How can I get a public IP address?
Autonow
Newbie

I got a Verizon 4G Broadband Router with Voice It has cool features like port forwarding and routing. But the "public" ip address VZW assigns is only outward facing. So it renders all these features that actually makes this device a router unusable. I think VZW needs to compensate me for unusable equipment.I use this in my home as my phone and internet connection but also want to access my security system when I am away


So how can I get my IP address truly public? They will NOT sell me a static address because I am not a business.  

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Re: How can I get a public IP address?
John_Getzke
Champion - Level 1

> So it renders all these features that actually makes this device a router unusable

Correct.  This is a well known and documented feature of all VZW broadband devices.  All IPs on the 4G LTE network are NAT firewalled and effectively disable any devices port forwarding features.

> I think VZW needs to compensate me for unusable equipment.

Not going to happen.  The equipment is perfectly usable, just not with the IP address that VZW provides to you with your service.  If you were to purchase a public IP address then all of the port forwarding features would work as expected.

> I use this in my home as my phone and internet connection but also want to access my security system when I am away

The nature of VZWs 4G LTE network is no secret.  Security cameras are one of the well documented limitations of how VZW decided to deploy its new network several years ago.  You are not alone and VZW doesn't seem to be making any changes in this area.

> So how can I get my IP address truly public?


Known work arounds are as follows:

1. Purchase a static/public IP address from VZW for somewhere around $500.00

2. Setup a VPN connection to a VPN server that enables custom ports that you are looking to use for your security system.

3. Switch your device to VZW Internet Installed which provides a static IP address: https://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/lte-internet-installed/

4. Terminate and setup service with another ISP that provides public IP addresses



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Re: How can I get a public IP address?
John_Getzke
Champion - Level 1

> So it renders all these features that actually makes this device a router unusable

Correct.  This is a well known and documented feature of all VZW broadband devices.  All IPs on the 4G LTE network are NAT firewalled and effectively disable any devices port forwarding features.

> I think VZW needs to compensate me for unusable equipment.

Not going to happen.  The equipment is perfectly usable, just not with the IP address that VZW provides to you with your service.  If you were to purchase a public IP address then all of the port forwarding features would work as expected.

> I use this in my home as my phone and internet connection but also want to access my security system when I am away

The nature of VZWs 4G LTE network is no secret.  Security cameras are one of the well documented limitations of how VZW decided to deploy its new network several years ago.  You are not alone and VZW doesn't seem to be making any changes in this area.

> So how can I get my IP address truly public?


Known work arounds are as follows:

1. Purchase a static/public IP address from VZW for somewhere around $500.00

2. Setup a VPN connection to a VPN server that enables custom ports that you are looking to use for your security system.

3. Switch your device to VZW Internet Installed which provides a static IP address: https://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/lte-internet-installed/

4. Terminate and setup service with another ISP that provides public IP addresses



Re: How can I get a public IP address?
jakthree
Newbie

John,

I have same problem accessing IP cameras. I would like to know more about how to setup the suggested VPN solution. I VPN from home into my work network by setting my VPN client to connect to a known work IP address. I will need to know the IP address of my NOVT1114 router in order to set my VPN client to connect to the VPN server located behind the router. (VPN past through will be set ON in the router)

How do I find out what the IP address is of my router to be able to enter that address into my VPN client software?

Can the router be accessed by it's 10-digit phone number dot some address?

example: 1234567890.VZW.com

Have you been successful at setting up the VPN solution?

Thank you,

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Re: How can I get a public IP address?
John_Getzke
Champion - Level 1

> I VPN from home into my work network by setting my VPN client to connect to a known work IP address.

This IP address belongs to a VPN Server.  Once you are connected to the VPN Server you are on the VPN Servers network and your PC is assigned a new IP Address accordingly.  You actually still have an IP from your home router too, but it is effectively disabled while the VPN is engaged unless the VPN administrators allow bridged connections.

> I will need to know the IP address of my NOVT1114 router in order to set my VPN client to connect to the VPN server located behind the router.

The NOVT1114 is a VZW 4G LTE home router.  You will not have any luck reaching this device from a VPN Server because the 4G LTE router is still on the VZW network and protected by the NAT firewall.  You have to attack this from a different direction.

Instead what you must do to access IP cameras from remote locations is setup a VPN client directly from a VPN client enabled router, since the IP Cameras do not have VPN clients installed on them directly.  This will require an additional device on your home network.  You can purchase VPN routers or load custom firmware that enables VPN connectivity from a 2nd home router device.  That way all personal network connected devices are connected to the VPN server and accessible from another machine with access to the same VPN server.

Connection Topography:

VZW ))) 4G LTE Router === VPN Router === IPCam1

VZW ))) 4G LTE Router === VPN Router === IPCam2

VZW ))) 4G LTE Router === VPN Router === IPCam3

VZW ))) 4G LTE Router ))) PC1

In this situation the IPCameras are internet connected through the 4G LTE router.  However they are VPN connected back to your selected VPN server outside of the VPN network.  At that point any machine that connects into the same VPN Server will be able to access the IP Cameras.  The IP cameras and everything else connected to the VPN router are no longer visible to your home network.

> How do I find out what the IP address is of my router to be able to enter that address into my VPN client software?

You can Google "IP Address", Google has a tool that will return your public IP.  There are also websites like www.whatismyIPaddress.com that can perform the same service.  Note that any machine connected behind a VZW broadband device without a VPN is going to return the VZW NAT firewall as the public IP. 

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Re: How can I get a public IP address?
jakthree
Newbie

John,

Thank you for your detailed answer. The information I did not understand is that a VPN router and a VPN server are not the same thing. I now know that the VPN server is located somewhere on the internet.

The local IP camera(s) connect (via wifi) to the VPN 'client enabled' router (located on the local LAN where the cameras are) and is setup to login to an external VPN server to create a virtual private network. The device you want to view the cameras also has a VPN client setup to login to the same external VPN server.

I have not done this yet because I don't have a VPN client enabled router or access to a VPN server, but I get the idea.

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