Primary issue is I can not get remote access to work with my slingbox - no error messages - it will just not connect/set up.

Relevant equipment -

Tried two XP computers - one Dell and 1 HP

Internet is ATT DSL with a Siemens speed stream 4100 modem

I can access the admin functions of the modem, but there are no places to make adjustments and I have been told there is nothing to adjust as the modem does not contain a firewall

The modem is directly connected to a Netgear WGM 124 pre-N router and access point. I have the sling hooked to one of the router ports and a router port from the netgear goes to a Dlink router to distribute wired service to the house.

The netgear router has TCP/UDP service set up on Port 5001 for the slingbox and port forwarding set up for this service to 192.168.1.237. There are no blocked services.

I am using a wi-fi connection to set this up so we are contained in the Netgear router.

The slingbox set up perfectly on my home LAN and works like a charm. Issue is with setting up remote access. There is not any error messages - just that it was unable to make the appropriate connections to set up remote access.

I have tried resetting the sling box, changing the port to 443, 80, and 21 and still can not get it set up.

When I go to canyouseeme - it shows all of the ports as being blocked for my home ip address - not sure if this is really an issue because I think the port should be blocked unless the software is active - totally outside my realm of understanding.

Sling believes that my ISP is blocking the ports and have given up. I spent 4 hrs with ATT and got to a level II tech who got to a support person to query the router serving my house and claims that the port is open. The only port they are blocking is 25.

Please help...

DSL...

OK...do you have your DSL modem set in bridge mode? You'll need to do that. IME they usually come defaulted to gateway/router mode. Basically it's a question of whether the outside world (the public Internet) sees your DSL modem as your external interface (gateway/router mode) or sees your Netgear as the external interface (DSL modem in bridge mode). You want the Netgear seen as the external interface in order to make the port forwarding to your SlingBox work easily. You can port forward through both devices, but I wouldn't recommend it.

You should be able to go into the DSL modem admin pages and change the mode of the device. ATT techs (like most) are just clueless when it comes to anything out of the ordinary. Good luck.

Thanks Seahawk!

Agree that the ATT people are a bunch of primates. I went through 4 levels before I got someone who knew the time of day.

I think I made that change already where now I am using PPOE and my netgear provides the login to the DSL.

Any other ideas?

Just for laughs, check the external IP of your Netgear...make sure it's a public address. That'll let you know if you've got bridge mode set or not. If the external address (WAN) of your Netgear is a private IP that would indicate the DSL modem is still in router/gateway mode. FWIW, I can set both my DSL modem and my Linksys in router/gateway mode and access the Internet, but port forwarding becomes an issue.

The port should not be blocked at any time if you've got it opened up. If you're doing a scan of your router (from the external side) you should absolutely see 5001 open...without that, you're not going to be able to watch the Sling from outside your network.

I'm still leaning towards your DSL modem not being in bridge mode. Not trying to be stubborn, but if you've got port forwarding set up on the router (it's pretty straightforward) then that's the most likely problem. And if you can access the DSL modem's admin pages, that's also typically a good sign that it's not in bridge mode.

There's also a pretty active Slingbox community online at http://www.slingcommunity.com/ in case you want more ideas.

Are you connecting to the slingbox with the IP or the finderID?

http://subscriber.communications.sie...UG_English.pdf

OP, check out page 35 of the user manual.

I haven't had any issues having to switch modems to bridge in several years.

that being said,

I have the feeling that if the netgear is simply getting the IP from the modem, so NOT making the authentication, then you might check to see if the FW is turned on or off at the router.

Can you ping the IP address of the router, or the one the router is getting? Can you ping port :80 at the external IP address?

Have you been able to use any other external services before, like remote access, messenger, file sharing?

As suggested above, the slingcommunity is great, and fast and helpfull.

nmenaker...I just had to do this for a friend that moved from cable to DSL last week (which is why it came immediately to mind).

Thanks for all of the ideas. I have posted my issue in the sling community and 1 person has responded, but so far none of the ideas have worked. Also I think the people here are some of the smartest and I am always amazed at the knowledge base here.

Spent another 3 hrs today with ATT and Sling and here is the latest update.

Seahawk_6 - Thanks for the manual! Unfortunately, the Siemens 4100 that att uses is different than the standard model and it does not have any firewalls. That being said, I did put it in bridge mode (and verified it by not being able to access the admin menu) so it should no longer be an issue.

The ip is an external one that matches what att is giving me.

ScottC - "Are you connecting to the slingbox with the IP or the finderID"
I am not sure? I am using the connection wizard in the sling software

nmenaker - The att person agreed that it is rare that this causes an issue, but occasionally they conflict so it is better to switch the dsl to bridge.

The only remote service I use is VPN. I have never tried file sharing or other remote access.

Still confused on checking the open ports - the att person swears that all ports should be closed if you check them. Only way a port should be open is if the software is running to signal the traffic is okay. I tried to check port 80 which clearly is open on canyouseeme.com and it came through as blocked.

Leading contender is the Netgear WPM 124, but still shooting blanks. Any ideas appreciated.

The ATT person is high. If you're opening a port (AKA port-forwarding) you are allowing the public Internet to access it. That means they have to be able to "see" it. If your port-forwarding is set up properly then anyone on the external interface (i.e. the "public" Internet) should be able to port scan you and see the open port. The fact that you say you've got port-forwarding set up but that your Sling isn't working and you can't see the open port is the problem. Unless the public Internet can "see" port 5001 open then viewing Sling remotely won't work. Did you set up the router manually for port-forwarding or did you let the SlingBox do it? How did you set the Sling's network properties?

I'm a bit confused w/respect to what you're telling us regarding canyouseeme. First you say that canyouseeme is indicating you've got port 80 open (why?). Then you say it's blocked. Can you clarify that?

Do you have keep-alives set up on the Netgear so that the PPPoE connection stays established? It won't matter if you've already got the connection up from your PCs...but it will once you get things working and you're trying to access the Sling remotely and the PPPoE connection times out.

As a side question, will I have any problems getting slingbox to work if I am trying to use the player behind a proxy server with only port 80 open? I can't seem to get a good answer from the slingbox website.

Are you able to configure the netgear yourself, and forget the slingconnection software.

This is the way I have done it all along.
with the netgear, it should be easy to setup an IP ASSIGNMENT for the slingbox. Just go into active connection, and then down on the left to ADDRESS RESERVERATION. and reserve an ip for the slingbox. Make it something within the IP range that you are enbabling with the DHCP.

Then, go to port forwarding, and set the port you want, 5001 is a good place to start, to forward to the ADDRESS RESERVED for the slingbox.

now, got to the slingbox configuration software, and when you get to the part for configure remote access, click on manual, or i'll do it myself. Then, put in the IP ADDRESS RESERVED, and the port you have selected and see if that works.

you will now essentially have a static port for the slingbox, port forwarding for that traffic and remote access should work. If THAT doesn't work, then I would have to say that something is rotten in denmark.

That would not surprise me.

"Unless the public Internet can "see" port 5001 open then viewing Sling remotely won't work. Did you set up the router manually for port-forwarding or did you let the SlingBox do it? How did you set the Sling's network properties?"

I did set it manually - the auto bit did not work. I created a service for slingbox and opened port 5001 for TCP/UDP. I then went to the port forwarding and set up a rule for slingbox to allow it always and send it to the slingbox ip (192.168.1.237). I then set the slingbox to the same IP and port. This was verified by the sling tech support when they viewed my desktop.

"I'm a bit confused w/respect to what you're telling us regarding canyouseeme. First you say that canyouseeme is indicating you've got port 80 open (why?). Then you say it's blocked. Can you clarify that?"
I can not see 80 open or any other port for that matter when I run a port scan or try the ones people suggested (5001, 443, 80, 21). ATT guy told me 80 has to be open for internet traffic.

"Do you have keep-alives set up on the Netgear so that the PPPoE connection stays established? It won't matter if you've already got the connection up from your PCs...but it will once you get things working and you're trying to access the Sling remotely and the PPPoE connection times out."
I think, but I will check. Timeout is set to off

Thanks!

OK...

First of all, ATT guy is definitely high. Port 80 must be open if you're hosting a webserver behind your firewall (i.e. on your home network). Unless you're doing that, port 80 should be closed. The only port that should be showing as open (and in fact must be open in this case) is 5001...for the SlingBox.

Let's set aside the timeouts/keep-alive for a second, I probably shouldn't have brought that up quite yet. You'll need to confirm once you've got the Sling working, but for now it's secondary.

Go back into your Netgear and double-check your port forwarding. DO NOT use the "port-triggering" type. Use true "port-forwarding" for the type of service, and be sure you've got both the starting and ending port set at 5001.

Are you forwarding to any other PCs on your network? Are you running the most up-to-date firmware in the router? Can you post screenshots of your router's Services setup page?

There is a way to remove ATT from the equation and figure out if it's the router or the ISP, but it's a bit complicated (and you'll need a crossover cable). If you want to go that route I'm happy to help, just let me know.