Zero Tier VPN - Set up port forward to device on LAN

This guide explains how to use ZeroTier VPN on a Proroute router to access a device connected to the router's LAN from a remote location — without requiring a fixed public IP SIM. ZeroTier creates a private virtual network overlay across the internet, and a port forward rule on the router directs traffic from the ZeroTier interface to the target LAN device.

Prerequisites

• A ZeroTier account and a ZeroTier network created (free tier is sufficient)
• ZeroTier client installed on the remote device (PC, laptop, or mobile) and joined to the same ZeroTier network
• The Proroute router connected to ZeroTier — enter the ZeroTier Network ID in the router WebUI at VPN > ZeroTier
• The router must have internet access (cellular or wired WAN)

Example network setup

This guide uses the following addresses as an example — substitute your own values where appropriate:

The remote PC and router are both members of the same ZeroTier network. The PC connects to the RMD by sending a request to the router's ZeroTier IP on the forwarded port — the router then forwards that traffic to the RMD on its LAN.

Configuration

Step 1: Prepare the remote monitored device (RMD)

The RMD must have a fixed IP on the router's LAN subnet so the port forward rule always points to the correct address.

1. Connect the RMD to a LAN port on the router via Ethernet
2. Configure a static IP on the RMD:

   Field	Value
   IPv4 address	192.168.8.2
   Subnet mask	255.255.255.0
   Default gateway	192.168.8.1

3. Note the port the RMD's HTTP interface listens on (port 81 in this example)

Step 2: Verify ZeroTier connectivity

1. Confirm the router is connected to your ZeroTier network — check VPN > ZeroTier in the WebUI and note the ZeroTier IP assigned to the router (e.g. 10.10.10.1)
2. On the remote PC, confirm ZeroTier is connected to the same network
3. From the remote PC's browser, navigate to the router's ZeroTier IP (e.g. http://10.10.10.1) — the router WebUI login page should load, confirming end-to-end ZeroTier connectivity

Step 3: Create the port forward rule

1. In the router WebUI, navigate to Network > Firewall > Port Forwards
2. Click Add and configure the rule as follows:

   Field	Value
   Name	RMD-ZeroTier (or any descriptive label)
   Protocol	TCP+UDP
   Source zone	zerotier
   External port	81
   Destination zone	lan
   Internal IP address	192.168.8.2
   Internal port	81

3. Click Add, then Save and Apply

Important: Setting Source zone to zerotier (not wan) ensures the port forward only accepts connections arriving via the ZeroTier interface. Traffic from the public internet cannot trigger this rule — the RMD is not exposed directly.

Step 4: Test the connection

1. On the remote PC, confirm ZeroTier is connected
2. Open a browser and navigate to the router's ZeroTier IP with the forwarded port appended: http://10.10.10.1:81
3. The RMD's web interface should load in the browser

If access is successful, the port forward rule is working correctly. Substitute the ZeroTier IP and port number with your own values in any application or script that needs to reach the device remotely.

Troubleshooting