Set up home and away Audiobookshelf addresses on iPhone

SoundLeaf can switch on its own between your Audiobookshelf server’s home and away addresses. On your home Wi-Fi it uses the local address, and anywhere else it uses your Tailscale, tunnel or domain address.

You set it up once per server, in Settings > Servers > (your server) > Server Details.

Why use a local address at home

A local address, like http://192.168.1.20:13378, goes straight to the server over your own network. Depending on your setup, that can mean less waiting for books to start and downloads to finish than going out through a tunnel and back.

Your away address (a Cloudflare tunnel, a Tailscale address or a domain behind a reverse proxy) has to work from anywhere. Setting both means you get the local one at home without thinking about it, and the away one when you leave. Don’t have an away address yet? See listen away from home.

Set up home and away server addresses

1. Open Settings > Servers.
2. On your server’s card, tap Server Details (the row that says “Addresses, Wi-Fi and headers”).
3. Turn on Automatic endpoint switching.
4. Under Home Network, type your Wi-Fi name in WiFi name (SSID). Or, while you’re on that Wi-Fi, tap the Wi-Fi button beside the field and SoundLeaf fills it in.
5. In Local server URL, type the address that works on your home network, for example http://192.168.1.20:13378.
6. Under External URLs, type an away address in Add external URL and tap the plus button. Add as many as you like.

Changes save as you make them. There’s no Save button.

The address fields need http:// or https:// on the front. Write http://192.168.1.20:13378, not 192.168.1.20:13378. Unlike the sign-in screen, these fields don’t guess it for you. Not sure what to type? See what to type as your server address.

Change the order of away addresses

SoundLeaf tries the away addresses from the top down. To change the order, tap the … button beside an address and choose Move Up or Move Down. Remove Address is in the same menu.

The first row, Login server, is the address you signed in with. It is always the last one tried, and it can’t be removed.

More than one away address helps if you have, say, a Tailscale address you’d rather use and a public domain as a backup.

How does SoundLeaf automatically switch between local and Tailscale address?

• On your home Wi-Fi, SoundLeaf checks the local address first. If it answers as an Audiobookshelf server, SoundLeaf uses it.
• If the local address doesn’t answer, or you’re away from home, SoundLeaf goes down the External URLs list until one answers. The address you signed in with is always the last one it tries.
• If nothing answers at all, SoundLeaf keeps the address it was using and checks again later.

It checks when the app starts, when you come back to it, and when your network changes. A Tailscale address works well as the first away address. See the Tailscale guide.

The Current Endpoint section at the top of the screen shows which address is in use right now. The server’s card on the Servers screen also shows a ping time, or Unreachable.

Why does SoundLeaf need my location?

SoundLeaf needs Precise Location permission to read your Wi-Fi name, because iOS treats the Wi-Fi name as location data.

SoundLeaf only reads the name and compares it on your phone. No location data is collected, stored or sent anywhere.

If you’d rather not allow it, leave Automatic endpoint switching off and use one address. Everything else works the same.

Does switching sign me out?

No. Switching addresses doesn’t change your saved login address, doesn’t sign you out, and doesn’t touch your downloads.

These settings belong to the server, so every account you’ve saved on that server uses them, which helps when the whole family shares one server (see family setup). Your listening position syncs the same way whichever address is in use; see how progress syncs.

Troubleshooting

It never switches to the local address

• Check that SoundLeaf has Precise Location in the iPhone Settings app.
• Check the Wi-Fi name. Capital letters don’t matter, but spaces do, so look for an extra space at the end.
• Check the local address starts with http:// (or https:// if your server has a certificate).

If the Wi-Fi button can’t read the name, SoundLeaf says “Could not read the Wi-Fi name. Enter it above, or allow precise location access for SoundLeaf in Settings.”

It switched to local and now nothing loads

The local address may not be reachable from the network you’re on. Some routers keep guest Wi-Fi away from the main network. Try the local address in Safari on the phone. If Safari can’t open it either, fix the address or use a Wi-Fi name that matches only your main network. More checks are in connection troubleshooting.

I’m on a VPN at home

A VPN can send your traffic out of the house and back, so the local address may not answer even at home. If you use Tailscale, you can put the Tailscale address in External URLs and skip the local address, since Tailscale tries to connect directly when both are on the same network.

My tunnel needs custom headers

Headers are in the Headers section of the same Server Details screen. They’re sent with whichever address is in use. See the Cloudflare Access guide.