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Android - Cannot Connect via External Network (4G/3G/WiFi)


Chipotle

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Chipotle

I tried to add a reply to the existing topic located at http://mediabrowser.tv/community/index.php?/topic/2416-android-cannot-connect-via-external-network-4g3gwifi/ , but was unable to; said I did not have permission.  Anyway...

 

Bottom line is that on my Android phone, I can connect without issue to my library when I am on my local network where my library is stored.  However, I am unable to connect if I am on a 4g, 3g or wifi other than my local; whenever I click the library, it says "Could not connect to library".  It seemed that in the original thread referenced above, there was "solution", but it was unclear and mentioned other threads that were not referenced in the thread.  The following is what I have tried from piecing things together:

 

1. Signed up for a DDNS account and applied those settings to my router which seem to be working.

2. Assigned Port forwarding to 8096 and 8945.  I believe I only needed to do 8096, but I figured I would add the other just in case.

 

I am new to all of this, so there has been a lot of trial and error to find out what works.  Some of the questions I had while trying this solution:

 

1. What am I changing in my Android MB account to adapt to the above changes?  It sounds like I need two different accounts, one while on my local and the other while on external?  So based on that am I matching the DDNS IP in those settings?

 

2. While I believe the DDNS and port forwarding settings are correct, I am not certain.  I have used the IP address for the computer running MB Server, which makes sense to me.

 

I absolutely love this app and have been using the original MB for many years (the one without the server), the work you have done on this is incredible.  I can't wait to have access to my media from virtually anywhere.

 

Thanks for any help you can give.  If this is troubleshooting that all Android users will need to go through, I highly recommend a tutorial.

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Redshirt

You don't need two different MB accounts, but you do need to have two server connections in the Android client. One for external and another for internal. Have you tried navigating to

http://your_ddns_domain:8096/mediabrowser

in a web browser to confirm the ports are opened and forwarded properly?

Edited by Redshirt
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Chipotle

Sorry, when I referred to "account", I did mean two server connections.  I tried troubleshooting with your direction above and sure enough, the ports were not opened and forwarding correctly.  After a bit more digging around, I found it was a problem with the limitation of DDNS providers through my router (damn you Netgear) and I was not properly signed up with the only DDNS provider allowed for my model.  Looks like I have to buy a DDNS account or get a new router.

 

Thank you for your help.

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CBers

Sorry, when I referred to "account", I did mean two server connections. I tried troubleshooting with your direction above and sure enough, the ports were not opened and forwarding correctly. After a bit more digging around, I found it was a problem with the limitation of DDNS providers through my router (damn you Netgear) and I was not properly signed up with the only DDNS provider allowed for my model. Looks like I have to buy a DDNS account or get a new router.

 

Thank you for your help.

Not sure if your DDNS provider has a sync tool or not, but some have a tool you can run on your PC which will update your DDNS details if/when your ISP IP address changes.

 

That will negate the need for a new router.

 

Which DDNS provider are you using ?

Edited by CBers
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Chipotle

I'm using no-ip and they do have one, but I am not quite sure how to use it yet.  I will mess around with it and see if I can get it to work.

 

Thank you.

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Chipotle

Issue resolved!  I thought I would provide a quick synopsis of the solution in case anyone else has this issue:

 

I am using a linksys/netgear router which is important since the only Dynamic DNS provider they natively allow you to use is a paid service I am sure they receive kickbacks from.  I did not want to pay for that service, so the solution below is only applicable in this scenario.

 

I set up the Port Forwarding with the IP address for the computer on my network running the Media Browser Server using port 8096.  I ran into an issue when here getting an error message that the port was in conflict with another program; a hard reset to the router solved that problem.

 

Because I am using a Dynamic DNS provider (no-ip) that is not supported by my router, I am running a separate program they provided on the same computer that is running Media Browser Server.  This program does essentially the same thing as setting up the Dynamic DNS option in your router, therefore, you do not have to set up the Dynamic DNS option in your router.  Also, if you use no-ip's software DUC, use the default settings to access your router IP address which threw me a bit since I initially thought it would be accessing the same IP as my computer running MB Server, which is not the case and makes sense when you think about it.

 

I hope that helps and saves time for anyone having the same problems I was.

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Issue resolved!  I thought I would provide a quick synopsis of the solution in case anyone else has this issue:

 

I am using a linksys/netgear router which is important since the only Dynamic DNS provider they natively allow you to use is a paid service I am sure they receive kickbacks from.  I did not want to pay for that service, so the solution below is only applicable in this scenario.

 

I set up the Port Forwarding with the IP address for the computer on my network running the Media Browser Server using port 8096.  I ran into an issue when here getting an error message that the port was in conflict with another program; a hard reset to the router solved that problem.

 

Because I am using a Dynamic DNS provider (no-ip) that is not supported by my router, I am running a separate program they provided on the same computer that is running Media Browser Server.  This program does essentially the same thing as setting up the Dynamic DNS option in your router, therefore, you do not have to set up the Dynamic DNS option in your router.  Also, if you use no-ip's software DUC, use the default settings to access your router IP address which threw me a bit since I initially thought it would be accessing the same IP as my computer running MB Server, which is not the case and makes sense when you think about it.

 

I hope that helps and saves time for anyone having the same problems I was.

 

 

We will make sharing this knowledge this easier. Thanks for your patience.

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