iOS apps not able to connect to iMac Big Sur (11.7) running Core 2.0

Arthur_Venis · September 23, 2022, 9:41am

Roon Core Machine

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015)
3,3 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
Memory 32 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Networking Gear & Setup Details

Asus RT-AX58U router/wifi
TP-Link SG3424 managed switch

Connected Audio Devices

Linn Klimax DS (network connected)
Linn Akurate DSM (network connected)
Linn Sekret DSI (network connected)
Moon 850D DAC (USB)
Naim Muso QB (wifi)
Sonos AMP (network connected)

Number of Tracks in Library

35.000 tracks

Description of Issue

All iOS are on version 2.0 (they were automatically updated). I installed the core on the iMac as RoonServer; I restored the database from the mac Mini used to run Roon 1.8 (mac Mini cannot run 2.0 as I can’t upgrade it to macOS 10.15).

The core runs, and I can connect to it with ARC (iPhone on cell). Also, on the iMac, when installing Roon, it can be reached (but in that case, you have two cores running on the network when also RoonServer is running); see the image below:

Looking at the IP addresses of the cores, it occurs to me that the first one listed has the (fixed) IP address of the iMac; the second seems to have the router’s IP address.

Stopping the RoonServer core leads to just one core on the network, with this result:

I defined a port forwarding on the router:

Where 10.174.0.2 is the fixed address of the iMac.

Roon ARC works, but I frequently get the message “Poor connection.” This is strange as the iMac is on a network with an 800Mb/800Mb fiber internet connection, and I have the same in the office. Wifi is capable of 1.5Gb max on both ends.

I do not get any further than this. I have installed the Legacy 1.8 version on the mac Mini and the Legacy version for the iOs apps, and at least everything works again. But Roon 2.0 does not yield favorable results thus far.

Arthur_Venis · September 26, 2022, 8:09pm

I would appreciate if someone took a look at these connectivity issues. It seems the focus is on Roon ARC, which is fine. But I can’t use Roon 2.0 on any of the equipment I have. Only on my iPhone and in the car - luckily, it’s a Volvo with a B&W system, but still.

I have tried several things. Reinstalled after cleaning the Library content of Roon as well. To no avail. Still the same connectivity problems. No control point other than on the iMac running the core can access.

Arthur_Venis · September 28, 2022, 6:55am

Anybody? I have two Roon accounts; one connects my Roon 1.8 core, the other connects the Roon 2.0 core. Why is it I can connect to the Roon 1.8 core, but the Roon 2.0 does not allow any connection?

Arthur_Venis · October 2, 2022, 2:17pm

Does anybody at support bother to look at this? That’s the bare minimum you could do, right? I have a lifetime license, so paid 500 USD for the software. I just want to be able to run and enjoy it, just like every other customer.

I initiated the ticket on September 23rd. It’s October 2nd now, and nobody even bothered to respond.

RBM · October 2, 2022, 2:22pm

Let’s flag Roon’s @support team for you here, as this thread appears to have escaped their view.

jamie · October 3, 2022, 2:32pm

Hey @Arthur_Venis

I’m sorry to hear that you had some issues after the update. It looks like your problems were caused by incompatible builds. Your Core machine is on Roon Legacy 1.8 because your Mac OS is 10.13.6 which won’t work with Roon 2.0. (2.0 requires Mac OS 10.15 or later) Your remotes are on Roon Remote 2.0 but they can’t talk to your Core because it’s 1.8

In checking your system diagnostics, it appears that you were able to install Roon Legacy 1.8 on your remotes and have been enjoying music. Can you please update us on your current status? If you’re still having trouble and need help we’re happy to lend a hand! Thanks!

Arthur_Venis · October 3, 2022, 6:36pm

Hi Jamie,

Thanks for the response.

Here is the summary of the current situation:

Yes, I am running 1.8 Legacy right now because it is the only to use Roon in the network.
Yes, I have a MacMini running the 1.8 Legacy version as it can’t upgrade to Roon 2.0
I installed another core on an iMac running 10.15.7, so it runs Roon 2.0
None of my iOS devices can connect to the Roon 2.0 core - see the screenshots I made
ARC is running and accessible, although its stability is only so-so. My server runs using a fiber internet connection with 800 Mb up- and download; bandwidth is enough, I think.
I have tested with the Legacy server switched off, the 2.0 server switched on, and both switched on. The only way to play music in the network is with the 1.8 Legacy core. Everything else is unusable inside the network.

In conclusion, it has nothing to do with incompatible builds. Even when all parts are running the same build (2.0), no iOS device can connect to the core. The only way I can connect is when I start Roon on the iMac that runs the core; in that case, I get two servers running 2.0 (one Roon Core and one from the Roon app).

So, the problem is not solved. I am not able to switch to the new version. I hope someone can shed some light on this, as it is unclear to me what causes the issue.

Regards, Arthur

Arthur_Venis · October 9, 2022, 12:27pm

And yet another week… And no more replies. So, that’s it? A non-working system? Really?

You are sorry to hear, but these words don’t solve anything.

A not-amused lifetime customer.

ericafterdark · October 9, 2022, 12:50pm

Maybe a security setting in macOS on the iMac running 2.0 is causing the issue?

Does it work when the 1.8 core on the Mini is fully disabled/quit?

xxx · October 9, 2022, 2:02pm

You don’t need both. All you need is the Roon app, set as a Core.

If you are not consciously starting Roon Server, then it’s probably starting automatically at boot. Stop that from happening.

Bring up the Roon app and set that as Core. If Roon complains that you have multiple instances of Core, then do an unauthorize/reauthorize.

For now, don’t bring up the Mini.

If your Roon on the Mac is V2.0 and your iOS devices are V2.0, then you should be GTG.

I’d straighten this out before I changed anything for ARC.

Arthur_Venis · October 9, 2022, 2:45pm

Guys, of course, I did all that. And yes, I know I don’t need both. I would almost say, “I am not daft”. I get a bit annoyed that Roon fails to have a serious look at it.

When I discovered I could not upgrade Roon on the Mac Mini, I switched it off and installed it on the iMac, which did not work. And in any combination you can think of, it still does not work. That’s the situation, and Roon has not been very helpful. I am a UNIX guy, so I know my bits about operating systems and what have you.

I understand you’re trying to help. It has not to do with multiple cores running in the network as, by design, that should not be an issue. Actually, the only way to approach the 2.0 core is by starting Roon on the iMac (of course, the 2.0 version of the controller).

I tried everything. Stopping all cores, using the Core in Roon on the iMac - which by the way, is not such a handy solution having not the option to just install a control point.

The point is simple. The 2.0 core, whether run as a headless or combined controller core on the iMac, is only connectable from that iMac. All other control points see the core, tell me they are connecting to it, and that is it.

There is no firewall on the iMac. The settings are the same - basically default - as on the MacMini that runs the 1.8 core.

I don’t really see why this is such an issue. What has been changed that it makes the iOS control points cannot complete the connection to the new core, and the “old” legacy stuff still runs.

Above is a screenshot of my iPhone trying to connect to the one core in the network. Everything else is switched off.

ericafterdark · October 9, 2022, 2:59pm

So how does your LAN look like? Which components and what is their function or how are they configured?

Have you captured network traffic and see where it stalls? On the Mac, on a switch, on your router.

Arthur_Venis · October 9, 2022, 3:05pm

My network configuration is shown in the very first message of this thread. It is up for years already and super stable. So why should a Roon 2.0 install present me with the need to change something that works? I can’t really see that. Not unless I know more technical specs on what makes Roon 2.0 different from 1.8 network-wise. ARC is something else, but if that added functionality breaks something else, then I would want to know what. Funnily enough, ARC is the only thing of Roon 2.0 that works.

I am not making changes to something that otherwise (also with Roon 1.8, multiple fileservers, several endpoints, and multiple control points) functions perfectly.

Besides, if we need to start to monitor and capture network traffic with Roon, there is something fundamentally wrong with it.

ericafterdark · October 9, 2022, 3:08pm

I’m not saying you should make changes.

If you’re sure the issue is not with the Mac I’d at least investigate the network just to see what’s happening.

Arthur_Venis · October 9, 2022, 3:37pm

What I did notice, and I noted that also in the threads, is that the IP address the Roon 2.0 server has, according to the the iOS control point (see also the screenshot above), is the IP address of the router. I noted that in my original posting. I want to know why that is. The core on the Mac mini shows the IP address of the machine it’s running on, as I would expect.

So, why is it showing the router’s IP address - this must have something to do with the way the new Roon 2.0 works on the network, and I think this also has to do with it being accessible from the outside world, having a port forwarding on the router (currently 50001 is forwarded to 10.174.0.2 as per the setting in the core).

10.174.0.1 is the router address, 10.174.0.2 is the iMac with Core 2.0 address, and 10.174.0.3 is the IP address of the Mac mini running the 1.8 Legacy version.

ericafterdark · October 9, 2022, 3:50pm

This is very interesting. Nice find!

I checked my equipment (Mac + iPhone) and here the iPhone does display the actual IP of the Mac running the core (2.0) server.

The Mac has 172.31.33.19 and it is displayed as you can see.

My ISP delivers dual-stack connectivity so I have IPv6 in my network. Looks like it is mapping the IPv4 address. Does not break it (thankfully).

Arthur_Venis · October 9, 2022, 4:03pm

What I see on the network is a continuous Roon Discovery query from my iPhone to the machine running the 2.0 core:

xxx · October 9, 2022, 4:19pm

Ok, I would put everything in the network back to where it should be without ARC, as an experiment. I run V2.0 under ROCK and my router address doesn’t show anywhere in Roon, but then I didn’t change anything for ARC as I don’t intend to use it.

Yes. Tagging @support. They’ve been busy and this thread probably fell thru the cracks.

Good luck.

Arthur_Venis · October 9, 2022, 4:39pm

Ok, I would put everything in the network back to where it should be without ARC as an experiment.

That’s exactly what I did. I switched off the Roon 2.0 core, installed the Legacy 1.8 version on the good old Mac mini, and everything works like before. But we’re stuck once we can’t use 1.8 anymore, right?

I mean, I don’t mind not having ARC right now. It’s nice, but I can live without it. It would be nice, though, that a new system works out of the box without me sniffing the network to find out if something is weird. I was a fan of Roon even before they started - they initially were the makers of Sooloos, which I also had when I owned a high-end audio shop. After that, they went over to Meridian, which we also had. And finally, Roon. So a supporter of the first hour, really. Mainly because their software was always excellent; the first Sooloos was great where the software was concerned, but soundwise, well…

So I am disappointed - being a software developer myself - with the woes that Roon now creates. They can and should do better.

Arthur_Venis · September 23, 2022, 6:29am

Same here, it finds the core but can’t connect.

The window stays this way forever