Connecting is hit or miss

[krnyr]

I have ICam source on laptop with webcam and also have a separate webcam attached. There are times I can sign right on and get both cameras on IPhone and also at work on desktop. But there are times it may take 2-3 tries to sign on and lately its taking 10-30 tries to get on and even then it may only be one of the cams. Any ideas

[OUAnthony]

Sounds like a port forwarding issue. Have you enabled "auto config router" in icamsource AND enabled uPNP in your router settings?

[krnyr]

No I havent. I have a Fairpoint wireless router, is this something they set or do I?

[rjgvt]

I have a Fairpoint wireless DSL router/modem at a remote location. I found a procedure online to bridge the router/modem so that it is now only a modem. I then added a Netgear wireless router just like the one I have at home. The Netgear router is easier to set up for UPnP and port forwarding. I also set up a host domain and everything is pretty stable for 2 webcams and 2 IP cams.

[krnyr]

Im AFRAID of Fairpoint..........They sent me the new "plug and Play" modem to replace older one, and it was 3 weeks until someone finally gave me the wireless unit i got now, it works for everything i need and I just have no faith in Fairpoint Tech people curing any problem if it happened. If I cant find any other solution, can you sketch out quick how i may bridge this beast. I have a pretty good knowledge of many things technical and im not afraid to wander in to the modem and cure this. Thanks for the info.

Today ive gotten both cameras at separate times but still not both at same time.

[krnyr]

Another thought here. When i sign in at home, i get both cameras fine in IPhone3Gs. "Normal" ATT signal is weak so I have an MCELL tower/signal booster, i get both cams anywhere around my house/property. Its when i get out of the area that problems seem to happen. I cant get 2 cams on work desktop...Hope this helps with the ideas. Wish they would publish some manual for these problems, tired of searching forums

[krnyr]

OK, set modem/router to enable UPNP and now i cant get either camera on work desktop. Going from bad to worse now. Does anyone know of another software out there that can accomplish this much easier than this software. This is trial and error gone bad now.

[krnyr]

Ive now enabled UPNP as i was told, then i got the port forwarding installed and it says 12000...12100, and i am now lucky enough to not be able to see any camera at any time. I wish Support people would be available at times when I am home by source computer and would dedicate time until it was solved. Right now its being done one email at a time, then i wait till next day, go to work, find out what the new error is and then email support again, its like 2 day turn around for one question. Just want them to take customers seriously.

[Stefan]

Wish they would publish some manual for these problems, tired of searching forums

The iCam Help pages contain setup instructions (http://skjm.com/icam/help/) and standard troubleshooting (http://skjm.com/icam/help/troubleshooting.php) that are sufficient for the majority of our users.

iCam does "just work" for the majority of users, but there always exceptions.

Unfortunately there are many different reasons why users may not be able to connect including software firewalls, security software, hardware firewalls, hardware network filters, multiple network routers, router misconfiguration, computer network setting misconfiguration, ISP anomalies, buggy routers, conflicting software, underpowered computers, etc.

It is similar to why you cannot call an automotive mechanic and expect an immediate solution when asking "Why doesn't my car start?" ... Troubleshooting networking issues that have many different components is a process that unfortunately can take a number of steps to track down the cause of the issue.

I wish Support people would be available at times when I am home by source computer and would dedicate time until it was solved.

As we are a small company we do not have a dedicated support staff on-call 24/7, but we will definitely continue to try and get things up and running for you.

Ive now enabled UPNP as i was told, then i got the port forwarding installed and it says 12000...12100, and i am now lucky enough to not be able to see any camera at any time.

Ok, what error message do you see when you attempt to connect? If checking the Auto-Config Router checkbox causes you to no longer connect via WiFi then you likely have some software firewall or security software that is blocking the connection. Temporarily disable any firewall or security software on your computer and see if you can then connect via local WiFi. If you can, then try connecting via 3G.

[krnyr]

Thank you for the response, i was just frustrated, ill try some disabling and see what happens, thanks.

[Stefan]

You are most welcome. I can understand your frustration, and I do apologize for it.

I look forward to hearing how things go.

[krnyr]

I now have no cameras and everything is setup just as ive been told. Looking for refund now.

[OUAnthony]

It sounds like you enabled manual port forwarding in icamsource...and also enabled uPNP in your router. The 2nd part is correct, but if you enabled manual port forwarding (as opposed to selecting the "auto config router" box in icamsource, that is probably your problem. In order to use manual port forwarding, you also have to set up port forwarding rules in your router's settings (along with assigning your computer and cameras a static IP address on your local network). Make sure you have "auto config router" checked in the icamsource window AND uPNP enabled in the router. Then, for good measure, reboot both the computer and the router to make sure the changes have taken effect.

On the other hand, if you already checked the "auto config router" box in icamsource and enabled uPNP (and tried rebooting both the router and computer), and are getting a uPNP success message in the icamsource window, then I have no clue what's wrong. Hope this helps you figure it out...networking can be a real pain in the butt, especially if you don't know what you're doing.

[krnyr]

I have done all of what you said. Nothing........Thanks for the time, i have GoToCamera now and worked first time, no friggin around with settings and $3.50 a month, worth it to have it work without fighting it.

[OUAnthony]

Just to be totally clear, you should not have manual port forwarding enabled in icamsource at the same time as the "auto configure router" setting.