I did this using a router to handle traffic for about a year between sites 240 miles apart. The only downside was it used a lot of bandwidth. Maybe it can be done with some IP cameras, but I expect they’d be expensive commercial models. OpenWRT compatible routers can be dirt cheap.

If your MIL’s router supports OpenWRT or you can replace it with one that does, you can use a VPN and PBR (Policy Based Routing) to your home router or server and do exactly what you want with any camera that supports RSTP (Real Time Streaming Protocol). That includes most cheap wired TP-Link cameras and plenty of others. PBR on the router at your MIL’s home would be used to route all traffic from camera IP addresses to your server.

I used Frigate software and Home Assistant for occupancy detection/alerts and Wireguard for transport. It worked perfectly but I eventually got around to adding 2nd server.

I use AI for the CLI stuff I down have memorized. Linux is still frustrating

I had the same experience when I switched and it’s funny how things change. Now I think people are forced to use Windows 11 in the ninth level of hell.

You can also run it on your Linux box and check external IP via web page. Sites like https://myip.wtf/text provide it in plain text that can easily be used without accessing your router’s UI.

Instead of connecting via your external IP, consider setting up DDNS (Dynamic DNS). Most routers support it out of the box, it’s free (using a DDNS service like DuckDNS) and easy to set up. Once working you’ll connect via a static URL rather than an IP and when your external IP address changes, that URL will update automatically within a few minutes and direct you to the new IP.

You left out DDNS. It’s free, easy to set up with lots of detailed guides online, and works as well as a static IP.

The anti li-ion crowd here is really strange. I wonder if they’re also anti-vaccine?

Dell bios settings often include battery charge limit settings. I have mine set to a 70% limit which provides hours of backup with the display off.

Modern laptop batteries when kept cool and undamaged are extremely safe despite what you might read in these comments, especially when you limit the charge. Parking your car in your garage is hundreds of times more hazardous.

Home Assistant regularly reminds me of Arthur C. Clark’s adage: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

An excerpt from the Wireguard Whitepaper:

One design goal of WireGuard is to avoid storing any state prior to authentication and to not send any responses to unauthenticated packets. With no state stored for unauthenticated packets, and with no response generated, WireGuard is invisible to illegitimate peers and network scanners. Several classes of attacks are avoided by not allowing unauthenticated packets to influence any state.

After opening an SSH port and watching the number of attacks I understand the concern about opening any port on a router, but it seems the worry about opening a port for WG is way overblown.

As of now I can find zero reports of a properly configured open WG port ever being successfully used by attackers to access a network.

Anyone have better/more recent info?

A cheap device like an Onn (~$20) would solve that, probably without requiring the device have Internet access once set up.

I’ve had so many instances of free to use, lifetime licenses, and purchased software that have turned into subscription services that I refuse to install anything that requires an account unless it can’t be avoided. The fact that Plex required an account be created to view my own local content years before they started charging for use made it obvious subscription fees were coming.

Jellyfin works great. Combined with Wireguard it works great anywhere.

I’m like you and did not want any kind of corporate entity involved in my network if it could be avoided. I settled on Wireguard and rather than deal with management constantly I set up 3 times as many peer configurations as initially needed. When a new device is added I just copy a spare configuration to the device and change the name of the config on the server. Tasker is used to connect the WG tunnel on our phones whenever home wifi is not connected. The open port on the router looks closed to the outside and only responds when the correct key is received so there’s no known way to breach the network.

Everything from my phone is run through WG and it only uses a tiny amount of additional mobile data. Syncthing adds nothing of consequence except when syncing big files. Battery life is fine even with both WG and Syncthing running.

Once set up it’s required zero attention or maintenance.

Technology websites should just add a top level menu - “Google Abandoned”

What are the tunnel subnets? Are you using a reverse proxy to access local devices, or DNS rewrites?

I’ve have a mutli-site WG network working but getting everything to function with a reverse proxy wasn’t easy. Each server app required different settings changes and it took some digging to find what was necessary.

I’m not clear about your setups at all sites. In the details for case 4 there’s a Firestick (customized Android) connected to WG (WG running on the Firestick?) but in your summary there’s a laptop in case 4 and the Firestick isn’t mentioned.

I suspect at least part of the problem is that Android does not tunnel hotspot client traffic. It provides Internet but not WG connectivity. Only the phone’s apps will be able to connect through the WG tunnel.

Roku tries to monitor HDMI activity on Roku TVs so they know exactly what’s being watched at all times. They also insert ads into the menu on a regular basis and sometimes force install apps. Adguard Home has blocked the vast majority of the ads on screen, but from what I’ve found the menu ads can’t be blocked.

If I had Fire TV and it’s as bad as you say it would have been binned long ago.

You didn’t mention it can also recognize and identify wildlife, trash cans, lawnmowers, license plates, delivery truck companies, and even faces.

Avoid Roku devices. Roku had an OK remote and decent UI, but the company has thoroughly enshittified it and turned it into an “advertising everywhere all the time” platform. There is a Jellyfin app that works well though.

I’ve been using Frigate for years. The built in object detection (without subscription) is excellent and very near 100% accurate. Initial setup was somewhat of challenge though. It’s free (donations encouraged) or a low cost subscription for more advanced detection.

As interesting as this is, users are still subject to the whims of a corporation that can completely change their policies each time a new executive is hired.

There’s a graveyard somewhere for apps and services that were free or low cost (and without ads) until the company decided to change their model to restrict or eliminate free usage. Teamviewer, Dropbox, RealVNC, Google Drive, Amazon Prime (ad free) Videos, Duolingo, Youtube, Zoom and Evernote are examples that lots of individuals use.

I’ve personally been bitten by this often enough to avoid any corporation’s “free” service whenever possible.