Cannot connect Shield remotely (but can manually)

Channels DVR Server Troubleshooting
#1

I've encountered an odd problem with remote streaming, which I definitely had working at some point before now.

When I enable remote access Channels is able to automatically map port 8089 via UPnP (though I have also tried just setting it manually myself), but when I try to connect to my.channelsdvr.net it sits loading for a very long time and eventually times out. When I try to connect via the iOS app it launches Safari to https://community.getchannels.com/dvr/login, which says "Your Channels DVR Server at home cannot be reached".

I figured it was something to do with port forwarding but if I try to go to my IP:8089 in the browser manually I see a "enter authorization code" box. If I click to get a code and submit it I do have full access to the DVR, so clearly the forwarding is working to some extent. Is there something extra that I'm maybe missing in the setup here?

EDIT: I might have a partial answer. Some time ago I tried setting up Channels on another machine (in a different location) and having looked up the IP my XXX.mychannelsdvr.net subdomain is pointing to, it seems to still be that old location. So it seems it now won't update with a new location. Any ideas on how to fix that?

#2

Did you uninstall the software on the old computer?

#3

Unfortunately I think the machine got wiped while Channels was installed on it. I tried installing and uninstalling on the replacement OS (it's a Raspberry Pi) a little while ago (in case this was tied to MAC address or something) but that doesn't seem to have changed anything.

#4

Can you email [email protected] with the domain name and the IP shown on ipchicken.com

Also click Help > Submit Diagnostics on the dvr web UI

#5

An update to this: I am an idiot.

The other Channels install was taking me down completely the wrong path. The actual problem was that my Shield box was connected to a VPN. So if anyone discovers this thread after searching for the same problem: are you on a VPN?

Thanks to @tmm1 and everyone at Channels for the prompt service. And apologies for needing it :slight_smile:

#6

Did the "Help" page with troubleshooting checks have any warnings or errors on it for you? We try to detect these situations and let you know about them.

#7

It actually did! It indicated the IP address disparity to me. But for whatever reason I didn't think to click on it, it was only when @tmm1 told me to go to submit diagnostics that I clicked.

Maybe it's just me but I tend to associate a "Help" button with old-school help files, and I'd already looked through the FAQs on the site. Maybe if it was labelled "Troubleshooting" I would have clicked? This could also all just be me, though...

#8

it should be called DVR Status or Status not help.