Remote DVR not working at all

upssnowman · January 30, 2019, 2:59pm

Hi,
I've just subscribed to Channels DVR. Everything seems to be working great except for remote access.
I've already opened up my firewall to port 8089 but when I click on the remote link within the DVR administration page, it opens the tab with the link and says "Unable to Connect"

Any thoughts?

jseymour · January 30, 2019, 3:37pm

You need to not only open port 8089, but forward it to the IP address of the DVR.

upssnowman · January 30, 2019, 3:39pm

Thanks but that was done with my initial setup. It didn't make any difference

jseymour · January 30, 2019, 3:51pm

Have you checked port 8089 with one of the on-line open port testers?

upssnowman · January 30, 2019, 3:57pm

Yes online scanners confirm the port is open and communicating

jseymour · January 30, 2019, 3:59pm

I'm out of ideas, then. Sorry.

tmm1 · January 30, 2019, 4:48pm

What does my.channelsdvr.net show?

upssnowman · January 30, 2019, 5:01pm

I've attached a screenshot dvr

tmm1 · January 30, 2019, 5:43pm

Are you trying it from your home network or over LTE? Some home routers don't allow connecting back over the public IP.

upssnowman · January 30, 2019, 5:44pm

I'm trying it locally over my home network.

jseymour · January 30, 2019, 6:27pm

If what you're trying to do is connect remotely to something on your home network from your home network, your router may be prohibiting it. To be able to do that requires the router support, possibly have configured, a feature known as "hairpin NAT." Some routers need that explicitly configured. Some don't support it reliably, or at all.

upssnowman · February 2, 2019, 12:35am

I'd really like to get the Channels DVR annually but if I can 't get the Remote DVR to work it won't work for my needs.

When I bring up the admin page, it claims my DVR is running which I've verified. But when I test it via my cellphone, my channels app on my phone says: Your Channels DVR server could not be discovered

jseymour · February 2, 2019, 12:53am

You're trying to connect remotely, yes? Is WiFi enabled on your cell phone when you try that? If so: Are you connected to your home WiFi? If so: Please see my previous answer.

upssnowman · February 2, 2019, 1:10am

OK it looks like you can't use the actual IOS Channels DVR app on the phone when you are remote. I got it to "work" via Safari. However now the problem is the performance is so bad it's not really watchable. It's not my phone, provider, internet connection etc. The reason I know this is using the same cellphone connection I can stream Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime etc. And here's the important thing. My Plex streaming is flawless on that phone but my recorded program on Channels is too slow to be watchable. When I'm locally connected Channels can't be beat

tmm1 · February 2, 2019, 1:15am

If you're using Safari, you first need to go to the Settings tab and set the Transcoder Quality to match the amount of bandwidth available.

The Channels DVR app should work remotely, but you need to click "Connect to DVR" and go through authorization while NOT on your home-wifi. Please try this and post a screenshot or copy/paste whatever error is shown.

upssnowman · February 2, 2019, 1:21am

I've said it before and I'll say it again. You are a genius. It's working now remote on my IPhone via the Channels DVR app instead of Safari and NO BUFFERING NOW. I didn't even have to make any adjustments on the app. I followed your "Connect to DVR" suggestion.

Thanks again