Supporter key is missing or invalid, Error getting response from mb3admin.com/admin//service/supporter/retrieve?key=foo

[filecore 8]

I know there are a dozen threads on this subject (I just read through them all) - in most cases, the resolution was either "human error, sorry" or else "it came back after a few days, weird".

 

This has been happening to me today. I tried removing and reapplying my key, server (Windows service) restart, a reboot of the physical server, no luck. Been running just fine for months and months until now. No recent hardware or software changes that I am aware of which should affect the system. There are a few curious entries in the log.

 

The most worrying is the first one, which talks about a problem getting a response from the mb3admin.com key service:

2015-06-08 21:25:57.5135 Info - App: HttpClientManager GET: http://www.mb3admin.com/admin//service/supporter/retrieve?key=3ff__MyKeyIntentionallyObfuscated__
2015-06-08 21:25:58.5350 Error - App: Error getting response from http://www.mb3admin.com/admin//service/supporter/retrieve?key=3ff__MyKeyIntentionallyObfuscated__
	*** Error Report ***
	Version: 3.0.5621.4
	Command line: C:\Users\Jason\AppData\Roaming\MediaBrowser-Server\System\MediaBrowser.ServerApplication.exe -service
	Operating system: Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1
	Processor count: 2
	64-Bit OS: True
	64-Bit Process: False
	Program data path: C:\Users\Jason\AppData\Roaming\MediaBrowser-Server
	Application Path: C:\Users\Jason\AppData\Roaming\MediaBrowser-Server\System\MediaBrowser.ServerApplication.exe
	Unable to connect to the remote server
	System.Net.WebException
	   at System.Net.HttpWebRequest.EndGetResponse(IAsyncResult asyncResult)
	   at System.Threading.Tasks.TaskFactory`1.FromAsyncCoreLogic(IAsyncResult iar, Func`2 endFunction, Action`1 endAction, Task`1 promise, Boolean requiresSynchronization)
	InnerException: System.Net.Sockets.SocketException
	No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it 127.0.0.1:60641
	   at System.Net.Sockets.Socket.EndConnect(IAsyncResult asyncResult)
	   at System.Net.ServicePoint.ConnectSocketInternal(Boolean connectFailure, Socket s4, Socket s6, Socket& socket, IPAddress& address, ConnectSocketState state, IAsyncResult asyncResult, Exception& exception)

I'm also seeing No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it 127.0.0.1:60641 in all of the errors related to failed key authentication for the plugins. Misconfiguration or downtime on the security server? 

 

[ebr 16186]

Our server end looks fine right now.  Check any firewalls or other anti-malware stuff on your end.

[filecore 8]

I think I figured it out. For quite a while now, I have been running it with the tray icon application (rather than as a Windows service), but it started to get unstable and killing itself randomly when the server was put to sleep and rewoken, which made it annoying for everyday use. I never bothered to investigate this further, because switching to the service cured that problem, but I tested now and switching back to the tray icon means that the key is accepted.

 

So it seems that I can run Emby as a service, or use my supporter key, but not both. However, I also notice in the logs that I was having issues with 3.0.5621.4 but today it updated to 3.0.5641.4 (which is also the first time I've noticed the updated tray icon from the blue cog to the green diamond), so I guess I need to do some more testing to nail down the exact steps for repro.

 

EDIT: I switched back to Emby as a service again, and rebooted the machine. This time the key is accepted and Emby runs fine as a service, so I guess there was just some bug in that specific version. Since it's all working well right now, I'm not going to look into it further, but it might be worth looking through your commits to see what changed during that time.

Edited June 17, 2015 by filecore

[Krailor 0]

I think it was the reboot that actually fixed it.  I was having a similar issue where my key would only work when running as a service, not in the tray.  But after a reboot it's now working in both methods. 

[filecore 8]

I think it was the reboot that actually fixed it.  I was having a similar issue where my key would only work when running as a service, not in the tray.  But after a reboot it's now working in both methods. 

Hmm, it's stopped working again. Rebooting doesn't seem to have helped - it was registered for about a week or so (and then I was on holiday for another week) and now it's back to being unregistered. Switching between service and application seems to help; that's what I did now, stopping the service and running the system tray app, and it's showing as registered again. However, I don't want to have to keep flipping between the two just to keep my registered status. More investigation is needed, it seems.

[ebr 16186]

It sounds like the server is having trouble contacting our server for authorization.  We cache this information so as not to be inoperable  during a temporary outage but, at some point, we need to be able to validate your key periodically.  Check all firewalls and anti-malware programs to be sure it isn't blocking the attempts.

[filecore 8]

It sounds like the server is having trouble contacting our server for authorization.  We cache this information so as not to be inoperable  during a temporary outage but, at some point, we need to be able to validate your key periodically.  Check all firewalls and anti-malware programs to be sure it isn't blocking the attempts.

 

Sorry for the delay - summer and all. I've only got Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Firewall running. Disabling both of these has absolutely no effect, and yet I still get the erratic sometimes-activated-and-sometimes-not when switching between service and tray client, as noted earlier.

[filecore 8]

Hmm, I noticed today that the update checker is failing consistently. I was on 3.0.5641.4. I manually downloaded the update installer from the Emby website, and upgraded to 3.0.5675.1 - at the moment, I'm registered again and everything seems to be running fine. I'll update this thread again if there's a later problem.