External access not working - Remote access set up

Support & Troubleshooting
1

I have activated Remote Access and done the settings on my router. No problem there. But I cannot get Remote access to work.

I am using web interface and the app. I have two wifi networks (home and guest) to test out the remote access. All the mobile apps and web interfaces work when using the home network. It never works when using the guest network for remote access.

The Tablo documentation says I just need to connect to Tablo via the apps or the web interface, and then it should connect on an other network. This isn’t working.

What else can I try?

My screenshots below:

Remote Access has been set up.

Screen Shot 2020-01-29 at 2.28.00 AM
Screen Shot 2020-01-29 at 2.28.00 AM622Ă—550 23.1 KB

2

When you say guest network to test remote access do you just mean your guest wifi network?

Don’t try that. A guest wifi network is setup with AP isolation to isolate the internal network from the remaining of the internal network. This is not the definition of a “remote” connection.

Use your LTE data on your phone, or actually take your device somewhere else such as Starbucks or a friend’s house to try it.

1 Like
3

Unfortunately Roku doesn’t support Tablo Connect at this time.

4

Oops I meant Tablo. Edited.

5

Okay so you’re saying it wouldn’t work on a guest network close to my network but would work on a completely separate network physically separated and down the road?

This doesn’t sound like a good architecture.
How about having Remote Access with a username and password instead of some magical connection relying on my last connection to Tablo? Sounds very flimsy to establish some sort of secure connection to my Tablo remotely.

6

Lol just try it on a real remote aka external connection outside of your home

1 Like
7

This isn’t a Tablo issue. It’s because of the way Wifi access points do guest networks. They share the same IP address range as the primary network, but they isolate the traffic. I don’t think there’s any way for Tablo to bypass that.

2 Likes
8

Yes I agree with @FlyingDiver

OP please read about AP Isolation and how it works in relation to guest networks before criticizing.

1 Like
9

Alright I just became a network engineer and still say this is super flimsy.

I checked this problem out on my cellphone plan and it works half the time. Which is a bit better.

10

Half the time? Open a support ticket directly with Tablo Support then. Hopefully they can help.

Once the port forwarding is setup, the remote access always connects.

What is the make and model of your router? Can you assign a static IP to the Tablo?

And the port forwarding is it done manually? Or are you using UPnP?

11

It’s flimsy on my cell also, but that’s because my cell cnx is quite weak where I live.

12

When you say flimsy do you mean it doesn’t connect to the Tablo sometimes? Or just that the streaming doesn’t work well?

13

Hey, maybe you can help.

My tablo connect doesn’t work well either. Lots of buffering and sometimes stops.

I have 10mbps up at home (where my tablo is) and 12mbps down at the cottage.

The cottage service works great for all other streaming and is pretty bulletproof (just limited at 12mbps) and I have everything set for 720p (3mbps). No one is using my service at home when I try to access it. Are there any other settings I can tweak to make it work? Even when I reduce the quality it glitches and I want to play at full quality so I have all of the FF and REW features when using table connect.

Any thoughts! I really love the tablo at home. On another note, it would be nice if the get the connect app for roku.

Thanks,
Steve

14

Are you sure of these numbers? If yes, then it is likely poor / slow routing between your two places.

Which playback device are you using remotely? Have you tried different ones remotely such as laptop, smartphone, tablet, Fire TV, etc?

15

these are definitely the numbers, 10 mbps upload is pretty normal, and my download (12mbps) at the cottage is a bit slow (those are bits - not bytes)

i have used a windows laptop and an android phone and both have the same problems.

Are there any setting that I should change to see if it works better, also is there anything I can do with my router - should I try a static IP? or anything else?

Thanks so much for your help!

16

You can lower the Remote Streaming Quality to less than Full Quality. This setting is device specific so it must be set on each individual remote device. However, this will a use a tuner as it transcodes the video to a lower bitrate.