No remote access to Emby Server

[bakelmania 0]

Hi all,

 

so I've had Emby server installed and running for quite a few years. In all that time I've never managed to get remote access working. The strange thing is , I've had it installed on numerous different hardware, in different countries and using different ISP's. Every time I've tried, I always see the same exact results. As it wasn't something I really needed, I've always let it go, but now I have a situation that really needs me to get this working.

I tried again today and noticed that I still have the same issues, namely:

 

Remote IP reported by Emby is never the same as my WAN IP as reported by my router. If UpNP is on, it's an IP that I have no idea where it comes from. If UPnP is off, then Emby reports the same remote IP as WhatismyIP or Canyouseeme.org. Funny thing is, my router always reports a different IP address than WhatismyIP or Canyouseeme.org!

 

I have tried both the Emby reported IP and the others, to no avail.

This got me thinking, the only common item I can think of is that I've been using Windows 7 every time. As I always apply Black Vipers services settings, it occurred to me that Emby might need one of the disabled services to allow remote access. Does anybody know if this is the case and if so does anyone have a list of Win7 services that need to be running for Emby to operate correctly?

 

Just for added detail:

Emby settings - UPnP is off, Allow remote connections allowed, no remote IP filters set.

Router (model Skyworth GN542VF (a cheapo Chinese thing I believe!) - port forwarding set to connect Port 8096 WAN to port 8096 on local server PC, has been tested with router firewall on/off, UPnP disabled.

Local PC - set with a static IP address, firewall has a rule set to allow in/out to Emby server

[Luke 42081]

Hi there, I would suggest checking out our connection troubleshooter:

https://github.com/MediaBrowser/Wiki/wiki/Connectivity

Please try the steps listed there and let us know which ones succeed and which ones do not. Thanks.

[pgroce 0]

I'm going to jump in here because I'm going on this journey right now myself (on FreeBSD, but I doubt that's important at this point), and have some feedback on the connection troubleshooting page listed above.

 

First, and most importantly, the page states the following under port forwarding:

 

If you're still unable to connect after testing the above, then you may need to setup port forwarding with your router to allow external connectivity to your Emby Server.

 

To do this, you'll need to open the web interface for your router, and forward TCP Port 8096 on your router to port 8096 on the Emby Server machine.

 

Am I correct that this is suggesting home users forward an unencrypted TCP connection through their router and into their home network? If so, I'd expect a lot of bright shiny security warnings in this part. If not, you may want to make it clearer what you are suggesting.

 

Second: In the "Locate your External Address" section, you state that "Your external address is displayed on the front page of the server dashboard, labeled as Remote access. This is the address you should use when away from home." However, the screen shot accompanying this text does not show an address after the Remote access label, which is confusing. Maybe mention that you've removed it, or put in a dummy address?

 

I'll also point out that my own Emby installation doesn't even have that label, which leaves me at a loss. Since this is the troubleshooter, it makes sense to spend time on failure modes like this one, and what they mean. (Does no label mean a failure to automagically connect? Is it different from a label, but no address? How can I figure out what part failed?)

 

Basically, this isn't so much a troubleshooter as it is a howto, at least in the "External Connections" section. It covers the sunny-day path from the user perspective ("Use Emby Connect, or check the address in the dashboard, then type that into the app, and you're good!") and not what I would expect in a troubleshooting document: a high-level description of the process going on behind the scenes, the ways it can go wrong, and the steps I can take to fix them.

 

I hope that's useful feedback. I'm hoping to get this problem solved for me as well, and if the knowledge required to do that can be documented for others, so much the better.

[Luke 42081]

Hi, yes those are both valid points and we can update the screenshot with a dummy address @@cayars.

 

If the remote address is not displayed then that means the server was unable to detect. If you can attach the emby server log, I bet we'll see communication failures with the external service we are using for that. So it may turn out that you have something blocking that communication.

 

The remote address can also be configured manually under network settings.

[Carlo 4561]

I'll be doing a revue of the Emby connect section of the wiki shortly and have these noted.  Thanks

[BAlGaInTl 288]

I'll be doing a revue of the Emby connect section of the wiki shortly and have these noted.  Thanks

 

I would definitely say that instructions for forwarding port 8096 should remain, but there should be a big bold disclaimer that it is NOT recommended.

 

Instead, the Wiki should really focus on setting up a secure connection.  There are so many ways to do this, but the Emby staff probably only wants to focus on one method. Personally, I use the free Cloudflare service now since I don't have to worry about keeping the LetsEncrypt certificates up to date.  But using LetsEncrypt may be the more desirable tutorial for various reasons.

[Carlo 4561]

I would definitely say that instructions for forwarding port 8096 should remain, but there should be a big bold disclaimer that it is NOT recommended.

 

Instead, the Wiki should really focus on setting up a secure connection.  There are so many ways to do this, but the Emby staff probably only wants to focus on one method. Personally, I use the free Cloudflare service now since I don't have to worry about keeping the LetsEncrypt certificates up to date.  But using LetsEncrypt may be the more desirable tutorial for various reasons.

Hmm, port redirection isn't mentioned for anything Emby Connect related in the Wiki is it?  You're referring to general setup correct?

BTW, have you seen https://github.com/MediaBrowser/Wiki/wiki/Secure-Your-Server ?

 

Unfortunately setting up SSL for encrypted connections isn't as easy as we would like it to be and does take a bit of work on the part of the admin.

Edited December 27, 2019 by cayars

[BAlGaInTl 288]

Hmm, port redirection isn't mentioned for anything Emby Connect related in the Wiki is it?  You're referring to general setup correct?

BTW, have you seen https://github.com/MediaBrowser/Wiki/wiki/Secure-Your-Server ?

 

Unfortunately setting up SSL for encrypted connections isn't as easy as we would like it to be and does take a bit of work on the part of the admin.

 

Yes, I've seen that. I'm not using Emby Connect myself.  I missed that this was specific to that.  (oops)

 

You are correct on it (setting up SSL) not being easy... part of that is that there are several ways to do it.