Tailscale access to HA stopped working

Third party integrations
1

I’ve just updated HA and Taliscale App in HA.
Tailscale version now 1.102.4
Or maybe 0.30.0 - depends where you look…
HomeAssistant core to 2026.9.2

Not sure when it happened, but Tailscale no longer connects remotely to HA.
‘Unable to connect to Home Assistant’.

I’ve also realised, I’ve had to change my Google Account password.
I sign into Tailscale using Google.
Is that where it’s gone wrong?

The installation shows ‘Running’ in HA.
On my samsung phone, Tailscale shows ‘connected’ with the correct ip addresses .

I’ve signed out of Tailscale and signed back in again - using Google Account
Still no joy. Is there anything I need to do in HA?

2

I dont have enough experience with Tailscale to say something about it. As a free alternative I suggest the Cloudflared app (add-on) for HA. You’ll still need a domain (works also with subdomains).
The most hassle-free option is Nabu Casa.
Good luck!

3

Reading this, I checked my connection with a remote HA server and I also do not have a connection.
On the Tailscale web dashboard all seems OK.
No time to investigate now…

4

Make sure the IP of the local Tailscale proxy hasn’t changed and still matches your entry in the http settings (for trusted proxies). Assuming that’s how Tailscale works - I used Pangolin Which uses a Wiregaurd tunnel so I assume Tailscale is similar.

5

Thanks for the reply.

Where do I look for the ip of the local Tailscale proxy.
Where is an entry set in which http settings?

Sorry. But I don’t understand what I’m looking for or where to look.

6

Check the new configs in the tailscale add-on app to allow incoming connections :gear:

7

Sorry, as I use a different system my information may not apply, and I can’t tell you how to configure Tailscale.

In my setup, Pangolin requires I run a local proxy which I do in a separate VM, and which therefore has it’s own IP. Your Tailscale setup may not do this the same way, so maybe best look for help from the above poster who seems familiar with the setup of Tailscale.

8

I found posts referring to a previous Tailscale version with breaking changes having similar effects. (Reddit)

So I uninstalled Tailscale 0.30 and tried to install previous version 0.29
Unfortunately, I failed at doing that as it’s a manual process and got lost, so have re-installed 0.30
:frowning:

(Didn’t have a Tailscale backup in HA).

Un-installed / re-installed HA app on my phone.

The ip address and HA name have changed, but Tailscale shows home assistant and the phone connected, both within HA and on the phone as seen before.

And the end result is the same…

HA app on the phone can connect to HA if WiFi is on, but still not remotely through Tailscale.

I seem to remember, previously, in Tailscale admin dash, some markers against the devices. (HA and the Phone). Both devices had ‘Expiry disabled’ marker.
HA also had a reference to ‘subnet route’ - or similar, but I don’t know what it was referring to.

That marker isn’t there now of course, so I’ve probably gone further backwards at the moment…

I’ve checked ‘allow incoming connections’ which is now on. It was off.
Thanks for that info.

Re-started etc.

But still no success.

Also had a new Wifi router a while back, but I’m sure I tested remote access after it was installed and it still worked.

I’ll try to work out what that subnet was referring to…

9

Can you connect to the web interface remotely or is it just through the app that’s a problem?

With my Pangolin setup I tried to connect the app remotely recently and it doesn’t work. I may never have tried that before as I always prefer using web rather than apps, but to get notifications I decided to try connecting the app but it doesn’t work. I think I’m getting a different result to you though so it may be a different issue.

10

I use Taliscale and the HA app on my phone in order to connect to HA remotely.
I’ve never tried to connect in any other way.

But I just tried using the browser app (Duckduckgo) on my phone using the ip address shown in Tailscale and it’s logged into HA successfully!

I didn’t even know that could be done.
Thanks for suggesting that.
:+1:

But using the HA app on the phone still doesn’t work. So I guess it is some setting within that?

11

So, never mind, in my case it was a expired key on the machine, where I wanted to access HA from :wink:
Sometimes I’m stupid too… :stuck_out_tongue:

12

I thought the phone app was part of the 'package 'necessary to connect with HA.

What is the point of it , when you can just use a web browser?

13

You can do most things without the app. I was trying to get notifications working which I expect needs the app.

Looks like we’re hitting a similar problem with it: web UI works but app doesn’t. Can anyone help?

The fact this happens with two very different setups is useful information but I don’t know the solution.

14

Found it…!

The server address in the app needs to be the one shown in Tailscale for HA.
EG. http://100.x.x.x:8123

Now works on wifi and remotely.
:+1:

15

I’m confused. When you click “connect to server” in the app, you are putting that address (without the X’s) into the app?

That’s a local network address so should only work if you’re connected to WiFi - isn’t that so?

With Pangolin I have a subdomain for HA on a domain I own. So, for example, I enter https://ha.mydomain.com

That takes me to the Pangolin website (unless I’m already logged in there) so I can log into Pangolin.

Then the app shows me the Home Assistant login but when I enter my credentials it shows no error, but puts up a “Start over” button which takes me back to the login.

I’m pretty sure the credentials are correct but need to verify that to be sure.

To be sure I have the correct login I opened the web interface on another device and set the password to what I think it should be.

It still doesn’t work although the behaviour is very slightly different. It now alternates between going straight back to the login screen or showing the “Start over” button first. :thinking:

16

The local address is http://192.168.x . x:8192

The http://100. x. x. x:8192 is the remote address, as seen in Tailscale.
(Redacted the actual numbers with x).

I just tried the HA app again now and it didn’t connect to HA.
(I had switched Tailscale off and turned the Wifi on).

So…
In the HA app. wait for it to fail, select the ‘settings’ option, under Servers and devices, there are two ‘Home’ entries.

One has the local address in it, the other has the remote address in it.
The app seems to use each exclusive of the other:-

If Tailscale is switched off and Wifi is on, I need to tap on the server with the local address in it. Then tap on the ‘Activate’ button at the top of the screen. It then connects.

Each time the app is closed and re-opened (with Wifi still on), it goes directly into HA.

If the Wifi is off - or not in range - it fails. (Obviously).

I then turn Tailscale on, which shows connected to HA.

I then go back into the HA app. which doesn’t connect now. Have to go into ‘settings’. Tap on the server related to the remote (Tailscale) address and tap ‘Activate’.

Only have to do that once and the app goes straight into HA each time. If Tailscale is turned off and later, turned on again, the app still goes directly to HA again.

So the appropriate ‘Activate’ button needs to be tapped when switching between Wifi or Tailscale. (Local or Remote). I didn’t have to do that before and I think there was only one server address configured.

So it’s progress, but not quite right…
I still haven’t found what broke it in the first place.

17

Thanks. I don’t think that can work with Pangolin. It doesn’t create a virtual network of that kind but routes the requests made to a subdomain via the local proxy which completes the route onwards to the local network IP.

So to configure remote web access I tell Pangolin the subdomain address I want to use, and the IP/URL for HA on my home network.

So all I can give the HA app is the subdomain address. Maybe Nabu Casa is modelled on, or even a front front end for Tailscale.

UPDATE: fixed, kindof, thanks to a chap on Mastodon. This relates to using Pangolin not Tailscale.

Removing SSO for the HA subdomain in Pangolin has allowed me to connect using the app on one mobile device, but:

  • on another older device the HA app is stuck showing the HA logo and a spinner, and is the device I must wanted this to work with Fixed by restarting the app
  • removing SSO increases the exposure of my HA instance on the internet and that’s bad IMO, so it would be better if the HA app didn’t require this.
18

I’m fairly sure you don’t need remote access to receive notifications. Notifications are pushed via Pushbullet, so your HA just needs to connect to that, and it pushes to your platform for mobile device. Having the app installed, even without remote access is good enough. If you’re adding things like images to notifications that need to retrieved from HA, that would of course require remote access.

19

I run HA on a VPS, and installed Tailscale. My homenetwork has a router, with openWRT and also Tailscale installed on the router. I run all my configured devices on Tailscale; I just didn’t do 0.0.0.0 in the Docker Container and allowed only access to the Tailscale network. No need for a domain, I do have a lot of them, but I wanted to keep my Home Automation out of the open internet.

Just a litle worried a script kiddy would change things in my home, open garage doors etc. :smiley:

20

Both me and my colleague have the same issue after updating Tailscale in HA to version 0.30.0.

Tailscale works fine because I can connect to my HA from the browser using the 100.x.x.x:8123 IP Tailscale assigned to my HA. However, it no longer works from the Companian App (CA). Originally when it still worked, in the CA the Home Assistant URL was my local IP (http:// 192.168.0.x:8123/). This has been working fine for almost a year now but after the update to Tailscale 0.30.0 it stopped working.

I have tried lowering security in the CA, from most secure to less secure and then it tries to connect but fails. With security set to most secure and both my home SSID and VPN checked, it says the connection is unsafe even when connected to VPN. This also worked fine prior to the 0.30.0 update.

Another thing I tried was changing the internal and external URL in the CA:

Home Assistant URL: http: //100.x.x.x:8123 (IP from HA in Tailscale)
Internal connection-URL: http: //192.168.0.x:8123/ (Local IP of my HA)

Unfortunately none of the above solved the issue. I even removed my HA from Tailscale and recreated it resulting in a new IP, then removed the Tailscale app completely from my HA followed by a clean install, but no luck.

On my colleague’s phone everything was working just fine and I made him do the Tailscale upgrade to version 0.30.0 and he now has the same issue.

PS: Ignore the spaces in my URL’s but this forum won’t let me post otherwise.