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DNS Setup Guide

Who needs this?

DNS setup is only needed if you use the original Novabot app (iOS/Android). If you use the OpenNova app, you can skip this entirely — the app connects directly to your server IP.

What is DNS and Why Do I Need It?

The Novabot mower and charger are programmed to connect to mqtt.lfibot.com (the Novabot cloud). We need to trick them into connecting to your local server instead.

DNS is like a phone book for the internet. When your mower looks up mqtt.lfibot.com, we want it to find your server's IP address instead of Novabot's cloud server.

Without DNS redirect:
  Mower asks: "Where is mqtt.lfibot.com?" → Internet: "47.253.145.99" (Novabot cloud)

With DNS redirect:
  Mower asks: "Where is mqtt.lfibot.com?" → Your DNS: "192.168.0.100" (your server!)

Before You Start

You need to know two things:

1. Your OpenNova server IP address

This is the IP of the machine running the Docker container. Find it:

Open Command Prompt and type: 

ipconfig
Look for IPv4 Address under your WiFi or Ethernet adapter (e.g., 192.168.0.100).

Open Terminal and type: 

ipconfig getifaddr en0
Or: System Settings → Network → WiFi → Details → IP Address.

hostname -I | awk '{print $1}'

Control Panel → Network → Network Interface → Look for the IP.

2. Your router's admin page

Usually one of these addresses (type in your browser):

  • http://192.168.0.1
  • http://192.168.1.1
  • http://10.0.0.1

The username/password is often on a sticker on the bottom of your router.

Option A: Router DNS Override

The simplest method — change your router settings so ALL devices on your network resolve mqtt.lfibot.com to your server. No extra software needed.

Fritz!Box

  1. Open http://fritz.box in your browser
  2. Go to Home Network → Network → Network Settings
  3. Scroll to DNS Rebind Protection
  4. Add an exception: lfibot.com
  5. Go to Internet → DNS Server
  6. Under Local DNS entries, add:
  7. Host: mqtt.lfibot.com → IP: 192.168.0.100 (your server)
  8. Host: app.lfibot.com → IP: 192.168.0.100 (your server)
  9. Click Apply

Ubiquiti UniFi (UDM / USG)

  1. Open the UniFi Network app or https://unifi.ui.com
  2. Go to Settings → Networks → Default
  3. Under DHCP Name Server: set to Manual
  4. Enter your Pi-hole/AdGuard IP as DNS server
  5. Apply Changes

Or use the built-in DNS features:

  1. SSH into your UDM: ssh [email protected]
  2. Edit /run/dnsmasq.conf.d/custom.conf: 
    address=/lfibot.com/192.168.0.100
  3. Restart dnsmasq: killall dnsmasq

Warning

UniFi UDM custom DNS entries may reset after firmware updates.

  1. Open http://192.168.0.1 (or http://tplinkwifi.net)
  2. Go to Advanced → Network → DHCP Server
  3. Set Primary DNS to your Pi-hole/AdGuard IP
  4. Save

TP-Link routers typically don't support custom DNS records. Use Option B (Pi-hole/AdGuard) instead.

Netgear

  1. Open http://routerlogin.net or http://192.168.1.1
  2. Go to Advanced → Setup → Internet Setup
  3. Under DNS Address: set to your Pi-hole/AdGuard IP
  4. Apply

Like TP-Link, most Netgear routers need Pi-hole/AdGuard for custom DNS records.

ASUS

  1. Open http://router.asus.com or http://192.168.1.1
  2. Go to LAN → DNS Director
  3. Add a rule:
  4. Domain: mqtt.lfibot.com → IP: 192.168.0.100
  5. Domain: app.lfibot.com → IP: 192.168.0.100
  6. Apply

Not all routers support custom DNS

If your router doesn't have DNS override options, use Option B (Pi-hole or AdGuard).

Option B: Pi-hole

Pi-hole is a free DNS server that runs on a Raspberry Pi or in Docker. It blocks ads AND lets you create custom DNS records.

Install Pi-hole

curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bash
Follow the installer. Note the admin password at the end.

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  pihole:
    image: pihole/pihole:latest
    ports:
      - "53:53/tcp"
      - "53:53/udp"
      - "8080:80/tcp"
    environment:
      WEBPASSWORD: 'your-password'
    volumes:
      - pihole-data:/etc/pihole
      - dnsmasq-data:/etc/dnsmasq.d
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  pihole-data:
  dnsmasq-data:

Add DNS Records

  1. Open Pi-hole admin: http://pi-hole-ip/admin
  2. Log in with your password
  3. Go to Local DNS → DNS Records

  4. Add two records:

    Domain IP Address
    mqtt.lfibot.com 192.168.0.100
    app.lfibot.com 192.168.0.100

    (Replace 192.168.0.100 with YOUR server IP)

  5. Click Add for each

Point Your Router to Pi-hole

  1. Open your router admin page
  2. Go to DHCP Settings
  3. Change the DNS server to your Pi-hole's IP address
  4. Save and reboot your router

Now all devices on your network use Pi-hole for DNS, and mqtt.lfibot.com resolves to your OpenNova server.

Option C: AdGuard Home

AdGuard Home is similar to Pi-hole but with a more modern interface.

Install AdGuard Home

curl -s -S -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AdguardTeam/AdGuardHome/master/scripts/install.sh | sh -s -- -v

services:
  adguard:
    image: adguard/adguardhome:latest
    ports:
      - "53:53/tcp"
      - "53:53/udp"
      - "3001:3000/tcp"
      - "8080:80/tcp"
    volumes:
      - adguard-work:/opt/adguardhome/work
      - adguard-conf:/opt/adguardhome/conf
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  adguard-work:
  adguard-conf:

Add DNS Rewrites

  1. Open AdGuard Home: http://adguard-ip:3001 (first time) or http://adguard-ip:8080
  2. Go to Filters → DNS Rewrites
  3. Click Add DNS Rewrite

  4. Add two entries:

    Domain Answer
    mqtt.lfibot.com 192.168.0.100
    app.lfibot.com 192.168.0.100

  5. Click Save for each

Point Your Router to AdGuard

Same as Pi-hole — change your router's DHCP DNS server to AdGuard's IP.

Option D: OpenNova Docker Built-in DNS

The OpenNova Docker container includes a built-in DNS server. This is the easiest option if you don't already have Pi-hole or AdGuard.

Enable in docker-compose.yml

services:
  opennova:
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"       # HTTPS (required for Novabot app)
      - "1883:1883"     # MQTT broker
      - "53:53/udp"     # ← Add this for built-in DNS
    environment:
      PORT: 80
      JWT_SECRET: change_me_to_a_random_secret
      ENABLE_TLS: "true"               # ← Required for Novabot app
      ENABLE_DNS: "true"               # ← Add this
      TARGET_IP: "192.168.0.100"       # ← Your server IP
      UPSTREAM_DNS: "8.8.8.8"          # ← Fallback DNS (Google)

Then restart:

docker compose down && docker compose up -d

Point Your Router to OpenNova

Change your router's DHCP DNS server to your OpenNova server IP (192.168.0.100).

Note

This means ALL DNS queries from your network go through OpenNova. Only *.lfibot.com is redirected — everything else is forwarded to Google DNS (or your configured upstream).

How to Verify

After setting up DNS, test from any device on your network:

nslookup mqtt.lfibot.com

dig mqtt.lfibot.com +short

Open a browser and go to: http://mqtt.lfibot.com

Expected result: Your OpenNova server IP (e.g., 192.168.0.100).

If you see 47.253.145.99 or a timeout, DNS is not working yet.

Troubleshooting

"DNS works on my computer but not on the mower"

The mower gets its DNS from the router's DHCP settings, not from your computer. Make sure you changed the router's DNS server setting.

After changing router DNS:

  1. Restart your mower (power off, wait 10 seconds, power on)
  2. The mower reconnects to WiFi and gets the new DNS server from DHCP

"I changed the DNS but nothing happened"

DNS changes take time to propagate. Try:

  1. On your computer: ipconfig /flushdns (Windows) or sudo dscacheutil -flushcache (macOS)
  2. On your phone: toggle WiFi off and on
  3. On the mower: restart it
  4. On the router: reboot it

"Port 53 is already in use"

Something else is using port 53 (common on Linux with systemd-resolved):

# Check what's using port 53
sudo lsof -i :53

# On Ubuntu/Debian: disable systemd-resolved
sudo systemctl stop systemd-resolved
sudo systemctl disable systemd-resolved

"My router doesn't support custom DNS records"

Use Option B (Pi-hole) or Option C (AdGuard Home). These work with ANY router — you just point your router's DHCP DNS setting to the Pi-hole/AdGuard IP.

"I don't want to change my DNS for the whole network"

You can set DNS per device instead:

  • Mower: Change the mower's DNS by re-provisioning it (the mower uses DHCP, so it gets DNS from the router)
  • Phone: Set DNS manually in WiFi settings (Settings → WiFi → your network → Configure DNS → Manual)

But the easiest approach is to change it network-wide via the router.

Summary: Which Option Should I Choose?

graph TD
    A[Do you use the OpenNova app?] -->|Yes| B[No DNS needed!]
    A -->|No, I use the Novabot app| C[Do you have Pi-hole or AdGuard?]
    C -->|Yes| D[Add DNS rewrite for *.lfibot.com]
    C -->|No| E[Does your router support custom DNS?]
    E -->|Yes| F[Add DNS record in router]
    E -->|No| G[Enable built-in DNS in Docker]
Option Difficulty Requires Best For
OpenNova app None OpenNova app installed Everyone
Router DNS Easy Router with DNS override Fritz!Box, ASUS users
Pi-hole Medium Raspberry Pi or Docker Tech-savvy users, ad blocking
AdGuard Home Medium Docker or any OS Modern UI, easy setup
Docker built-in Easy Docker port 53 available Simplest self-contained setup