Port forwarding allows direct access to Homey Self-Hosted Server from outside your home network. This results in faster, more reliable connections by bypassing cloud relays, with a one-time configuration on your router.
After setup, the Homey app for iOS, Android, and Web will prefer port forwarding when you’re not home. If it stops working, our cloud relay will automatically be selected as a backup route.
1. Assign a static IP address
Sign in to your router and make sure the device running Homey Self-Hosted Server has a static IP address on your local network.
2. Forward a port to Homey Self-Hosted Server
While in your router, create a port forwarding rule:
- External port: choose a free port
- Internal IP: the IP address of your server
- Internal port: 4860
- Protocol: TCP
3. (Optional) Use a custom HTTPS port
By default, Homey Self-Hosted Server listens on internal HTTPS port 4860.
If you want Homey Self-Hosted Server to listen on a different HTTPS port, you can override the default port at startup. For example, when running Docker:
-e PORT_SERVER_HTTPS=1337In that case, forward the external port you chose in step 2 to 1337, and ensure your router matches this configuration.
4. Enable port forwarding in the Homey app
Within the Homey app, go to More (…) → Settings → General → Port Forwarding.
- First, toggle on Enable Port Forwarding.
- Next, enter the external port you chose in step 2.
- Finally, tap Save in the upper-right corner. Homey Self-Hosted Server automatically checks whether the port is forwarded correctly.
