Getting MinimServer to Appear on BubbleUPnP When Connected via OpenVPN

As a long-time user of standalone HTPCs, I recently decided to upgrade my storage setup by investing in a dedicated NAS (Network-Attached Storage) device from Synology. Although I have been setting up NAS boxes for friends and family members for years, this was my first personal experience with one.

After setting up my NAS, I installed MinimServer, which is a popular media server software that allows me to access my music library remotely. However, I encountered an issue when trying to connect to the NAS using OpenVPN on my phone - MinimServer would sometimes appear in the list of libraries, but more often than not, it wouldn't show up at all.

To troubleshoot this issue, I discovered that when I'm connected to the NAS via OpenVPN, BubbleUPnP doesn't always display MinimServer. This problem is particularly frustrating because when I'm at home and directly connected to the NAS, MinimServer appears in BubbleUPnP without any issues.

After some research and experimentation, I found a solution to this problem. To get MinimServer to appear on BubbleUPnP when connected via OpenVPN, you need to install OpenVPN or WireGuard on both your Android phone and Synology NAS. Once installed, configure the app with your Synology credentials, and assuming MinimServer is also installed on the Synology NAS, it should automatically appear in BubbleUPnP.

In addition to installing OpenVPN or WireGuard, you'll need to open a port on your router to allow remote access to your NAS. If you're using BubbleUPnP server for internet access only, this shouldn't be an issue. However, if you're planning to use it for other purposes as well, you may need to configure your router accordingly.

One important thing to note is that when connected via VPN, you'll only get the vanilla MinimServer experience without any transcoding or additional features. This is because the VPN connection can be slow and unreliable, making it difficult to stream high-quality content.

If you're experiencing similar issues with MinimServer not appearing on BubbleUPnP when connected via OpenVPN,

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