Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Podcast Hype Realized: Streamlining Remote Access with Tailscale in my Smart Home

Intrigued by the incessant plugs on various podcasts, I finally took the plunge into the world of Tailscale—a decision fueled by the allure of a free-for-life basic account and the promised ease of setup. True to the advertisements, the setup was a breeze, prompting me to explore its potential in enhancing remote access to my smart home.

While I had been using the Wireguard addon in Home Assistant for a VPN on my cell phone, Tailscale presented itself as a compelling alternative. The idea of ensuring constant network access, even in the face of an ISP-induced IP address change while I'm away, fueled my desire to experiment further.




Managing my Home Assistant instance, housed under my physical control, I took a proactive step by disabling key expiry. This ensures that I won't inadvertently forget to renew the key, providing uninterrupted access even when I'm miles away from home. The newfound confidence in always having access allows me to fine-tune my home's heating and cleaning settings with ease, even when on vacation.

The initial results have left me impressed, and I'm inclined to explore using Tailscale to simplify remote access and potentially enhance the security of my home network. The prospect of closing every single port on my router using Tailscale and Home Assistant Cloud is a realistic consideration, given the smooth performance thus far. While I usually steer clear of relying on third-party services in my smart home, Tailscale seems like it might end up being a permanent exception. The flexibility to switch back to Wireguard and an open port if Tailscale falters ensures a safety net, making it a reliable addition to my smart home arsenal.

In a world of endless possibilities and evolving technology, Tailscale has proven to be more than just podcast hype—it's a tangible enhancement to my smart home experience.

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