Topic: Help with JRemote and streaming to my phone (Read 5166 times)

nemick · « **on:** July 01, 2019, 03:25:17 pm »

Hi All,

My wife, my two kids and myself all use JRemote on our phones to listen to all our music from my computer. Until a couple of months ago, everything seemed to work fine. Then it all stopped working. None of us can any longer access my computer and MC24 unless we are connected via wi-fi and my LAN. I desperately want to fix this but I don't know how.

I have very limited technical and especially IT skills. I can't even figure out the problem and I don't know where to start. I'm getting older and struggling to keep up I guess.

Where do I start? I have tried my best to set up port forwarding as required, but that didn't seem to help anything. As mentioned, it used to work and I have no clue what stopped it working unless it was an IOS update. All 4 of us are using apple phones and on the Sprint network, if that makes any difference. I don't not seem to be able to generate a new access key from MC and that's probably just my inability to understand whats needed.

I have 6000 songs on MC as well as a couple hundred movies. Please, can someone spare the time to walk me through some trouble shooting steps? As long as I'm on my LAN, everything is great. Its just when I'm away form home that I have a problem and I'm away from home a lot

Thanks in advance

Scobie · « **Reply #1 on:** July 01, 2019, 06:46:43 pm »

If it has affected all 4 phones at once and is only external then it certainly points to a firewall / port forwarding problem.

First thing to check is what has changed, has there been an IP address or firewall update on your PC? The firewall may be blocking external access attempts and any IP address change would need to be reflected in your port forwarding setup.

Otherwise it may be your external IP address - the one assigned by your Internet Service Provider - has changed and the firewall settings may need to be updated to reflect that.

When you attempt to access from outside your network and it fails JRemote should give an error screen, what does that say?

Also could have been an anti-virus / malware update that changed your local FW settings.

nemick · « **Reply #2 on:** July 01, 2019, 08:34:53 pm »

many thanks for responding. I need all the help I can get. My thought too was that it had to be some sort of firewall problem and in an effort to eliminate that possibility, I disabled the FW all together.

I have no clue what changed in general. Maybe I clicked something I shouldn't have or didn't click something I should have. About the time this all went down I had just uploaded about 200 movies, but I never felt as though the movie storage and loss of remote were associated as even the movies were accessible for a few weeks.

There is no error screen on JRemote when it fails to connect, just a message showing the MC logo, the name of my Mac Mini and a box showing that says "wake on LAN". This has never worked and is still useless (I have noticed that I seem to have 5 Mac Addresses stored and that makes no sense to me.

Maybe it is a virus or something similar, but the firewall on the router and on the Mac Mini are both disabled. I have even changed the router earlier today in the hope that I could fix things but I cannot. The biggest problem is that I'm IT illiterate and fumbling in the dark, as it were. With no customer support to speak of its a little frustrating hoping that some kind soul will see my question and help.

I have been trying to get MC to generate a new access key, but I don't seem to be able to do that. Do I need to uninstall MC and re-install and try again? I believe I have plenty of re-installs left.

Thanks

JimH · « **Reply #3 on:** July 01, 2019, 08:52:15 pm »

Probably not a good idea to disable your router firewall.

The wiki has a topic called Network Access .

Scobie · « **Reply #4 on:** July 01, 2019, 08:55:55 pm »

I don't think a new key will help, especially if JRemote is working internally. And I would turn your firewall back on as well.

Your router needs to know how to find the MC server when a request comes in from outside your network, so you need to have port forwarding enabled to do that. This might also be called "Virtual Servers" or something similar in the NAT config of your router.

You need to tell it when a request comes in on port 52199 - the JRemote port - that this is to be forwarded to the internal IP address of your MC Server.

As this was working previously the config should still be there, what you need to verify is whether the internal IP address entered for your MC Server in your router is still the IP address of you MC server.

One way to rule out network comms as an issue is to see if you can access Panel from outside your network. If you can find the external facing IP address of your router, turn wi-fi off on your phone so you are using the external network and try and hit it with http://<external router address>:52199

nemick · « **Reply #5 on:** July 01, 2019, 09:34:19 pm »

Quote from: Scobie on July 01, 2019, 08:55:55 pm

I don't think a new key will help, especially if JRemote is working internally. And I would turn your firewall back on as well.

Your router needs to know how to find the MC server when a request comes in from outside your network, so you need to have port forwarding enabled to do that. This might also be called "Virtual Servers" or something similar in the NAT config of your router.

You need to tell it when a request comes in on port 52199 - the JRemote port - that this is to be forwarded to the internal IP address of your MC Server.

As this was working previously the config should still be there, what you need to verify is whether the internal IP address entered for your MC Server in your router is still the IP address of you MC server.

One way to rule out network comms as an issue is to see if you can access Panel from outside your network. If you can find the external facing IP address of your router, turn wi-fi off on your phone so you are using the external network and try and hit it with http://<external router address>:52199

Okay, this is where my eyes start to glaze over but if I may ask a few questions, I'm sure I can get this.

1. Is the IP address of my MC server just the IP address of my Mac Mini?
2. My router has an IP address of 192.168.1.1 Is there a way of me identifying if that is the external facing IP address. (on my LAN, this is the address I type in to access the configuration page for the router) The answer to this question is probably obvious to everyone but me.
3. I will enable the firewall again.

Thanks so much for your patience

Scobie · « **Reply #6 on:** July 01, 2019, 11:38:10 pm »

Hi, yes your server address and your Mac Mini address should be the same.

the 192.168 address is your internal network, only visible from the outside world through your router. Your router will have another (external) address in its configuration that will not be 192.168. But certainly go to the router management page via this address and verify the port forwarding is still going to the Mac Mini address.

Your external address should be available in the router config, also via your ISP's management webpage and should also be shown in JRemote if you hit the info button on the selected server (settings -> Your Server) . When trying to access from outside this will be the address JRemote tries to hit, so attempt to access when not on your home network and this field should be populated with the latest external IP address that JRemote thinks it should be using.

nemick · « **Reply #7 on:** July 02, 2019, 08:54:31 am »

Quote from: Scobie on July 01, 2019, 11:38:10 pm

Hi, yes your server address and your Mac Mini address should be the same.

the 192.168 address is your internal network, only visible from the outside world through your router. Your router will have another (external) address in its configuration that will not be 192.168. But certainly go to the router management page via this address and verify the port forwarding is still going to the Mac Mini address.

Your external address should be available in the router config, also via your ISP's management webpage and should also be shown in JRemote if you hit the info button on the selected server (settings -> Your Server) . When trying to access from outside this will be the address JRemote tries to hit, so attempt to access when not on your home network and this field should be populated with the latest external IP address that JRemote thinks it should be using.

Well Ive tried everything you've suggested and still no joy. I am unable to connect to panel either using the method you described. Im going to keep trying to figure it out though as JRemote os one of the best things about MC. Is there any way to access the settings for the MC server and see if there is something wrong there? Id evn be happy to grant access to a someone to try and take a look remotely. Very frustrating.

JimH · « **Reply #8 on:** July 02, 2019, 09:54:49 am »

Did you read this?
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Network_Access

It should give you a basic understanding of what's needed.

MC has a test from within the Media Network settings. It tests both inside and outside connections.

When you say that it doesn't work, please include the information about where you're trying to connect from. Inside or outside. Inside should be easy and must work before outside has a chance.

nemick · « **Reply #9 on:** July 02, 2019, 10:06:08 am »

Quote from: JimH on July 02, 2019, 09:54:49 am

Did you read this?
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Network_Access

It should give you a basic understanding of what's needed.

MC has a test from within the Media Network settings. It tests both inside and outside connections.

When you say that it doesn't work, please include the information about where you're trying to connect from. Inside or outside. Inside should be easy and must work before outside has a chance.

Thanks Jim, yes I did read that and followed it as closely as possible. I do have a breakthrough to report . Connection has always worked as long as I'm on wi-fi in my own house. Never a problem there.

I use a client lap top in my house too and this morning I decided to turn off the mac mini altogether and set up the lap top with a small library of it's own and use it as the MC server. I turned off the wi-fi on my phone and everything connected normally, so I guess the problem must be with the MC set up or server set up in the Mac Mini? Does that make sense?

I'm currently waiting for one of my kids to try connecting from many miles away, but as of now, I feel like Im narrowing down the source of the problem. Pinpointing the actual cause might be more difficult, but if all else fails I suppose I could uninstall MC from the Mac Mini and start over?

Thanks so much to all for the help. I'm getting there

nemick · « **Reply #10 on:** July 02, 2019, 10:17:23 am »

Well, it didn't work from a couple of hundred miles away. Below is what my son got on his phone. Its all gobbledygook to me. It still works fine for me without wi-fi enabled on my phone in the same room as the laptop

Finding computer addresses associated with access key 'xyzzy'

Response received

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Response Status="OK">
<keyid>xyzzy</keyid>
<ip>foo.bar.com</ip>
<port>52199</port>
<localiplist>192.168.1.120,169.254.155.231</localiplist>
<macaddresslist>60-f8-1d-cb-7c-da,72-00-08-28-cb-20,72-00-08-28-cb-21,72-00-08-28-cb-20,02-f8-1d-cb-7c-da,ba-e9-60-d3-5a-2f,da-1c-79-86-54-43</macaddresslist>
</Response>

Found 3 addresses

Connecting to IP: 192.168.1.120 Port: 52199

Could not connect (Could not connect to the server.)

Connecting to IP: 169.254.155.231 Port: 52199

Could not connect (The Internet connection appears to be offline.)

Connecting to IP: foo.bar.com Port: 52199

Could not connect (Could not connect to the server.)

bob · « **Reply #11 on:** July 02, 2019, 11:12:34 am »

So there are the possibilities mentioned above,
firewall on the router blocking port 52199
missing port forward on the router
stale access key (try the Tools->Options->Media Network->access key-> test) This needs to work! Post the results!
Also, it's also possible that Sprint is blocking access to your port 52199 or they are using a IPV6 to IPV4 translation that's causing issues.

bob · « **Reply #12 on:** July 02, 2019, 11:15:42 am »

BTW I changed your post to remove private information.
Once you get this working again you will want to turn on authentication in MC.

nemick · « **Reply #13 on:** July 02, 2019, 12:27:05 pm »

Thanks for hanging in there with me. I refuse to give up. I tested the connection per the instructions you provided and it says I cannot access the library from the internet and that I probably need to configure port forwarding in the router. Obviously , this is what Ive been trying to do.

How am I able to eliminate Sprint as a potential part of the problem. I can work on the port forwarding all day long but if Sprint are meddling I'll never know whats wrong.

BryanC · « **Reply #14 on:** July 02, 2019, 01:43:40 pm »

Does your modem also have a built-in firewall? If it can serve as a wi-fi AP then it probably does. In that case you will want to set it to passthrough or bridged mode so that it is sending traffic directly to your own router. If you do this, you will want to enable the NAT firewall on your router.

What are the model numbers for your modem and your router?

JimH · « **Reply #15 on:** July 02, 2019, 01:54:59 pm »

It's probably not Sprint. It's probably on your own network, starting with the ISP's modem/router. They should have instructions.

bob · « **Reply #16 on:** July 02, 2019, 03:08:56 pm »

At one point in time if this was working remotely over the cell network or WAN as you say, you must have set up a port forward on the router.
If you are using DHCP it's quite possible your PC's address has changed which makes the port forward useless.
You should assign a fixed lease to the PC from the DHCP server in the router OR assign the PC a static address outside of the range of addresses served by the router (but still on the same 192.168.1.x network.

nemick · « **Reply #17 on:** July 03, 2019, 05:52:59 am »

Sorry for the delay in acknowledging your guys advice, I was called away. I'll be working on this again today. At least I feel as though I am narrowing it down to definitively something in my network. I have set up the port forwarding umpteen times, but I am going to call tech support today to double check my set up.

I'm convinced it will be something fairly simple once I find it.

nemick · « **Reply #18 on:** July 03, 2019, 07:49:47 am »

Quote from: bob on July 02, 2019, 03:08:56 pm

At one point in time if this was working remotely over the cell network or WAN as you say, you must have set up a port forward on the router.
If you are using DHCP it's quite possible your PC's address has changed which makes the port forward useless.
You should assign a fixed lease to the PC from the DHCP server in the router OR assign the PC a static address outside of the range of addresses served by the router (but still on the same 192.168.1.x network.

It seems I am using DHCP, so I guess that might be the problem. I don't know anything about this "fixed lease" business, so I'm searching google

JimH · « **Reply #19 on:** July 03, 2019, 09:17:12 am »

A machine can be assigned a static IP address (never changing)
or
It can get an address from a DHCP server. This address may be different each time.
or
You can tell the DHCP server to assign the same address to the device each time. Then it never changes. That's the "lease" bob mentioned.

nemick · « **Reply #20 on:** July 03, 2019, 01:17:53 pm »

Quote from: JimH on July 03, 2019, 09:17:12 am

A machine can be assigned a static IP address (never changing)
or
It can get an address from a DHCP server. This address may be different each time.
or
You can tell the DHCP server to assign the same address to the device each time. Then it never changes. That's the "lease" bob mentioned.

Thanks for that insight. Just to try and remove any doubts at my end, I updated my Master License to MC 25. I also installed it on a PC running Windows 10. I wanted to be able to rule out it being an Apple specific problem. I get identical results on the Windows machine, so it has to be the router, right? I called tech support at my ISP and got nowhere. Basically the person I spoke to couldn't get his head around the fact that I wanted to access a server on my network. His response was that I didn't need a server for internet access. Doh. I couldn't explain what I was trying to do in a way that he could understand.

nemick · « **Reply #21 on:** July 03, 2019, 01:41:00 pm »

Okay, I think I have potentially found the problem. I am told by a different tech support problem that my issues is caused by needing a static IP address. If I understand them correctly, the actual router needs a static IP Address which, of course, costa an additional $10.00 per month.

I have requested said static IP Address for the router and I will report back once I have that and tried to configure port forwarding again.

Thanks for eveyones help this far

BryanC · « **Reply #22 on:** July 03, 2019, 01:43:37 pm »

You don't actually need that service since JRiver access keys handle dynamic DNS just fine.

JimH · « **Reply #23 on:** July 03, 2019, 02:24:59 pm »

Quote from: BryanC on July 03, 2019, 01:43:37 pm

You don't actually need that service since JRiver access keys handle dynamic DNS just fine.

Bryan is correct.

nemick · « **Reply #24 on:** July 03, 2019, 03:44:00 pm »

Quote from: JimH on July 03, 2019, 02:24:59 pm

Bryan is correct.

Well bugger. How can I find out what it is Im doing wrong? Is there anything I can post here that will help you guys see what I have messed up?

BryanC · « **Reply #25 on:** July 03, 2019, 04:19:23 pm »

Modem model
Router model
Port forwarding rules
Internal IP of your MC computer
Temporarily disable windows firewall
Not any additional software installed like VPNs or anti-malware

nemick · « **Reply #26 on:** July 03, 2019, 05:30:40 pm »

Quote from: BryanC on July 03, 2019, 04:19:23 pm

Modem model
Router model
Port forwarding rules
Internal IP of your MC computer
Temporarily disable windows firewall
Not any additional software installed like VPNs or anti-malware

Well I'm on a fiber optic connection to the world, but I don't suppose that matters. My router is the one supplied by Metronet. It is a ZyXEL EMG3425-Q10A

I presume it has a modem built in???

I don't know how to tell you the port forwarding rules but this is a link to the manual

ftp://ftp.us.zyxel.com/EMG3425-Q10A/user_guide/EMG3425-Q10A_1.00.pdf

Internal IP address of the Windows machine is 192.168.1.125 (IPv4 address)

firewall is disabled

Windows defender or whatever is turned off

Norton is turned off

No other programs installed as far as I'm aware

Scobie · « **Reply #27 on:** July 03, 2019, 06:16:53 pm »

Quote

JRiver access keys handle dynamic DNS just fine

Quote

How can I find out what it is Im doing wrong?

You haven't done anything wrong, even as the guys point out while JRiver can work with Dynamic DNS you would still need to set that up at your end (Chapter 13 of the manual you provided), you just have not needed to do it until now. If you don't use or a static address it and your address has changed, then external access will break as you have found.

So you can either work with your ISP/DynamicDNS provider to set up DDNS, or grab a static IP as you have already explored. Either will work, but don't beat yourself up because until now you have probably not needed either and what you have been using (DHCP all round) is generally a default setting...this simply addresses this problem and also future proofs you from further changes.

nemick · « **Reply #28 on:** July 03, 2019, 06:26:43 pm »

Quote from: Scobie on July 03, 2019, 06:16:53 pm

You haven't done anything wrong, even as the guys point out while JRiver can work with Dynamic DNS you would still need to set that up at your end (Chapter 13 of the manual you provided), you just have not needed to do it until now. If you don't use or a static address it and your address has changed, then external access will break as you have found.

So you can either work with your ISP/DynamicDNS provider to set up DDNS, or grab a static IP as you have already explored. Either will work, but don't beat yourself up because until now you have probably not needed either and what you have been using (DHCP all round) is generally a default setting...this simply addresses this problem and also future proofs you from further changes.

I appreciate the supportive comments. I'll take a read of Chapter 13 specifically and see if I understand any of it.

JimH · « **Reply #29 on:** July 03, 2019, 06:42:03 pm »

In Google, try typing
whatsmyip
You'll find out your outside IP address. Read Network Access on our wiki to learn what that means.

Scobie · « **Reply #30 on:** July 03, 2019, 07:01:07 pm »

That chapter basically outlines how to set up Dynamic DNS (DDNS) on your router.

DNS is responsible for assigning a readable address name (e.g. www.jriver.com) to an IP address. What Dynamic DNS does is allow you to assign a DNS name to an address that may change as it has been assigned dynamically (DHCP); so no matter what IP address the ISP provides, the DNS name is the same.

So given JRiver can work with a Dynamic DNS address by virtue of its key model as the guys mentioned, it will not matter what IP address your ISP assigns you, if you are using Dynamic DNS JRemote will always be able to find your network. This protects you against IP address changes.

This is of course the same if your ISP has assigned a static IP address as well.

Some routers and network devices can handle DDNS natively, but some require a 3rd party and your router looks as though it is one of those. Your ISP may do it for you, or you may have to look elsewhere for the service to providers such as DynDNS - if you google "free DDNS" you'll find a few. Often the DDNS service is free.

nemick · « **Reply #31 on:** July 03, 2019, 07:34:28 pm »

Quote from: JimH on July 03, 2019, 06:42:03 pm

In Google, try typing
whatsmyip
You'll find out your outside IP address. Read [url=http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Network_Access]Network Access[/url] on our wiki to learn what that means.

JimH, I located my outside IP Address yesterday, but I probably didn't use it correctly. I just tried using it in a different way, but still no dice. Is it possible that the outside address is dynamic or is it always fixed? I have read the Network Access Wiki countless times and I actually think I'm starting to get an idea of what its saying, and I feel as though I'm doing what it says. Some of these IT concepts that seem obvious to some are like double Dutch to the rest of us, which can make router manuals less than accessible.

I truly appreciate your attempts to help and guide me

nemick · « **Reply #32 on:** July 03, 2019, 07:36:46 pm »

Quote from: Scobie on July 03, 2019, 07:01:07 pm

That chapter basically outlines how to set up Dynamic DNS (DDNS) on your router.

DNS is responsible for assigning a readable address name (e.g. www.jriver.com) to an IP address. What Dynamic DNS does is allow you to assign a DNS name to an address that may change as it has been assigned dynamically (DHCP); so no matter what IP address the ISP provides, the DNS name is the same.

So given JRiver can work with a Dynamic DNS address by virtue of its key model as the guys mentioned, it will not matter what IP address your ISP assigns you, if you are using Dynamic DNS JRemote will always be able to find your network. This protects you against IP address changes.

This is of course the same if your ISP has assigned a static IP address as well.

Some routers and network devices can handle DDNS natively, but some require a 3rd party and your router looks as though it is one of those. Your ISP may do it for you, or you may have to look elsewhere for the service to providers such as DynDNS - if you google "free DDNS" you'll find a few. Often the DDNS service is free.

I will need to read this several times before any of it sticks. I will also see what DDNS services I can find

JimH · « **Reply #33 on:** July 03, 2019, 09:21:17 pm »

The outside address can change. Use the Access Key method.

BryanC · « **Reply #34 on:** July 04, 2019, 08:49:22 am »

Quote from: Scobie on July 03, 2019, 06:16:53 pm

You haven't done anything wrong, even as the guys point out while JRiver can work with Dynamic DNS you would still need to set that up at your end (Chapter 13 of the manual you provided), you just have not needed to do it until now. If you don't use or a static address it and your address has changed, then external access will break as you have found.

So you can either work with your ISP/DynamicDNS provider to set up DDNS, or grab a static IP as you have already explored. Either will work, but don't beat yourself up because until now you have probably not needed either and what you have been using (DHCP all round) is generally a default setting...this simply addresses this problem and also future proofs you from further changes.

I need to address this post because it may be misleading to OP and other users.

The purpose of DDNS support on routers is only to assign a domain name to a dynamic IP address. Dynamic DNS is not equal to the dynamic IP that we were discussing in the context of DHCP. It has no bearing on MC's access key model, since dynamic DNS functionality is inherent to MC access keys.

Quote from: nemick on July 03, 2019, 07:36:46 pm

I will need to read this several times before any of it sticks. I will also see what DDNS services I can find

nemick, forget about DDNS, it is not necessary here. MC access keys will work fine with your dynamic external IP address as long as port forwarding is configured correctly.

Like Jim mentioned it is imperative that you reserve an IP address for your MC computer so that your port forwards will always reach the correct machine on your network. To do this you will use the "reserve" option that is outlined in section 11.4 of your manual.

Next, please screenshot an image of your port forward settings, since this seems like the most likely culprit. There should be no personal information visible since the only relevant information is the port number (52199) and the internal IP address.

nemick · « **Reply #35 on:** July 04, 2019, 09:01:59 am »

The only method of connection I have used or tried is the "Access Key" Im lost enough just with that without trying anything else, lol.

It turns out that my ISP is going to give me a static IP free, for the first 12 months. I probably wont have that until Monday. I am going to go ahead and try that and then see if I can spend some time educating myself on what I will need to do to do without the static IP in the future. Right now, there are so many variables that I need to get just right for everything to work. Every step of the way seems to add one more step that is way beyond my technical grasp, at present.

I have tried everything I know to use my "outside IP Address" in the port forwarding set up and it just won't accept it. Now there is DDNS to get right and then Firewall permissions. I could get any one or more of those set up incorrectly and have no hope of knowing which one. I am confident that an IT specialist would have me up and running in seconds, but such is life.

I'll report back, but if nothing else, I feel this thread has provided a treasure trove of information and direction which will be of use to others in my situation. I'll be back next wekk. In the meantime, Happy 4th of July to all

BryanC · « **Reply #36 on:** July 04, 2019, 09:09:51 am »

Quote from: nemick on July 04, 2019, 09:01:59 am

The only method of connection I have used or tried is the "Access Key" Im lost enough just with that without trying anything else, lol.

It turns out that my ISP is going to give me a static IP free, for the first 12 months. I probably wont have that until Monday. I am going to go ahead and try that and then see if I can spend some time educating myself on what I will need to do to do without the static IP in the future. Right now, there are so many variables that I need to get just right for everything to work. Every step of the way seems to add one more step that is way beyond my technical grasp, at present.

I have tried everything I know to use my "outside IP Address" in the port forwarding set up and it just won't accept it. Now there is DDNS to get right and then Firewall permissions. I could get any one or more of those set up incorrectly and have no hope of knowing which one. I am confident that an IT specialist would have me up and running in seconds, but such is life.

I'll report back, but if nothing else, I feel this thread has provided a treasure trove of information and direction which will be of use to others in my situation. I'll be back next wekk. In the meantime, Happy 4th of July to all

nemick, please see my edited post above.

I will simplify things for you:

1. The static IP from your ISP will only complicate the set up, so forget it
2. Forget DDNS, it's unnecessary since MC handles that all for you
3. Set up an internal "reserved" (static) IP address for your MC computer using the DHCP settings in your router
4. Correctly configure the port forwarding rules in the NAT section of your router and post them here
5. Your external IP address is irrelevant

My hunch is that your are failing at step #3 or #4 but I can't know for sure. The external IP address should not factor into your port forwarding settings as you have mentioned before.

Once those steps are addressed we can tackle more advanced troubleshooting. Sometimes routers with OEM firmware will have duplicate firewall settings or other bugs that must be bypassed. But we can't know that until we are sure that your router is properly configured.

nemick · « **Reply #37 on:** July 04, 2019, 11:01:03 am »

Quote from: BryanC on July 04, 2019, 09:09:51 am

nemick, please see my edited post above.

I will simplify things for you:

1. The static IP from your ISP will only complicate the set up, so forget it
2. Forget DDNS, it's unnecessary since MC handles that all for you
3. Set up an internal "reserved" (static) IP address for your MC computer using the DHCP settings in your router
4. Correctly configure the port forwarding rules in the NAT section of your router and post them here
5. Your external IP address is irrelevant

My hunch is that your are failing at step #3 or #4 but I can't know for sure. The external IP address should not factor into your port forwarding settings as you have mentioned before.

Once those steps are addressed we can tackle more advanced troubleshooting. Sometimes routers with OEM firmware will have duplicate firewall settings or other bugs that must be bypassed. But we can't know that until we are sure that your router is properly configured.

Okay, I am going to keep trying, based upon your help.

Step #3 is my first hurdle. I have discovered how to get a static address for my MC computer, but how do I get a static address for my MC Computer on my router? I may be over thinking this whole thing for all I know. I can change to a static IP from DHCP on my Mac Mini or MacBook Pro in the network preferences pane. Would it be easier for you to guide me if I just concentrated on a Windows machine or a Mac machine? I have both but normally use my Mac Mini as the music server. If I can get either working, perhaps I'll better understand the needs of the other. I truly appreciate the efforts you are making to get me sorted out. If I can get step #3 completed, I can move onto #4 with some degree of confidence.

I know I am asking a lot, but have you had an opportunity to glance at the manual for my router. I may be wrong but it seems to be more of an enterprise piece of equipment rather than a home user piece, so perhaps it presumes a certain degree of knowledge on the part of the end user?

Thanks

BryanC · « **Reply #38 on:** July 04, 2019, 11:14:29 am »

Quote from: nemick on July 04, 2019, 11:01:03 am

Okay JimH I am going to keep trying, based upon your help.

Step #3 is my first hurdle. I have discovered how to get a static address for my MC computer, but how do I get a static address for my MC Computer on my router? I may be over thinking this whole thing for all I know. I can change to a static IP from DHCP on my Mac Mini or MacBook Pro in the network preferences pane. Would it be easier for you to guide me if I just concentrated on a Windows machine or a Mac machine? I have both but normally use my Mac Mini as the music server. If I can get either working, perhaps I'll better understand the needs of the other. I truly appreciate the efforts you are making to get me sorted out. If I can get step #3 completed, I can move onto #4 with some degree of confidence.

I know I am asking a lot, but have you had an opportunity to glance at the manual for my router. I may be wrong but it seems to be more of an enterprise piece of equipment rather than a home user piece, so perhaps it presumes a certain degree of knowledge on the part of the end user?

Thanks

The answer is in section 11.4 of your manual. You will want to check the box to "reserve" (more commonly known as assigning a static IP address) the IP address of your MC computer. You don't need to do anything on the computer itself. The computer will keep automatically requesting an IP from the router and the router will always assign it the IP address you've reserved for it. Reserve the IP address, write it down, then you can proceed to setting up the port forwarding rules.

nemick · « **Reply #39 on:** July 04, 2019, 12:18:16 pm »

Quote from: BryanC on July 04, 2019, 11:14:29 am

The answer is in section 11.4 of your manual. You will want to check the box to "reserve" (more commonly known as assigning a static IP address) the IP address of your MC computer. You don't need to do anything on the computer itself. The computer will keep automatically requesting an IP from the router and the router will always assign it the IP address you've reserved for it. Reserve the IP address, write it down, then you can proceed to setting up the port forwarding rules.

BryanC, I went to chapter 11.4, found my MC machine (Mac-Mini) along with everything else on my network. I checked the box to reserve the IP Address associated with my MC Machine and also verified that the same IP Address appears in network preferences within my MC machine. They are identical.

Next, I went to the NAT setup / port forwarding. The top option (Default Server Set Up) confuses me. Do I need to adjust that? I chose "user defined" name entered 52199 in both the "portt" and "translation port" boxes. I set the "Server IP Address" as the reserved IP address (my Mac- mini Internal IP address) and added the whole shebang.

I have the firewall on my MC machine disable and I have the firewall on the router disabled (this is temporary and only for the sake of taking it out of the equation for now). Still no joy when testing the MC server with the test feature. Whats next?

BryanC · « **Reply #40 on:** July 04, 2019, 12:38:42 pm »

In 12.3.1 of the manual (which refers to the port forwarding edit screen) I don't see anything regarding a translation port. This could have been added in a later version of your router firmware, but I just want to double-check.

If everything does line up that will leave us with a couple of further things to investigate, from most-likely to least-likely.

1. Your fiber modem may have some sort of gateway functionality built-in that should be modified or disabled. Do you have access to your modem? It will be the device that takes the fiber, coaxial, or phone line in and connects to your gateway via ethernet. If so, is there a model number for your modem?

2. You are dealing with some sort of carrier NAT/firewall. Do you have the option of modifying the NAT in your ISP's account settings? This may be why your ISP tech suggested using a static IP. It's possible that static IP accounts can bypass the carrier NAT. Why? Who knows. In this case, continue with the static IP upgrade and let your ISP walk you through modifying your router to support the static IP address. Since your port forwarding is correctly enabled now, once you are bypassing the carrier firewall everything should start working again.

It will be helpful to google your ISP and "carrier NAT" to see if other people have had this issue and how they resolved it.

3. IPv6 to IPv4 translation implementation. It may be possible to change to a different implementation, but likely not with your stock router firmware.

4. The firmware for your router is broken. Possible, I've seen it before. Probably best to acquire a different model of router from your ISP if available. If not, substitute your own.

nemick · « **Reply #41 on:** July 04, 2019, 12:52:04 pm »

Quote from: BryanC on July 04, 2019, 12:38:42 pm

In 12.3.1 of the manual (which refers to the port forwarding edit screen) I don't see anything regarding a translation port. This could have been added in a later version of your router firmware, but I just want to double-check.

If everything does line up that will leave us with a couple of further things to investigate, from most-likely to least-likely.

1. Your fiber modem may have some sort of gateway functionality built-in that should be modified or disabled. Do you have access to your modem? It will be the device that takes the fiber, coaxial, or phone line in and connects to your gateway via ethernet. If so, is there a model number for your modem?

2. You are dealing with some sort of carrier NAT/firewall. Do you have the option of modifying the NAT in your ISP's account settings? This may be why your ISP tech suggested using a static IP. It's possible that static IP accounts can bypass the carrier NAT. Why? Who knows. In this case, continue with the static IP upgrade and let your ISP walk you through modifying your router to support the static IP address. Since your port forwarding is correctly enabled now, once you are bypassing the carrier firewall everything should start working again.

It will be helpful to google your ISP and "carrier NAT" to see if other people have had this issue and how they resolved it.

3. IPv6 to IPv4 translation implementation. It may be possible to change to a different implementation, but likely not with your stock router firmware.

4. The firmware for your router is broken. Possible, I've seen it before. Probably best to acquire a different model of router from your ISP if available. If not, substitute your own.

I have to presume then that the modem is in the box they attached to the wall. This is a nokia item and is where they fibre optic comes in and then comes out as cat5 ethernet. I have no information on it, but I'll look to see what I can find. The installer told me it was just a device to convert from fiber to ethernet, but maybe he was understating it. I have a Motorola Surfboard router I can try instead of the router supplied to me. I'll try that too

nemick · « **Reply #42 on:** July 04, 2019, 12:58:50 pm »

This is a screen shot of the port forwarding as set up. Sorry if the file is huge, but does it look right?

BryanC · « **Reply #43 on:** July 04, 2019, 02:43:37 pm »

Yes, that looks correct.

I'm thinking this is a carrier NAT issue most likely. The good news is that since everything is properly configured once they move you out from under the NAT (if that is their plan with the static IP) you'll see that it will start working immediately once they switch you.

nemick · « **Reply #44 on:** July 04, 2019, 02:58:56 pm »

Quote from: BryanC on July 04, 2019, 02:43:37 pm

Yes, that looks correct.

I'm thinking this is a carrier NAT issue most likely. The good news is that since everything is properly configured once they move you out from under the NAT (if that is their plan with the static IP) you'll see that it will start working immediately once they switch you.

BryanC, thanks for reviewing the port forwarding. I'll check back in when I'm assigned a static port. They said it takes 2-3 business days, so I figure I should be good on monday

Scobie · « **Reply #45 on:** July 04, 2019, 06:24:02 pm »

Quote

I'm thinking this is a carrier NAT issue most likely. The good news is that since everything is properly configured once they move you out from under the NAT (if that is their plan with the static IP) you'll see that it will start working immediately once they switch you.

This was exactly the situation I was in when I recently cut over from DSL to Broadband with a new ISP.

I only knew NAT had been implemented when JRemote stopped working from outside my network as per nemick's issue. I had to provide a valid reason to the ISP to be cut over to a static external IP and all I had to tell them was I had services inside my home network that I needed to access from outside - namely MC. Once they assigned a static external IP all worked without any intervention from me, the key picked it up.

nemick · « **Reply #46 on:** July 04, 2019, 06:59:53 pm »

Quote from: Scobie on July 04, 2019, 06:24:02 pm

This was exactly the situation I was in when I recently cut over from DSL to Broadband with a new ISP.

I only knew NAT had been implemented when JRemote stopped working from outside my network as per nemick's issue. I had to provide a valid reason to the ISP to be cut over to a static external IP and all I had to tell them was I had services inside my home network that I needed to access from outside - namely MC. Once they assigned a static external IP all worked without any intervention from me, the key picked it up.

This is good to know

RoderickGI · « **Reply #47 on:** July 04, 2019, 07:30:11 pm »

I've been reading this thread and wanted to respond yesterday but simply didn't have time. Now I don't need to, because you have been doing a great job Bryan.

I find it strange that an ISP would run a NAT, or block a port, that would stop the MC Access Key from working. I guess things get done differently in America. Anyway, I can help check if that is the issue without waiting for the Static Public IP Address to be set up.

Nemick, if you are happy to test this, do these steps:

0. Turn your firewalls back on, for your Mac-mini and on the router. Leave them on after this test as well. They need to be on, and they won't stop MC working, at least not without advising you.
1. Open a browser on any computer and enter the URL https://www.grc.com/shieldsup Yes, it is a safe site. I guarantee it. It is a well-respected site for testing all things internet and security.
2. You can read the displayed page if you like, but it may just confuse you. You will notice that it knows something about you already. When ready, click the "Proceed" button.
3. On the next screen you will see an open data entry box between two rows of wide buttons, just below the words "You may select any service from among those listed above . . .". Enter 52199 in there, without quotes.
4. On that same screen click the "Lookup Specific Port Information" button.
5. On the next screen click the "Probe THIS Port" button.
6. On the next screen the important information is the Status column. It should be showing as Open, and with a red background.

See the attached image for what my results of the above show. The red xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx will show your external IP Address.

If the Status above shows either "Blocked" or "Stealth", then your ISP is the problem, and the Static Public IP Address might fix that. But you said JRemote used to work, and then stopped a couple of months ago. I don't know why your ISP would make a change that stopped you being able to access your MC Server from the internet, but maybe they beefed up their security. Unless you changed ISP, or got that new router, around the same time?

Given that you have now set up an IP Address Reservation for your Mac-Mini, and are Port Forwarding to it, if Port 52199 shows as Open in the above test, then JRemote should be working again. By all means test using the MC Access Key test method. It doesn't give much information when it gives a positive result though. See the second image below.

I would also test JRemote again just to be sure. WiFi off on your phone, open JRemote and try to connect to your Mac-Mini MC Server using the Access Key method.

I hope the above isn't too confusing. You are doing well working through the complex issues of networks Nemick. Keep at it. You are nearly there!

Scobie · « **Reply #48 on:** July 04, 2019, 08:01:06 pm »

Quote

I find it strange that an ISP would run a NAT, or block a port, that would stop the MC Access Key from working.

Same Roderick, but this is what happened to me in Australia. My ISP have what is called Carrier Grade NAT, and until I opted out of that and grabbed a static IP I could not hit my MC server no matter what I tried.

RoderickGI · « **Reply #49 on:** July 04, 2019, 08:54:48 pm »

Off topic, but which ISP and what sort of plan?

Now that we are almost all on the NBN, and I am, I would have thought ISPs have less control over that sort of thing. All infrastructure is NBN. ISPs are just retailers. In fact, they are now called Retail Service Providers!

EDIT: Aussie Broadband I guess: https://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/aussie_broadband_cgnat

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