Can no longer connect to PC with remote apps like Remoteless, Reflector, Apple Remote etc

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Satch

1985 posts

Uber Geek

# 143715 24-Apr-2014 12:18

Hi,

Up until recently I've been able to use the following apps from my iPad and iPhone which connect to my HTPC on the same network (HTPC is a wired connection):

Remoteless (an app which allows you to control Spotify on a PC using an iDevice)
Reflector (an app which uses Airplay to mirror an iDevice screen on a PC)

I did a further test as suggested on the Internet and downloaded the Apple Remote app to see if I could connect it to iTunes on my HTPC, but that wouldn't connect either.

I've checked the firewall on my HTPC and it is allowing connection from all the apps above.

Anyone have any ideas what the issue might be? These apps have all been working until recently. The only change I can think of which might be causing the issue is that I've recently signed up with the UnoTelly DNS service so I can watch Netflix. That requires changing the DNS servers on each device (I haven't touched my router's DNS settings). But I even tried reverting the DNS settings on my HTPC back to "get automatically" but that didn't work either.

Please help me!

Inphinity

2547 posts

Uber Geek

# 1030538 24-Apr-2014 12:22

If connecting by device name, is it resolving correctly? If connecting by IP, is it the right IP? If you disable the firewall on the HTPC, does it work? Can you access other network services such as shares, RDP, etc, running on the HTPC?

Satch

1985 posts

Uber Geek

# 1030543 24-Apr-2014 12:34

Inphinity: If connecting by device name, is it resolving correctly? If connecting by IP, is it the right IP? If you disable the firewall on the HTPC, does it work? Can you access other network services such as shares, RDP, etc, running on the HTPC?

Yep IP is correct. Sorry I forgot to say that I did disable the firewall too but that made no difference either. I can access shared drives on my HTPC via other PCs in the house ok.

Satch

1985 posts

Uber Geek

# 1030566 24-Apr-2014 13:19

I just installed the Remoteless PC client on my desktop on the same network and my iDevices too don't connect to that either. Would this likely mean the issues is somewhere in my router? I have an Orcon Genius and switched to UFB just over a month ago. Maybe this is when these apps stopped working...

DravidDavid

1892 posts

Uber Geek

# 1030597 24-Apr-2014 14:17

Are you trying to access it outside the network from another connection or within your own internal network? If the former, there may be something similar to a CGNAT on Orcon's fibre network preventing you from making a connection to your HTPC. A CGNAT will prevent you from being able to use port forwarding...etc...Which will restrict your options when it comes down to remotely connecting to your computer from an outside network.

You may be able to contact Orcon and arrange for a public or static IP address. This will likely fix your problem if it is a NAT issue.

On the flip side, if you are using your own network to connect to your HTPC, I'm a tad confused as to why it would just stop working all of a sudden across all apps. I doubt the fibre transition would have had anything to do with it unless a setting in the router was changed when your switched to the fibre network.

I suggest maybe finding a wireless switch and put that in place of your modem. You won't have a connection to the internet, so it will rule that out. If you can configure and control your HTPC with the new switch/modem/router, then it would be your Genius.

Good luck!

Sometimes what you don't get is a blessing in disguise!

Satch

1985 posts

Uber Geek

# 1030611 24-Apr-2014 14:30

DravidDavid: Are you trying to access it outside the network from another connection or within your own internal network? If the former, there may be something similar to a CGNAT on Orcon's fibre network preventing you from making a connection to your HTPC. A CGNAT will prevent you from being able to use port forwarding...etc...Which will restrict your options when it comes down to remotely connecting to your computer from an outside network.

You may be able to contact Orcon and arrange for a public or static IP address. This will likely fix your problem if it is a NAT issue.

On the flip side, if you are using your own network to connect to your HTPC, I'm a tad confused as to why it would just stop working all of a sudden across all apps. I doubt the fibre transition would have had anything to do with it unless a setting in the router was changed when your switched to the fibre network.

I suggest maybe finding a wireless switch and put that in place of your modem. You won't have a connection to the internet, so it will rule that out. If you can configure and control your HTPC with the new switch/modem/router, then it would be your Genius.

Good luck!

Definitely within my own network. I don't even know if these apps allow you to connect remotely.

I am pretty sure that the switch to fibre wouldn't have made any difference either, but just raising it as a recent change (same router though). I do have a second router on the bottom floor of my house which is extending my WIFI connection down there so I might try connecting to that to see if I have any better luck (although it is connected to the Orcon via ethernet).

This is a strange one indeed...

Satch

1985 posts

Uber Geek

# 1030621 24-Apr-2014 14:39

Ok that's strange. When I connect to the WIFI router downstairs on the same network, Remoteless connects to my HTPC. But when I come back upstairs and connect to the Genius's WIFI, no connection again.

So must be something up with my Genius's WIFI? I don't know what to do next.

DravidDavid

1892 posts

Uber Geek

# 1030645 24-Apr-2014 15:06

Sounds like it's factory reset time!

Write down/screenshot wireless settings from the router down-stairs and cross reference with the genius. Otherwise, factory reset.

Sometimes what you don't get is a blessing in disguise!

Mattmannz

467 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1030681 24-Apr-2014 16:02

Check the wireless settings on the router, a number of them have an option that prevents peer to peer or wireless to wired connections and this may accidentally be on.

If you download a port scan tool onto a device on the wireless network and probe an IP on the wired network this should confirm the issue for you, it won't find any open ports as the router is for some reason blocking them.

Matt.

linw

2081 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

# 1030682 24-Apr-2014 16:08

Satch: Ok that's strange. When I connect to the WIFI router downstairs on the same network, Remoteless connects to my HTPC. But when I come back upstairs and connect to the Genius's WIFI, no connection again.

So must be something up with my Genius's WIFI? I don't know what to do next.

I had something very similar a few months ago. After a couple of Genius power cycles it just came right. Don't really know how. It didn't fix itself after one restart, though.

richms

22888 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

# 1031928 27-Apr-2014 11:09

I get the same thing using the wireless in my netcomm router. Or its switch. Seems to have broken mac address learning when devices move from one interface to another. Solution was to stop using its inbuilt wifi or switch.

Richard rich.ms

Satch

1985 posts

Uber Geek

# 1033978 30-Apr-2014 13:38

DravidDavid: Sounds like it's factory reset time!

Write down/screenshot wireless settings from the router down-stairs and cross reference with the genius. Otherwise, factory reset.

I would like to understand more about how this might fix the issue before I go down this track.

Satch

1985 posts

Uber Geek

# 1033979 30-Apr-2014 13:38

Mattmannz: Check the wireless settings on the router, a number of them have an option that prevents peer to peer or wireless to wired connections and this may accidentally be on.

If you download a port scan tool onto a device on the wireless network and probe an IP on the wired network this should confirm the issue for you, it won't find any open ports as the router is for some reason blocking them.

Matt.

Thanks but there does not seem to be anything out of the ordinary...

Satch

1985 posts

Uber Geek

# 1033981 30-Apr-2014 13:44

I also recently read that Windows PCs have to have the same time settings to live together properly on the same network? When I signed up for Netflix I had to change my country settings on my HTPC to the US in order to access the Netflix tile in Windows Media Center. I wonder if this is the issue? In saying that, my actual timezone settings are still set to NZ.

Even more strange is the fact that I've just installed Windows 7 on an older laptop that has never been connected to my home network before. For some reasons it cannot access any of my other PCs (and they cannot access it) but they can each see each others shared folders. There is something seriously wrong with my poor network...

trig42

Banana?
4902 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

# 1033988 30-Apr-2014 13:51

Same thing happened to me a few weeks back - none of my Apple Remotes would connect - I followed all the troubleshooting - no joy.

I honestly do not know what fixed it, but all of a sudden they started to work again - I think it was a router wireless reset that did it (I was trying lots of things). I have a TP-Link router BTW.

Satch

1985 posts

Uber Geek

# 1104313 7-Aug-2014 19:51

I'm happy to say that all my issues have been solved. Thanks to the great service from FireEngine, we swapped out my old black Genius for a new white Netcomm and all the apps I was having issues with now work. Looks to have been a faulty router.