Octoprint via 3G/LTE modem

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1

Hello!

I am new in this one and have the following question

What if I have a printer far away from home without WiFi and I want to connect Raspberry Pi via 3g/LTE modem, what are the configurations then? Is this even possible with Octoprint? What PlugIns do I need to use? I can't find the information about that.

Thanks in advance and have a nice prints:)

2

In the times when I do a talk and bring my printer then I create a hotspot on my iPhone and connect to that. It helps if the phone has power the entire time, though.

3

I've had no problem doing that, but I needed to use a 4G modem (not a dongle, because the dongle doesn't have port forwarding capabilities) and then I used Dynamic DNS to access the 4G Modem externally. I even set up the Pi to automatically update the IP address used by the DNS provider.

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4

Over the last twelve months we've spent a lot of effort educating users against simple port forwarding to make their 3D printers available on the Internet.

A Guide to Safe Remote Access of OctoPrint
Accessing your OctoPrint remotely
Restrict Access to OctoPi Utilizing SSL Client Certificates
A Guide To Safe Remote Access of OctoPrint (outside of forum)

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5

Listen to the the voice of experience from OutsurcedGuru and not me (a newbie).

I have now read the advice here and it is very sound. Octoprint do not advise opening up your network to the world by port forwarding, and I agree. I'm going to change my setup and use one of the recommended options instead.

Thanks OutsourcedGuru.

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6

If you do, though, at least add the SSL client certificate and make the server enforce that.

  • port forwarding +
  • forcing any client to be in the client certificate list +
  • dynamic DNS = remote solution

But if you don't do that middle part then it's dangerous and you end up on that compromised list of OctoPrint installs.

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