How can I setup port forwarding for RDP (3389) using MHS291LVW?

[olimits7]

Hi,

I went into my MHS291LVW and I enabled port forwarding.  I didn't see an option for Remote Desktop (RDP) so I added a custom application called RDP and I set "Global Port" and "Private Port" to port number 3389 and I set it as TCP/UDP and then entered the local IP (192.168.1.135) of the PC I want to connect to.  I made my local PC use a static IP so this 192.168.1.135 will never change.

Then when I go under "About Jetpack" I see that there is a WAN IP address listed; so I wrote this down and then I tried to connect remotely to this PC from outside the Verizon Jetpack network but it didn't work.

Then the strange thing is when I go to Google and type "what's my IP", Google shows me a different external WAN IP address that Verizon Jetpack showed me in the admin web interface.  Anyway, I tried this WAN IP address that Google gave me but it still didn't connect to my local PC.

Can someone please help me in figuring out why this is not working?

I've setup port forwarding on plenty of other routers (Linksys, Netgear, etc.), but I never tried it on a Verizon Jetpack MHS291LVW but it should work the same so I'm not sure why this is not working for me.

Thank you!

[7e18n1]

See the Wikipedia article - Private IP Address. About Jetpack > WAN IP address starts with 10, meaning you are connected to Verizon’s private network. Services like IP Chicken will show you your public IP address, but it routes you through Verizon’s private router/firewall which you cannot initiate communication through to your Jetpack.  You might have success using VPN, perhaps Logmein.com can help. You can also try a getting a static IP address from Verizon Wireless for a one time fee of $500.

[olimits7]

Thanks for the reply!

When I checked the "About Jetpack" page it showed an IP address of 100.114.156.155 and Gateway IP of 100.114.156.1; are 100.x.x.x IPs also private for Verizon?

And the IP I received just using Google when connected to the Jetpack was 70.192.85.116.

To me, both these type of IPs seem like they are public but when I try to ping them from outside the Verizon network I get a request timed out message instead of replies.

I don't understand why this JetPack gives me the option to "port forward" if I can't even forward to the local PC I need access to.

Thanks, again!

[7e18n1]

70.192.x.x is public.  As for the 100, https://who.is/whois-ip/ip-address/100.114.156.155 “This block is used as Shared Address Space.” Your Jetpack is part of Verizon’s private network which cannot be accessed from the internet. Port Forwarding “sends traffic to the specified device” connected to the LAN side of your Jetpack (bypasses your Jetpack’s firewall). How does that happen when those ports are not allowed through Verizon’s private network firewall?

[olimits7]

Thanks for the reply!

After researching this further, you are right in Verizon Jetpack showing a private IP address.  And I see the only way around this is to pay a one-time fee of $500 to get a public static IP address...which is crazy.

I don't need a static IP address, but I don't know why Verizon doesn't just issue a public IP address that changes like how other ISPs are set up.  I don't mind if my IP changes but as long as it's visible from outside the network.

[John_Getzke]

> And I see the only way around this is to pay a one-time fee of $500 to get a public static IP address

Or setup a VPN connection to a VPN server.  Once connected to the VPN server everything will be publically available.  You can configure VPN clients directly on PCs or configure a VPN router to automatically connect everything back to the VPN server for you.

[olimits7]

Ok, thank you!

If I can't use the "Microsoft Windows RDP" service because of the private IP; would I be able to use a software like "TeamViewer" to gain access to my PC?

[John_Getzke]

> If I can't use the "Microsoft Windows RDP" service because of the private IP; would I be able to use a software like "TeamViewer" to gain access to my PC?

Yes.  This is how a VPN server works around the private IP address restrictions of the VZW network.  It will work and you will be able to access anything that is centrally connected to a VPN server. 

> Also, if I were to take the VPN option and setup a VPN server on the PC

Not on the remote PC silly guy.  Hosting a VPN from within the VZW network wont do you any good as its IP will be masked by the NAT firewall.  You must setup a VPN server off of the VZW network for it to work.  That way when you remote into the VPN server it is already outside of the VZW NAT that is restricting you in the first place.  There are many VPN vendors that you can test out and pay access for if you don't have any interest in setting up one on your own.  Some are free where others charge more money for more bandwidth and customization features.

> If I were to try to connect to this PC on the JetPack side from an external PC on a different network I don't know how I would be able to access it since the JetPack IP address is private.

The idea is that everything rests on the VPN server when remote connections are made.  The Jetpack PC, VPN Server and your current local PC all connect to the VPN server so everything is then local communication.  The VPN will make it appear as though everything is virtually connected to the same appliance even though they are physically separated by whatever distance you want.

[olimits7]

Hi John,

Ok, thank you...I see what you mean now.

1. Would I be able to setup my "Local PC" as the VPN Server and then connect my "Jetpack PC" to it?  If so, would you know of any good tutorials on how I could set this up?

2.  If not, do you know of any good free VPN Vendors that I can use to setup this VPN Server to connect my "Jetpack PC" and "Local PC" to it?

Thanks again!

[John_Getzke]

> Would I be able to setup my "Local PC" as the VPN Server and then connect my "Jetpack PC" to it?

Theoretically yes, although I have never converted a normal PC into a VPN server before. I'm sure there is a way to do it if you search around a little.  Whatever hosts the VPN server will need to be highly available as your connection to the remote PC will depend on it.

> If not, do you know of any good free VPN Vendors that I can use to setup this VPN Server to connect my "Jetpack PC" and "Local PC" to it?

There are lots of free VPN services out there.  I do not have any specific recommendations for any of them.  Good thing they are free so you can test them all out until you find one you like right : ) ?

freevpn.me

www.vpnbook.com

www.justfreevpn.com

freevpnaccess.com

etc.

Like I said before, the free VPN servers are all generally samplers for the full featured paid subscriptions they really want you to use.  The free VPNs should be good enough for testing to prove your concept and verify it works.  You are also going to want to select a VPN server that is physically close to your local and remote PC, right in the middle would be perfect.  Otherwise the farther your traffic needs to travel to the VPN server the slower your response times will be.

[olimits7]

Also, if I were to take the VPN option and setup a VPN server on the PC I want to connect to wouldn't I have the same issue reaching this PC behind the JetPack since the IP is private?

If I were to try to connect to this PC on the JetPack side from an external PC on a different network I don't know how I would be able to access it since the JetPack IP address is private.