Figuring how Emby Connect works, but...

[Cphusion 3]

I'm trying to figure out how Emby Connect works so I can maybe try getting my Plex users to switch over to Emby. so I went to search for the documentation about it and ended up here.

https://emby.media/support/articles/Emby-Connect.html

From my understanding this would allow you to use the same credentials to authenticate to multiple Emby Servers if you are given access to them.

So on my Emby server I added my Emby Connect email address under "(Optional) Emby Connect email address". After having verified this by clicking  on an email that was sent to me there now is a cloud icon on the top right corner of my user where you see all the users listed. Then I do the following steps to sign into Emby Connect.

1. I go to: https://emby.media/connect.html

2. Click on Sign in and then I sign in with my Emby Connect e-mail address and password.

3.  I end up on a select server screen, where I have to add a server. Add server, I thought they wouldn't need to add a server with Emby Connect? But I guess it still logical because my server isn't advertised anywhere. So I click on add server and add my host(https://emby.example.com) and port(443) and click connect, I'm using port 443 because I have reverse proxied Emby through my already existing web-server.

4. After which I end up in another login screen, which I am assuming is my Emby server.  According to the documentation about Emby Connect, I would think that since my local user on my Emby server has an Emby Connect email address associated with it it would mean I should be able to login into my Emby server with either my Emby connect e-mail address and password or my Emby Connect username and password.

But neither work, not even the local username of my Emby server and my Emby Connect password but what does work is my local Emby username and password. I then close my browser, open a new private browser session and repeat the process to login into Emby Connect again. To my surprise, the server I had previously added has vanished. I thought after adding it once the server would be saved for the future so that Emby Connect would make it easier to connect to different servers?

I'm trying to figure this out so I can get my Plex users to switch over to Emby, but since I myself can't figure this out then my current Plex users that are none-technical aren't going to either. This shouldn't be so complicated I would think, what am I missing here? Can anyone explain to me why using Emby Connect doesn't do what is described in the documentation and help me understand to what I am missing so I can get it to work how it is described there?

So in short I have two problems with Emby Connect:

1. Logging into my Emby Server with a local user that has an account connected to their Emby Account doesn't work with neither the Emby Connect e-mail address or Emby Connect username when using the Emby Connect password.

2. Emby Connect doesn't seem to save the servers that you added to Emby Connect because when you login into Emby Connect a second time in a clean browser session the previously added server is gone.

I'd appreciate it if someone could help me figure this out or fill me in on what I am missing or doing wrong.

Edited May 22, 2024 by Cphusion

[Luke 42078]

Quote

3.  I end up on a select server screen, where I have to add a server. Add server, I thought they wouldn't need to add a server with Emby Connect?

Hi, you are right, you should not have to. 

Maybe try removing the (Optional) Emby Connect email address, clicking save, and then adding it back.

[Cphusion 3]

9 hours ago, Luke said:

Hi, you are right, you should not have to. 

Maybe try removing the (Optional) Emby Connect email address, clicking save, and then adding it back.

I did that now the server shows up, but when I try and connect it times out.  When you add an an Emby Connect e-mail address to a local account what gets advertised back to your Emby Connect as in server details? I'm sort of getting the impression an ip  adress with the default 8096 port? Is there a way to change that for when you are running Emby through a reverse proxy?

Edited May 23, 2024 by Cphusion

[pwhodges 2012]

Have you already got Emby working using remote access without Connect?  That has to be in place first; unlike Plex, Emby doesn't funnel anything through their servers - Emby is basically just a lookup service.

https://emby.media/support/articles/Remote-Setup.html

Paul

Edited May 23, 2024 by pwhodges

[Cphusion 3]

22 minutes ago, pwhodges said:

Have you already got Emby working using remote access without Connect?  That has to be in place first; unlike Plex, Emby doesn't funnel anything through their servers - Emby is basically just a lookup service.

Yes I have it working because I use it remotely myself(on my phone), just trying to figure out Emby Connect now so I can eventually migrate my Plex users over to Emby if I can figure this Emby Connect thing out myself.

[ebr 16184]

6 hours ago, Cphusion said:

I'm sort of getting the impression an ip  adress with the default 8096 port? Is there a way to change that

Server Dashboard -> Network

[Cphusion 3]

15 minutes ago, ebr said:

Server Dashboard -> Network

That's not going to work because I'm running Emby as a container and I am proxying the default port that is exposed to the host through the web-server. I can't change the port there to 443 because the host is already running a web-server on that port. So in short the answer is no I guess, if you are reverse proxying Emby through your locally installed web-server then it's not possible to automatically have it added into Emby Connect with webserver port that Emby traffic comes through?

If I add it manually it does work and I can connect to my Emby server with my local user account, but not with my Emby Connect account to the server, what part am I missing there since I thought it would work with my Emby Connect account if I added and verified my Emby Connect account to my local Emby account?

Edited May 23, 2024 by Cphusion

[ebr 16184]

3 minutes ago, Cphusion said:

That's not going to work because I'm running Emby as a container and I am proxying the default port that is exposed to the host through the web-server. I can't change the port there to 443 because the host is already running a web-server on that port. So in short the answer is no, if you are reverse proxying Emby through your locally installed web-server then it's not possible to automatically have it added into Emby Connect with webserver port that Emby traffic comes through?

Why isn't it going to work?   Those values are there specifically for you to tell the server how to advertise its address/port.

[Cphusion 3]

14 minutes ago, ebr said:

Why isn't it going to work?   Those values are there specifically for you to tell the server how to advertise its address/port.

I was thinking that if I change one of those ports there, that it will be the same port that Emby will be running inside the container. But I just realized that I can still than expose that port to a different port on the host. Will try that. Thanks!

[Neminem 1519]

Hmm out of curiosity, are you running the Emby docker on windows ? 

[pwhodges 2012]

You said you already have remote access working, so why the talk of changing ports?  The only thing to check is that on the networking page you have as the external address the address and port of the proxy.  I'm not sure that will automatically be correct in a docker.

Paul

[Cphusion 3]

3 hours ago, ebr said:

Why isn't it going to work?   Those values are there specifically for you to tell the server how to advertise its address/port.

I tested this and this doesn't work because if you changed the ports to 80 and 443 it will refused to bind within the container because they are lower  ports. Thanks for the suggestion though!

 

2 hours ago, jaycedk said:

Hmm out of curiosity, are you running the Emby docker on windows ? 

It's a Linux host running Podman.

 

8 minutes ago, pwhodges said:

You said you already have remote access working, so why the talk of changing ports? 

I'm not figuring this out for myself but for potentially moving my Plex users to Emby, so Emby Connect has to work so that I don't have to explain to them how to and what to enter for a server name each time they add a new device. Figuring out this port thing is the first part, the second part is figuring out why once my local Emby account is connnected and verified with Emby Connect why I can't  authenticate with my Emby Connect account on my Emby Server.

[Neminem 1519]

6 minutes ago, Cphusion said:

It's a Linux host running Podman.

Ok hmm you posted under windows ?

[Cphusion 3]

Just now, jaycedk said:

Ok hmm you posted under windows ?

The category title is General/Windows, so I was assuming General questions can't be asked here too, as this has more to do with  Emby Connect than my host.

[Neminem 1519]

Server os and the way you run things would have led to a possible solution earlier on.

In docker you dont change port inside the docker.

But on the out side docker port.

That way you can forward to 81/444 and port forward from/to your router.

something like this

inside 8920 : 444 outside ssl

inside 8086 : 81 outside

Or just leave it as is, and use a remote proxy server.

Edited May 23, 2024 by jaycedk

[Cphusion 3]

14 minutes ago, jaycedk said:

But on the out side docker port.

That way you can forward to 81/444 and port forward from/to your router.

Yes I know that, I just wanted to test it out. I switched my ports back. I'm experimenting with DNAT rules now on my router which works However when I tried to connect to my Emby Server from Emby Connect. I still get a time out. I basically told Emby to use 9920 and then on my router I created a rule for all traffic coming in to 9920 to DNAT to 443 where my reverse proxy is running.

 

14 minutes ago, jaycedk said:

Server os and the way you run things would have led to a possible solution earlier on.

Fair enough. If there is a mod around, feel free to move this topic to Linux.

Edited May 23, 2024 by Cphusion

[ebr 16184]

I still don't see why you think you need to change any ports.  If entering the address manually works, then you just specify that address in those fields in the network setup and that's the address that Emby Connect will use.

[Cphusion 3]

4 minutes ago, ebr said:

I still don't see why you think you need to change any ports.  If entering the address manually works, then you just specify that address in those fields in the network setup and that's the address that Emby Connect will use.

I don't want to have to explain to my users how to add a server to Emby Connect manually in order to Connect to my Emby Server, they are computer illiterate and will find the most smallest of tasks confusing and difficult. So the idea of Emby Connect is to make it easier and to save me time from having to explain each time they decide to use a new device.

Edited May 23, 2024 by Cphusion

[ebr 16184]

3 minutes ago, Cphusion said:

I don't want to have to explain to my users how to add a server to Emby Connect manually in order to Connect to my Emby Server, they are computer illiterate and will find the most smallest of tasks confusing and difficult. So the idea of Emby Connect is to make it easier and to save me time from having to explain each time they decide to use a new device.

Correct, but what does that have to do with you properly configuring the server so that Connect can use the proper address...?

[Cphusion 3]

1 minute ago, ebr said:

Correct, but what does that have to do with you properly configuring the server so that Connect can use the proper address...?

Because when I add my Emby Connect email adress to my local Emby User account, an Emby server shows up under Emby Connect. However I get a timeout when connecting of requesting server information. Since I am reverse proxying my Emby Server through local running webserver and in Emby dashboard it shows "Remote WAN adress: https://emby.mydomain.com:8920". I am getting the idea that Emby Connect is trying to connect to my Emby Server on that port. Which is what I am currently trying to debug, however I have directly opened that port now so that port is available from the outside world, however Emby Connect is still not able to connect after I add my Emby Connect e-mail address to my  local account. So it seems to be something different.

I see that you are an Administrator, could you please move this topic to the Linux section. I thought General would be okay but Linux might be better suited since the topic went on longer than I thought.

[Cphusion 3]

3 minutes ago, Cphusion said:

Which is what I am currently trying to debug, however I have directly opened that port now so that port is available from the outside world, however Emby Connect is still not able to connect after I add my Emby Connect e-mail address to my  local account. So it seems to be something different.

So I am talking about this problem.

 

[ebr 16184]

4 minutes ago, Cphusion said:

it shows "Remote WAN adress: https://emby.mydomain.com:8920". I am getting the idea that Emby Connect is trying to connect to my Emby Server on that port.

Exactly.  So you use the fields I pointed you to in network setup on the server to make that WAN address display show exactly the proper address for connecting remotely with your server.  Once you do that, that is the address Connect will use.

[Cphusion 3]

2 minutes ago, Cphusion said:

So I am talking about this problem.

I got a bit further, it seems Emby Connect is trying to connect to my lan ip  and port 8096, instead of the the "Remote (WAN) access" address. I think, since I saw my  lan adress come across in Firefox debug mode on the console.

[Happy2Play 9780]

7 minutes ago, Cphusion said:

in Emby dashboard it shows "Remote WAN adress: https://emby.mydomain.com:8920".

Can you connect to your server with only this address?

[Happy2Play 9780]

1 minute ago, Cphusion said:

I got a bit further, it seems Emby Connect is trying to connect to my lan ip  and port 8096, instead of the the "Remote (WAN) access" address. I think, since I saw my  lan adress come across in Firefox debug mode on the console.

But sounds like your WAN info is not known to Connect yet.