How-tos · VPN

Set up the VPN

Put a WireGuard configuration on the device with your phone, import it, and check that the tunnel is up.

You need a WireGuard server, and a client configuration made on it for the Cardputer, as you would make one for a phone: a .conf file.

  1. Get the .conf onto the phone (or a computer on the same Wi-Fi), and name it wg0.conf.
  2. On the Cardputer, open Storage and press w; open the page on the phone (Move files with your phone).
  3. In the page, tap New folder, name it vpn, go into it, and upload wg0.conf.
  4. On the Cardputer, press Back to stop sharing.
  5. Open Settings → VPN → Import /vpn/wg0.conf. You should see "Imported", and a question: delete the file. Say yes: the configuration is now in the device, and the file still holds the private key in clear.
  6. Switch VPN to On. VPN appears in the Status Bar, and turns bright once the server has answered, usually within seconds. The page says "It is up".
  7. To have it start by itself, switch on Start with Wi-Fi.

Check it

On the device, in the Shell: vpn status, then ifconfig (a vpn line, up) and ping the server's tunnel address. Or from another machine on the VPN, ping the Cardputer's tunnel address (the Address line of the file). More in When the network doesn't work.

If it stays dim

The page saysTry
waiting for Wi-FiConnect to a network first
waiting for the clockGive it a moment after Wi-Fi connects: the time comes from the network
looking up the serverThe server's name doesn't resolve from this network
no answer yetThe server's address or port, a firewall on the way, or the keys: check the server's side has this client's public key

What goes through it

Everything, if the file says AllowedIPs = 0.0.0.0/0; otherwise only the VPN's own subnet. To reach your home network behind the server, you need the first. See VPN.

The upload in step 3 is not encrypted, and the file holds a private key: do it on a network you trust, with a key made for this device.