOS) on our smartphone, log in on it with our Fastweb credentials (it may be sufficient to connect to the Fastgate Wi-Fi network for the first time or use a Fastweb SIM combined with the subscription) and, Once in the app, tap the icon with three horizontal bars at the top left and select the menu FASTGate.
A drop-down menu will open where we can choose which menu to use for configuring the router: Wi-Fi, Speedtest, Devices, Telephone e Advanced Settings.
Most of the items are also available when we are away from home and use the data connection of the smartphone, so that we can always access the settings of our Fastgate anywhere on the planet. Unfortunately some advanced settings are not available for remote control and we will have to connect to the Fastgate Wi-Fi network to unlock them.
To learn more, we invite you to read our guide Guide to access the Fastweb modem (Fastgate).
How to remotely control the TIM router
If we have a fixed Internet subscription from TIM, we download it to our smartphone the free app MyTIM Fisso (available for Android and iOS), log in with the TIM account credentials and go to the section Modem app.
From this section we will be able to check some router settings and know the devices connected even remotely, using the mobile phone connection when we are away from home.
How to remotely control the Vodafone router
If, on the other hand, we want to remotely control a Vodafone router, download it to our smartphone the free Vodafone Station DSL / Fiber app (available for Android and iOS), we enter the login credentials of the Vodafone account in our possession and use the various menus offered to control practically every aspect of the router.
The menus offered are numerous and allow you to set a large number of options without being physically connected to the Wi-Fi network of the Vodafone Station, just be connected to the Internet when we are away from home (under LTE coverage or connected to a Wi-Fi Hotspot).
How to set up a VPN to control any remote router
If our home router doesn't offer remote connection via app, we can create a VPN connection between our smartphone and the home network, so as to be "always connected" to it even when we are away from home.
First, let's get a new VPN router to be cascaded to the modem / router we already have; a good VPN router to use for this purpose is the TP-Link Archer C7 AC1750 (€ 68).
We connect this router cascaded with the main router (which also acts as a modem), we access the configuration panel of the new router and identify the menu VPN o Server VPN.
We select the OpenVPN menu, put the check mark on the item Abilita server VPN, we check the items UDP e Home network only and configure the fields Service door (for example 8089) is Subnet/Netmask VPN (we use in these fields 192.168.1.0 e 255.255.255.0). When finished, click on Save and press down on Export, in order to generate the file necessary for the configuration on a smartphone.
Now that the VPN on the router is active, let's download it on our smartphone l'app gratuita OpenVPN Connect (for Android and iOS), load the file exported from the router into the phone's internal memory (perhaps using one of the services available in the guide Transfer even large files from PC to smartphone in Wifi) and, within the OpenVPN app, we tap on private-tunnel, load the exported file from the router and confirm the VPN connection.
If everything is configured correctly, we will have access to the main network of our router even outside the home and we will be able to access its settings by opening any browser and typing 192.168.1.1 or similar address (even away from home).
More information on VPNs can be found in our guide on how Configure VPN on Router.
Conclusions
As we have seen, we can access the settings of our router very easily, even when we are away from home; just use the specific apps for the proprietary routers of the main telephony operators or configure a VPN to access, from anywhere in the world, the devices in the home network (including the router itself).Once we have remote access to the router, we can configure a whole series of parameters, such as those recommended in our guide Router configuration: all the things to do. If, on the other hand, we want to remotely optimize the speed of wireless connections, we recommend that you read our guide on how Speed up the router and optimize the Wifi network.
To remotely control a single PC, we recommend that you continue reading our guide How to control a computer via the Internet remotely.
