Accessing your home network remotely with DynDNS

Hello, does it cost anything to activate the service?

Hello @SoulManager242

You can use the Internet Box’s VPN and DynDNS at no additional cost. https://www.swisscom.ch/de/privatkunden/hilfe/internet/vpn-server.html

Greetings Samuel

There is still no indication that CGNAT must first be deactivated by calling support.

Can’t you add another Dyndns yourself? I would like to add an address that is free from

https://freedns.afraid.org

@MGede Currently you can only select DynDNS providers from the list. Swisscom’s DynDNS service is also free.

@JonasB Do you know whether additional DynDNS providers can be added independently to the Internet box in the future?

@SamuelD There are currently no plans to add any more DynDNS providers.
@MGede As already mentioned, the Swisscom DynDNS service is free and can be set up directly on the Internet box. In your opinion, are there any restrictions/disadvantages with Swisscom DynDNS?

@JonasB Thanks for your answer. The disadvantage I see is the name that is given. Some DNS hosts have more suitable free names that you could use. Or is there an option to select names with DynDNS from Swisscom that I haven’t found (yet)?

@MGede So the subdomain can be freely chosen (if not already assigned) –> e.g. mgede

The following part is the domain name, which is given -> internet-box.ch

Then you could access your Internet box with mgede.internet-box.ch. If you want to use a different domain name, you unfortunately cannot use Swisscom’s DynDNS service.

After calling support and connecting to 2nd level (mail support) and being patient, my Dyn DNS was activated. I had to restart my router (Internet Box 2) twice until the Dyn DNS was enabled.

Good morning,

I set up a VPN on my phone which is connected to the Internet-Box. How can I access my USB stick plugged into the router from outside (outside my home) and copy photos to it. Knowing that I already have a DynDNS name (Swisscom) as well as a username and password. Is special software required or is a browser sufficient, and what should the syntax be?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Best regards

Not very helpful:

“Switch to expert mode and go to the ‘DynDNS’ tab via the ‘Network’ menu item.” When I log in there is no “Expert Mode”. The “DynDNS” tab is not in the “Network” menu item, but in the “Internet” menu item. And Swisscom DynDNS cannot be activated there.

“In order to use a DNS name, you must activate this function in the web portal and define an individual name.” Unfortunately it doesn’t say how to do that.

Yes, I know, I am a business customer and the information above refers to private customers. I would have liked to have looked in the support area for Geschäftskunden, BUT THERE IS NO SUPPORT AREA FOR BUSINESS CUSTOMERS! All “Help” links take me straight back to the private customer area.

Hello @adrianrbf

Thank you for your valuable input. It may actually be the case that the “DynDNS” item is no longer in the “Network” menu item but under “Internet”. I will clarify this with the responsible product manager and adjust the text if necessary. I will also clarify how the individual name can be defined exactly and let you know.

The reason you didn’t find a support section for Geschäftskunden is because all support pages should now work for private and Geschäftskunden. Even if the URL says “private customers” - don’t let that confuse you. The content always applies to both types of customers.

Kind regards, Miriam

Hello Miriam,

Thanks for your answer, but the problem is even bigger than you seem to realize:

[https://documents.swisscom.com/product/1000260-Connectivity\_Geraete\_/Documents/ Specifications/Centro_Business2_DynDNS_einrichten-de.p df](https://documents.swisscom.com/product/1000260-Connectivity_Geraete_/Documents/ Specifications/Centro_Business2_DynDNS_einrichten-de.pdf)

Page 3:

“Requirements:… Your host name is registered with a DynDNS service provider and the access data is known.”

This means: You have to use an external DynDNS service provider; Swisscom DynDNS doesn’t even exist.

And the whole thing is not new, the instructions quoted are two and a half years old.

And on the subject of private and Geschäftskunden: the page we are currently on is a very good example of the fact that the support area does NOT work for private AND Geschäftskunden. The support page is aimed solely at the Internet box that you get as a private customer - not at the Centro Business Router.

@adrianrbf

Swisscom’s own DynDNS service is only available on private customer routers (Internet Box *), but not on business customer routers (Centro Business *).

On CentroBusiness you need an account with an external provider of DynDNS services.

Edit: Ah, apparently you figured this out yourself a few seconds before I posted my answer. Has overlapped.

This illustrates the problem that there is no support area for business customers. This page is only suitable for private customers - but it doesn’t say anywhere on the page that this is the case, and there is no analogous support page for Geschäftskunden.

@cslu, Your information may be correct, but it is still highly unsatisfactory. It means: The service for Geschäftskunden is worse than for private customers. Swisscom’s own DynDNS service does not exist, nor do any support pages.

Who can change this page to make it clear that it only applies to private customers?

Hello @adrianrbf I will review the article with a product manager and then adjust it so that it is clear that it only applies to private customers.

Sorry for the inconvenience, I previously meant our help pages on swisscom.ch/hilfe, these are valid for private and Geschäftskunden, although the URL says “private customers”.

@adrianrbf

I see two themes here:

1. Why is Swisscom DynDNS available for private customers but not for Geschäftskunden?

The answer here is probably that you

a) Geschäftskunden typically/prefers to rent a fixed IP for these purposes (private customers are not allowed to do so at Swisscom) and therefore sees no reason to cannibalize the business with fixed IPs with a free alternative service

b) you don’t want to take responsibility for “business-critical” use of a free additional service

2. Why is the relevant information aimed at private individuals but not at Geschäftskunden?

Probably because it is assumed that DynDNS is less of an issue with Geschäftskunden (see a above) and if it is, that with Geschäftskunden there is professional support in this regard, which then already knows what the situation looks like and not based on support articles for end customers is instructed.

In short: It is not necessarily unusual for such offers in the private customer sector to be documented in more detail or more “visibly” than in the business customer sector. Precisely because the presence of professional support is assumed there.

@cslu

Which in turn leads to the question: Where is the support area for Geschäftskunden?

No, you can not assume that “at Geschäftskunden there is professional support in this regard that already knows what the situation looks like” - because how is the professional support supposed to know what the situation looks like if Swisscom doesn’t document it?

@MiriamF

Thanks, but that’s only the third best solution. The second best thing would be to adapt the support page so that it also refers to Geschäftskunden. The best thing would be to adapt the offer so that what is described here is also available for Geschäftskunden. Who should I contact to suggest this?

@adrianrbf

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because how is the professional support supposed to know what the situation looks like if Swisscom doesn’t document it?

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Well, you found the relevant documentation (PDF) yourself and linked it above… whether you need it is another question.

As someone who offers professional support in the IT sector, I would put it like this:

Things like this (such as the fact that Centro Business devices only use third-party DynDNS, while InternetBoxes offer their own service) are learned from experience when in doubt. It’s not difficult to “realize” that once you’ve had the case.

If you rely on statements, documentation, etc. from any manufacturers and providers, you will soon be fighting a losing battle in IT anyway 😉

I mean, I can call Swisscom four times and ask for some information about a product. Typically I will get four different answers, none of which are correct.

Unfortunately, that is the reality in the industry. (And it’s not a Swisscom-only problem… at a Swisscom competitor in the business telephony sector, it took me a while before I was able to find out the name and direct dial number of apparently the only employee who had any idea about their telephony system. It’s the sad truth: 9 out of 10 people at this company know less about their product than I do, after spending 15 minutes talking to person #10, the only one who knows what the people there are They simply don’t know what kind of products they actually sell and how these products work. Funnily enough, among these 9 completely clueless people is the guy who runs the training courses.)

Of course, it would be a “plus” if the article explicitly stated that it does not refer to business routers. However, since the article talks about “Internet boxes” and not “Centro Business Routers”, you can actually attest that the content is correct.

(And of course a clever help area for Geschäftskunden wouldn’t be a bad idea… I’m totally with you… I’m just trying to explain why this probably isn’t a priority from Swisscom’s point of view. We’re all about the fact that a lot of things are going wrong at Swisscom we completely agree.)