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Access Home Devices (VPN-to-Site)

This guide shows how to access your home network devices from anywhere using the Networks feature.

What You'll Achieve

After following this guide, you'll be able to access your home NAS, media server, home automation, or any device on your home network from your laptop or phone—anywhere in the world.

Your Laptop ──────► NetBird Tunnel ──────► Routing Peer ──────► Home NAS
  (peer)                                    (at home)           (no NetBird)

Prerequisites

Step 1: Connect Your Laptop to NetBird

If you haven't already, install NetBird on your laptop and connect:

  1. Download NetBird from app.netbird.io/install
  2. Run the application and click Connect in the system tray
  3. Complete the sign-up process in your browser
  4. Verify your device appears in the NetBird dashboard under Peers

Step 2: Add Your Laptop to a User Group

  1. In the Peers section of the dashboard, select your laptop peer
  2. Under Assigned Groups, add a new group: "Home Users"

Add user group

Step 3: Find Your Home Subnet

Before configuring NetBird, identify your home network's subnet.

On your routing peer device, run:

# Linux
ip route | grep -E "^[0-9]"

# macOS
netstat -rn | grep default

Look for your local subnet, typically something like 192.168.1.0/24 or 192.168.0.0/24.

Step 4: Create a Network for Your Home LAN

  1. Go to Networks in the NetBird dashboard
  2. Click Add Network
  3. Name it "Home LAN" and click Save

Add network

Step 5: Add Your Home Subnet as a Resource

  1. In your new network, click Add Resource
  2. Enter a name like "Home Subnet"
  3. Enter your home subnet (e.g., 192.168.1.0/24)
  4. Create a group called home-lan for the destination
  5. Click Add Resource

Add resource

For more granular access, add specific device IPs instead of the entire subnet. For example, add 192.168.1.50/32 to only allow access to your NAS.

Step 6: Create an Access Policy

  1. After adding your resource, click Create Policy
  2. Set Source to "Home Users"
  3. Set Destination to home-lan
  4. Set Protocol to All
  5. Name it "Home LAN Access" and click Add Policy

Add policy

Step 7: Set Up the Routing Peer

The routing peer forwards traffic from NetBird to your local network. Use any always-on device:

  • Raspberry Pi
  • Synology NAS
  • Apple TV/Android TV
  • Home server

Install NetBird on your routing peer:

  1. In the NetBird dashboard, go to Setup Keys
  2. Create a new setup key (one-time use recommended). Add home-lan to Auto-assigned groups and click Create Setup Key.

You can also add groups to peers manually after setup. Go to Peers, select the peer, and add groups under Assigned Groups.

  1. On your routing peer, run:
curl -fsSL https://pkgs.netbird.io/install.sh | sh
sudo netbird up --setup-key YOUR_SETUP_KEY
  1. In the Networks view, click Add Routing Peer on your Home LAN network

Add routing peer button

  1. Select your new peer and click Add Routing Peer

Add routing peer

Step 8: Test the Connection

From your laptop (connected to a different network like mobile data or coffee shop WiFi):

ping 192.168.1.1  # Your router
ping 192.168.1.50 # Your NAS or other device

You can now access your home devices from anywhere.

Common Home Devices to Access

DeviceTypical Access Method
Synology/QNAP NASWeb UI (port 5000/5001), SMB shares
Home AssistantWeb UI (port 8123)
Plex/JellyfinWeb UI (port 32400/8096)
Pi-holeWeb UI (port 80), DNS (port 53)
Security camerasRTSP streams, web interfaces
PrintersIPP/AirPrint, web interfaces

Troubleshooting

Can't reach home devices:

  1. Verify the routing peer is online: check netbird status on the routing peer
  2. Ensure the routing peer can reach local devices: ping 192.168.1.1 from the routing peer
  3. Check that your access policy includes your user/device

Intermittent connectivity:

  1. Ensure the routing peer has a stable internet connection
  2. Check if your ISP blocks VPN traffic (try a different port or protocol)

Next Steps