Homebridge Still accessible in Browser when VPN connected. However Home App says accessory not responding

Homebridge Still accessible in Browser when VPN connected. However Home App says accessory not responding.

Describe Your Problem:

I have HomeBridge setup on a Ubuntu machine and everything seems to be working well. However, when I turn on VPN on the Ubuntu machine (it’s also my Media Server) for some downloading, the Home App says accessories not responding. However, if I go to the browser and punch my homebridge IP http://192.168.86.21:8581 , I am able to get to it without any issues.

Any help will be appreciated as I also have home assistant running on the same machine and my NEST thermostat works in the Home App when connected to VPN.

Logs:

Secondary Homebridge Logs here

Homebridge Config:

Show your homebridge config.json here

Screenshots:

Environment:

• Node.js Version: 14.15.4
• NPM Version: 6.14.10
• Homebridge Version: 1.1.7
• Operating System: Ubuntu
• Process Supervisor: launchctl

[mrfatboy]

Add the mdns key to you Homebridge config file. Insert the Ip of your homebridge computer.

{ “mdns”: { “interface”: “xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx” <------ The Lan IP of your homebridge computer }, “bridge”: { “name”: “Homebridge”, “username”: “xxxxxxxxxx”, “port”: xxxxxx “pin”: “xxxxxxxxx” } }

[p2kdev]

You can’t control HomeKit devices through VPN. More info: https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeKit/comments/7xov68/homekit_and_vpn/

Only solution is to use either an Apple TV, HomePod (mini) or iPad running 24/7 at home as your HomeKit hub.

btw nice to see someone from jailbreaking here 👍

@woodfairy - I think you misunderstood me. I already have a apple tv as my homekit hub. The issue is that if I turn on VPN on the machine running homebridge, then the accessories are not accessible until I turn the VPN Off. But the same works fine with my accessories setup with Home Assistant. Jailbreaking if fun man & I plan to work on my tweaks in the future!