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Knowledge document #1144

Setting up a VPN to the FRITZ!Box in macOS

With VPN (Virtual Private Network), you can securely connect your computer with Apple macOS to your FRITZ!Box over the internet, without the risk of eavesdropping or tampering. This allows you to access your FRITZ!Box and devices in your home network with your computer even when you are away from home.

Example values used in this guide

In this guide we show you how to connect a computer with macOS 11.0.1 to the FRITZ!Box over VPN. When setting up the connection, replace the values used in this example with your actual values.

  • MyFRITZ! address of the FRITZ!Box:
    pi80ewgfi72d2os42.myfritz.net
  • Username of the FRITZ!Box user:
    John Smith
  • Password for the FRITZ!Box user:
    secret1234
  • Shared secret of the FRITZ!Box user:
    Zj7hPCouK65IrPU4

Requirements / Restrictions

  • macOS 10.6 or later is installed on the computer.

Note:All instructions on configuration and settings given in this guide refer to the latest FRITZ!OS for the FRITZ!Box.

1 Preparations

Configuring MyFRITZ!

Register the FRITZ!Box with MyFRITZ!Net so that it can always be reached on the internet at a fixed MyFRITZ! address:

Setting up MyFRITZ!
  1. Click "Internet" in the FRITZ!Box user interface.
  2. Click on "MyFRITZ! Account" in the "Internet" menu.
  3. Enter your email address in the "Your email address" field.
  4. Click "Apply". Now MyFRITZ!Net sends you an email with the confirmation link to your FRITZ!Box.

    Important:If you do not receive an email, the email was classified as unsolicited advertising (spam). In this case, check the spam folder of your email inbox.

  5. Open the email you received from MyFRITZ!Net.
  6. Click the "Register Your FRITZ!Box" button in the email.

Adjusting the FRITZ!Box's IP network

Both ends of a VPN connection must have IP addresses in different IP networks. As soon as the computer is connected to a router (for example another FRITZ!Box) that uses the same IP network as your FRITZ!Box, VPN communication is no longer possible.

Note:All FRITZ!Boxes use the IP network 192.168.178.0 in the factory settings.

Set up an IP address in your FRITZ!Box that differs from the IP addresses of the routers you use to connect to the FRITZ!Box, for example 192.168.10.1 (subnet mask 255.255.255.0):

  1. Click "Home Network" in the FRITZ!Box user interface.
  2. Click "Network" in the "Home Network" menu.
  3. Click on the "Network Settings" tab.
  4. Click the "IPv4 Addresses" button. If the button is not displayed, enable the Advanced View first.
  5. Enter the desired IP address and subnet mask.
  6. Click "OK" to save the settings and on the FRITZ!Box, confirm that the procedure may be executed, if you are asked to do so.

2 Setting up a VPN connection in the FRITZ!Box

Set up a separate user for each VPN connection in the FRITZ!Box:

  1. Click "System" in the FRITZ!Box user interface.
  2. Click "FRITZ!Box Users" in the "System" menu.
  3. Click the (Edit) button for the user who intends to connect to the FRITZ!Box via VPN or set up a new user for the VPN connection:
    1. Click the "Add User" button.
    2. Enter a name and password for the user in the corresponding fields.
  4. Enable the option "VPN".
  5. Click "Apply" to save the settings and on the FRITZ!Box, confirm that the procedure may be executed, if you are asked to do so.
  6. Now the FRITZ!Box sets up the VPN connection for the user and opens a window with the VPN settings of the user.

    Note:You can always call up the VPN settings again by clicking "Show VPN Settings" in the settings for the user under "System > FRITZ!Box Users".

3 Setting up and establishing a VPN connection on the computer

Set up the VPN connection on the computer using the VPN settings displayed in the FRITZ!Box user interface for the FRITZ!Box user:

  1. Open the "System Preferences" in the Apple menu.
  2. Click "Network" in the "System Preferences" menu.
  3. Click the plus sign below the list with the existing connections.
  4. Select "VPN" from the drop-down list "Interface".
  5. Select "Cisco IPSec" from the drop-down list "VPN Type".
  6. Enter a name of your choice (FRITZ!Box VPN) for the "Service Name" and then click "Create".
  7. Enter the MyFRITZ! address of the FRITZ!Box (pi80ewgfi72d2os42.myfritz.net) for the "Server Address".
  8. For the "Account Name", enter the name of the FRITZ!Box user (John Smith) who intends to connect to the FRITZ!Box via VPN.
  9. Enter the password for the FRITZ!Box user (secret1234) in the "Password" field.

    Important:If you enter the password, a password will not be required to establish the VPN connection. Protect your computer with a password so that unauthorized persons cannot use the VPN connection.

  10. Click "Authentication Settings ...".
  11. In the "Shared Secret" field, enter the shared secret (Zj7hPCouK65IrPU4) displayed in the VPN settings for the FRITZ!Box user.
  12. Enter the name of the FRITZ!Box user (John Smith) in the "Group Name" field.
  13. Click "OK" and then "Apply" to save the settings.
  14. Click "Connect".



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