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Network Configuration FAQ

Calin Crisan edited this page Mar 28, 2022 · 2 revisions

What upstream network connections are supported?

The upstream network connection can be either Ethernet or Wi-Fi.

How can I configure my hotspot's network connection?

It can be configured via the official Helium Hotspot app, while in pairing mode.

Can I have multiple network connections at the same time?

There may only be one single upstream network connection configured (i.e. either Ethernet or Wi-Fi, not both). There's no failover mechanism.

Can I use a 4G modem?

4G modems are not directly supported per se, but if you've got a USB modem that acts as a Wi-Fi hotspot at the same time, you should be able to use it as a Wi-Fi.

Keep in mind though that mobile operators will usually offer you a private IP address (meaning that your modem will be working behind the operator's NAT), which in turn may limit or even restring the connectivity to Helium's P2P network.

Do I need a public IP from my ISP?

It would be great if you had one, but that's not a strict requirement. The hotspot will attempt to establish the connection with the P2P network through various available mechanisms, before bailing out. It basically depends on the configuration of all the routers that are encountered towards the Internet.

Do I need to configure port forwarding on my router?

Short answer is yes, you should forward port 44158/tcp to your hotspot's internal IP address. But if you can't do that, the UPnP mechanism that's usually supported by routers will allow the hotspot to "punch" a hole in the router's NAT and thus allow for a dynamically configured port forwarding.

You may find online references to port 1680 being used by Heliu miners. You don't have to forward it (neither TCP nor UDP) as it's only being used internally, inside the hotspot.

I can't do port forwarding and my router doesn't support UPnP. Am I out of luck?

Not really. After attempting to traverse the NAT of your router, if that's impossible, the P2P library used by the miner software on your hotspot will attempt to connect to the P2P network indirectly, via another reachable hotspot; this is called a circuit. Not bad, not terrible - you'll be depending on another one's connectivity.

How can I tell if my hotspot's network configuration is working well?

While paired with the hotspot, the Helium Hotspot app offers you a Diagnostics option that will display all kinds of details regarding your network connection. If the Inbound and Outbound boxes are checked, you're probably doing fine.

Can I manually configure the ports and IPs used for my hotspot?

See miner.conf.