iPhone not connecting to JMRI WiThrottle Server

Mr. Trainiac Dec 30, 2020

  1. Mr. Trainiac

    Mr. Trainiac TrainBoard Member

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    I recently got a Sprog 3 to program and speed match my locomotives, and today, I'm trying to set up WiThrottle. I started the server from DecoderPro, and it gives an IP address with the 5-digit port number. When I go to the app and use 'configure manually' I can type in the IP address and the port, but the device does not appear on the laptop. The 'set' buttons and all that on the app are greyed out. I can use the throttle on the computer, but not on the phone, so I know the Sprog is connected.

    Most people say it is a firewall issue, but what am I supposed to allow through the firewall?
    Do I allow a port?
    A program? (JMRI)
    A Device? (The iPhone)

    I don't really want to screw up my firewall and accidentally allow in viruses, but everything online has been 'JMRI connects automatically' which is obviously not the case for me.

    My modular club has an MRC WiThrottle modem which works differently because I connect my phone to its network in the Wi-Fi settings. But my phone and laptop are already both on my home Wi-Fi network, so I somehow need to get my computer to recognize that my phone is trying to reach the Wi-Throttle server.
     
  2. Sumner

    Sumner TrainBoard Member

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    Not sure if this will help because it is what I experience with an Android phone. I have to turn off 'mobile data' when I'm connecting for some reason,

    Sumner
     
  3. Mr. Trainiac

    Mr. Trainiac TrainBoard Member

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    I just figured it out. It was the firewall. For anyone else having this issue, you have to configure a port and allow it through the firewall. I had been trying to do it through Windows Defender, but since I have a McAfee subscription, I had to go through that firewall system.

    The cellular data thing was mentioned in some other pages I read, but my cellular data is off most of the time. I think the person who mentioned it also had an Android, so I don't know if this configuration occurs on the Apple version.

    The WiThrottle port is configured as a TCP port. The port number is whatever WiThrottle generates on the server page in JMRI. I had a few other network configurations to set up, and this process may vary based on what your firewall provider is. I did a bit of reading on the JMRI group, but most of this is just general computer stuff, not really JMRI-specific.
     
  4. BigJake

    BigJake TrainBoard Member

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    The current version of the Engine Driver Android app no longer requires this. It forces the connection over WiFi, even if the internet is not available via the WiFi network (as is the case when the DCC/computer system's WiFi interface is operating as its own hot spot.)

    I configured my Pi (hosting a Pi-SPROG 3 hat) to connect to my household WiFi network now, and keeping the Pi and JMRI, etc. up to date is much easier this way, as well as the fact I don't have to switch WiFi networks on my smart phone to use the throttle app.
     
    Sumner likes this.

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