Remote Connect: Why we require up-to-date software
Remote Connect is LOXONE’s free service for remote access to the Miniserver. Starting December 1, 2026, Remote Connect will require the current Miniserver version, with 4 weeks for each new update.
What is Remote Connect?
Remote Connect works like a phone book: the Miniserver continuously registers with Remote Connect. When the LOXONE App wants to connect remotely, it asks Remote Connect where the Miniserver can be reached. Remote Connect brokers the connection, and the App and Miniserver then communicate in encrypted form via a tunnel. User and access data remain on the Miniserver. No port forwarding or technical setup is required.
Remote Connect is one of three ways to access the Miniserver from outside:
- Remote Connect: LOXONE’s free service, with no port forwarding and no technical setup.
- Manual external access: via port forwarding on the router (guide).
- VPN: via a dedicated VPN into the local network.
Responsibility as an intermediary
Anyone who brokers connections to homes and buildings carries responsibility, even with a free service. The cyberattack on LOXONE showed us that security does not end with our own systems. The Miniserver architecture provides the best basis for this: local user and access data, no central point of attack. Remote Connect was not affected by the attack either. To keep it that way, Remote Connect will require the latest Miniserver version in future.
What changes on December 1, 2026
- Starting Dec 1, 2026, the free Remote Connect service requires Miniserver version 17.2.10.21 or later.
- From then on, the following applies in general: once a new Miniserver version is released, there are 4 weeks to install the update. Remote Connect then requires this version.
- For older versions, Remote Connect will no longer broker connections.
- Nothing changes on the local network.
- Remote Connect remains free of charge.
In the age of AI, up-to-date software counts
With AI, security vulnerabilities are found faster than ever before and exploited almost immediately. The number of security vulnerabilities (CVEs) reported worldwide is rising exponentially:
And the time until an attack is getting shorter: for almost 30% of actively exploited vulnerabilities, the attack began on the day of disclosure or even earlier.
Updating only when a new feature is wanted is therefore no longer enough. Devices must be operated with all current security updates at all times. This does not only apply to LOXONE: this development will affect the entire industry and far beyond. Regardless of Remote Connect, LOXONE therefore recommends keeping every installation up to date.
New versions bring not only security updates but always significant new features as well. And free of charge: even Miniservers purchased in 2009 still receive free updates today.
How to switch over
The update is carried out as usual in Loxone Config or in the LOXONE App: Guide: Performing a Miniserver update. When a new update is available, the LOXONE App displays it, and the update can be carried out at the push of a button.
The switch involves effort, especially for LOXONE Partners with many installations. That is why the requirement only applies starting December 1, and even after that there are 4 weeks for each new update. LOXONE Support is happy to help with any questions.
We are also already working on ways to make updates even easier to carry out.
My home, my data, my decision
Everyone can decide for themselves. If an installation is deliberately to remain on an older version, remote access can still be set up with a separate solution, for example via a VPN or manual external access.
We are taking this step earlier than others, and we are doing so deliberately. Security updates only help if they are installed. We do not want to wait, because behind every building are people who rely on us.
Source on the exploitation of vulnerabilities: VulnCheck State of Exploitation 2026.