Network accessed Arduino Display Board

Projects General Guidance
1

Hello all,

I am a general novice with arduino, having a few college courses under my belt. What I want to do is create a network accessed arduino display board that I am able to communicate and send messages to from anywhere with internet access. I am going to be in South Korea for a several months this summer and thought this would be a fun gift to give my girlfriend as she isn't too happy with the long-distance thing. (Getting me out of some hot water)

This being said, I would like this to be a plug and play type thing where she doesn't have to worry about messing with her router settings or dealing with the arduino code. I found multiple ways that this would be feasible at the links below:

https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=441974.0
http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=217398.0

The most reasonable option, it seems, is using a X2 gateway to connect an xbee module to the internet, but this would require a lot of configuration on her part. Another option is port forwarding and using a DynamicDNS. However, she will be renting an apartment and may not have access to router settings. I guess my question is, "Is there any feasible way that I can send messages from South Korea to an arduino to be displayed without altering router settings or a large amount of work on her end?"

Any help is appreciated!!

2

"Is there any feasible way that I can send messages from South Korea to an arduino to be displayed without altering router settings or a large amount of work on her end?"

Yes, but probably not the way you expect it. Forget everything that uses radio frequencies, connect it by Ethernet and use a server in the internet to route the messages. That way you have the work and the costs (renting a server on the internet) but she simply has to connect it to the router by a cable.