RESTRICTIVE FIREWALLS

STUCK “CONNECTING TO …” WHEN USING RESTRICTIVE NETWORKS

Most users use FarPlay without making any changes to their network settings (remember to use Ethernet!). In unusual situations, FarPlay can get stuck at the “Connecting to …” message when users try to connect. The most common cause is that one or more session participants is trying to use FarPlay on a network with an especially restrictive firewall (example: a university campus network). The steps on this page typically solve these problems.
Cartoon showing audio equipment connected to a computer connected to a router connected through the Internet to another router connected to another computer connected to another set of audio equipment. The routers are highlighted and labeled. On the two computer screens, FarPlay's main window can be seen. Zoomed-in insets show that the bottom of each of these instances of FarPlay's main window is stuck displaying "Connecting to [redacted name of remote user] ...". A caption, reading "Stuck, doesn't connect" points to each of these messages.
If you have any questions about working with restrictive networks, please email us at support@farplay.io.

Jump to: Using forwarded ports with FarPlay | Connecting from Campus

Using forwarded ports with FarPlay

If you’re having trouble connecting from home to another FarPlay user (particularly if the other user is on a university campus or corporate network), it might help to configure your copy of FarPlay to use forwarded ports.

Open your router settings

Router from Router address
Verizon FiOS http://myfiosgateway.com or http://192.168.1.1
Comcast Xfinity http://10.0.0.1
Optimum http://router.optimum.net
AT&T http://192.168.1.254
Spectrum http://192.168.0.1
TP-Link http://192.168.0.1 or http://192.168.1.1
  1. Use a web browser to open your router’s webpage. The table at the right provides common router addresses. If you can’t find the address of your router using this table, you can look for the address of your router by navigating through system settings to a page of information for your Ethernet adapter and then finding the address labeled “Default IPv4 Gateway” or “Router”. Configuration webpages vary from router to router. The screenshots below were taken from a Verizon FiOS router.
  2. Log in with your router username and password, if needed.

Assign a Static IP Address to your computer

  1. Find the list of devices on your home network and their private IP addresses. For example, on some Verizon FiOS routers, click Advanced, look for the Routing section, click IPv4 Address Distribution, and then click DHCP Leases.
  2. Find the entry for the computer you are running FarPlay on (you can look for a descriptive host name and/or your computer’s MAC Address).
  3. Open the private IP address settings for your computer. On a Verizon FiOS router, you would click “Edit.”
  4. Write down the private IPv4 Address of your computer.
  5. Make sure the checkbox that makes your computer use a Static Private IP Address is checked (on a Verizon FiOS router, the checkbox might be labeled “Static Lease Type”).
  6. Confirm settings (on a Verizon FiOS router, click “Apply”).

Port forward your computer

  1. Open the list of forwarded ports on your router. For example, on some Verizon FiOS routers, click Main, look in the list of Quick Links, and click Port Forwarding.
  2. Create a new rule using the private IP address you wrote down for your computer.
  3. Where the router asks what kind of ports to forward, choose UDP and enter a hyphenated port range (example: 40000-40020).
  4. Write down the port range you entered.
  5. Accept the new port forwarding rule (on a Verizon FiOS router, click “Add +” and then Apply).

Copy port numbers into FarPlay

  1. Open the FarPlay menu, choose Preferences to bring up the Preferences control panel. Navigate to the “Advanced” tab.
  1. Checkmark “Use specific UDP port range for P2P connections.”
  2. Enter the range of ports you forwarded in your router settings using the entries labeled “Min” (left box) and “Max” (right box).
  3. Click OK.
  4. Try connecting again!

Connecting from Campus

If you’re having trouble connecting on FarPlay from a computer on a campus network, the FarPlay Team is eager to help. We invite you to point your campus IT administrator to support@farplay.io.

If you’re reading this page as a campus IT administrator, a reason FarPlay might be having difficulty connecting from your campus network is that FarPlay uses p2p connections and has difficulty working from behind Symmetric NAT.