StreamToMe Support:
Connection problems from a non-local network or (3G or remote WiFi network)
This page will help you solve connection problems between StreamToMe and ServeToMe when your device (iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch) is on 3G or a remote (non-local) WiFi network.
This page assumes that you can already connect via your local network. If you cannot, then please test on a local network and get your connection working there first. Follow instructions on the Connection problems on a local network page if you need help.
With a remote connection, it is important to follow the topics on this page in order and verify that you are complying each one.
How do I connect from a non-local network (3G or remote WiFi)?
When you use StreamToMe from an external (non local) network, there are three requirements:
- You should be able to connect from your local WiFi network
- You must use a manual address (since autodiscovery only works on local networks)
- The computer running ServeToMe must be able accept external StreamToMe connections
If you have not connected successfully from StreamToMe to your computer over a local network, then you should do that first. Please follow the instructions on the Connection problems on a local network page to address any issues.
The second point is straightforward. We'll explain how to get the correct address and port in a moment.
The third point may be simple — it is completely automatic if your network supports UPnP for external connections. But if your network does not support UPnP then it may be difficult as you'll need to change your network configuration.
The next three sections will explain the steps to check if points 2 and 3 are working.
Check the status from the ServeToMe window
The ServeToMe window running on your computer should be showing a "Server status" message like this:
(this screenshot was taken on a Mac; obviously, the window aesthetics will be different if you're running Windows)
The important information to gather here is:
Does the address shown in ServeToMe start with any of the following prefixes?
192.168.10.
172.16.
The next two sections explain what to do if the answer is "No" or "Yes" to this question, respectively.
No, the address shown in ServeToMe does not start with any those combinations
If the address starts with a different prefixes than those shown above (regardless of whether UPnP is showing or "locally" is showing) then ServeToMe is correctly accessible from external locations.
To connect to from StreamToMe to your computer from an external location, all you need to do is enter the address manually into StreamToMe.
Enter a manual address by tapping "Edit" on the Servers screen in StreamToMe and entering the address and port shown in the ServeToMe window.
e.g. for the address shown in the above screenshot, you would enter:
Name: (anything you want — or leave it blank — this is only used for display)
Address: 129.291.216.106
Port: 9969
Yes, the address starts with one of those combinations
If the address shown does start with "192.168." or "10." or "172.16", then ServeToMe on your computer is not reachable from an external address (with the exception of situations where you've set up manual port forwarding for all routers and modems). These address prefixes are not used for Internet addresses, they are only used for the addresses a modem or router uses for its private, internal network — so you cannot connect to them from an external location.
If UPnP is not showing at the right of the "Server status" line, then you need to work out why ServeToMe is not finding your modem/router's UPnP functionality.
It is strongly recommended that you try to get UPnP working correctly. If you are unable to get ServeToMe to find the UPnP functionality in your modem or router, then you'll need to set up port forwarding manually. This is a difficult task if you're inexperienced with network configuration and may require contacting technical support for your modem and/or router.
If UPnP *is* showing but the address still starts with"192.168." or "10." or "172.16" , then the problem is that you have two NAT devices on your network between your computer and the Internet and UPnP can only get you past the first one. This normally happens when both your wireless router and your modem are NAT devices.
Terminology:
NAT stands for network-address-translation and is used to describe modems or routers that keep their internal network in a separate, private address space to the external network -- i.e. the keep your local network separate from the external Internet or keep your local wireless network separate from your local wired network). NAT generally allows connections in 1 direction only (i.e. from the inside to the outside).
UPnP stands for "Universal Plug and Play" but in the context of NAT and routers, it refers to an automatic configuration technology that allow connections from outside a NAT router's network to reach the inside (e.g. to allow StreamToMe connections from the Internet to reach your computer on your local network).
To fix the problem where you have two NAT devices, you must disable the NAT behavior in the device which does not link to the internet (normally this is your wireless router). Disabling NAT may be referred to as setting your router to "bridged" mode.
Once the double NAT problem is fixed and assuming UPnP is enabled in the remaining NAT device, then UPnP should function correctly and automatically traverse your modem. The address shown when you next start ServeToMe should be an external, Internet address (it can take about 20 seconds for the UPnP connection to start — don't get too impatient).
Additional tools to help verify external connections and identify problems
You can use a web browser to connect to ServeToMe instead of using StreamToMe:
http://[address]:[port]
replacing [address] with the address shown in ServeToMe and [port] with the port shown in ServeToMe. e.g. if ServeToMe is showing "Running on 123.45.67.89:9969 (UPnP)" you would use:
http://123.45.67.89:9969
You should connect to this address from your iOS device to see if it can reach ServeToMe on your computer. If ServeToMe is accessible, from the location where you visit the link, you should see the following message:
ServeToMe
Use the StreamToMe application on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to view media files.
Another technique to try is connecting to this webpage:
http://www.canyouseeme.org
You must connect to this page from the computer running ServeToMe.
From http://www.canyouseeme.org, there are two checks to perform.
The address shown in ServeToMe should match the address shown at "Your IP" on this page. If the address is different, then UPnP or NAT-PMP are not working correctly. If you've used manual port forwarding, then the addresses will be different but you will need to use the address shown on this webpage not the address shown in ServeToMe to connect.
Make sure that you can enter the port that ServeToMe is running on and it correctly responds that this port is accessible. If this test *fails*, then you still need to get UPnP, NAT-PMP or manual port forwarding working.
My external port changes or is not what I entered
By default, the ServeToMe port is 9969. This should also be the port number if you leave the "Custom Port" field set to 0.
In some cases though, ServeToMe may change its own port, or get asked to change its port to something else by your router. A common example is if the port shown is 9970 when you would otherwise expect the default 9969.
This generally happens when you have more than one copy of ServeToMe running in the same local network. Because the two copies of ServeToMe are trying to use the same external port, a "port conflict" occurs and one is changed to another port.
Port conflicts like this won't affect automatically discovered servers on the local network, they may make it difficult to connect to the server from an external location (since the value you need to enter in the "Port" field of the manual address could change).
To avoid problems associated with port conflicts, it is best to change the ServeToMe port to a number that is unique for all copies of ServeToMe on your local network (any port between 1025 and 65535 that doesn't cause problems in ServeToMe should be acceptable) and restart ServeToMe.
Sometimes this can happen if you only have one copy of ServeToMe — because your computers local address has changed and your router has still allocated the default port to your computer's old address. In this case, you may need to reset your router to clear the old port allocation.
Manually configure port forwarding without UPnP or NAT-PMP
If you have more than one modem or router on your network or you can't use UPnP or NAT-PMP for some other reason, then you will need to configure port forwarding manually to allow incoming connections to reach your computer.
Unfortunately, instructions for how to do this on your specific modem or router cannot be given here. You will need to search for instructions on how to do this for your specific modem or router.
The best way to do this is to search the web for your router's make and model and the search term "port forwarding". Sometimes router instructions will call this "virtual server" settings or "application" settings. You will need to forward incoming TCP traffic on the port that ServeToMe uses (9969 by default) to the local network address of the Mac or PC running ServeToMe, again on the ServeToMe port.
An alternative to setting up port forwarding is to make the computer running ServeToMe the DMZ for the network. This will ensure that all new incoming connection traffic that reaches the router is directed to the computer. It is akin to setting up port forward for every possible port on the router. Many people prefer to avoid this approach for security reasons (it is normally better to avoid opening access to all ports).
Note: if you are using manual port forwarding, ServeToMe will probably not show the correct external address. You must ensure that the address you enter into StreamToMe is correct by visting:
http://www.canyouseeme.org
from the computer running ServeToMe and verifying the IP address shown there. This page will also allow you to test the connection and verify that you've forwarded the port correctly through and ServeToMe is responding.
My external address used to work but now it does not (Dynamic addresses)
Many ISPs assign dynamic IP addresses — please consult your ISP to determine if this is the case for you.
With a dynamic IP address, your external IP address will change periodically, so you will need to update any IP address you use to access ServeToMe from an external location.
To fix this annoyance, you can setup a dynamic DNS for your computer. A dynamic DNS is s name that remains constant but will point to your computer whatever IP address it has at the time. You can use a dynamic name instead of an address in StreamToMe.
A dynamic DNS must be set up through an external organization like http://dyndns.com, http://www.no-ip.com or other providers. If you choose the most basic level of service, this service is normally free.
The dynamic DNS service must be updated when your IP address changes to keep the name in sync with the address. If your router offers built-in integration with dynamic DNS services then this is the best approach. Otherwise, you will need to run a program on your computer to do this. These are often specific to the service involved:
I've tried everything and I'm still getting a connection error
This page contains all the non-hardware specific information your need to connect. Unfortunately, setting up a network to handle incoming connections is difficult because network routers, modems and hardware all work differently, the error messaages are largely meaningless and it can be hard to diagnose at what point it is going wrong.
If you are having difficulty, the best approach is to search the internet for "port forwarding" and your router's make and model. Opening up a network to accept connections is not a ServeToMe specific problem but rather a general networking problem, so there is probably lots of information about solving it for your equipment.
Other support topics
If you have a query that isn't covered by these topics please, email: