My Laptop will not connect to Roon Core no matter what I do

Support
1

Hello,

On Thursday, I was listening to some music via Roon, when I went away to get something. When I returned a few minutes later, the connection was broken and since then I have been unable to get it back.

I have tried everything and checked everything I can think of, for example:

  1. The core is properly set for remote access.

  2. The network addresses correspond properly as outlined in the troubleshooting guide.

  3. Reboots of both computers and the router did not work.

  4. I tried shutting the firewalls off and that didn’t work.

The operating system is the latest version of Windows 10 on both computers.

The Virus Checker is Kaspersky for both computers although it is a slightly older version on the Laptop.

The desktop computer and the 2 OPPOs are all connected via ethernet. The laptop is wireless and has no ethernet connection available.

The connection was working perfectly before I literally turned my back. I didn’t consciously change any settings while trying various things as listed above.

I just did a clean reinstall of the Roon Core but the connection did not work before that.

I hope you can help. This is especially frustrating since I have discovered that my music sounds significantly better via Roon than by using physical discs.

Hope you can help.

Jim

2

Whatever you went away to get, put it back.:grinning:

Your problem could be so many things. Off the top of my head, here’s two. Your IP address expired. A cable went bad; that happens more often than one might think.

if you attach your endpoint directly to the Roon core machine, can you use Roon?

Since your post is 6 hours old, I’m just offering some feedback until @support catches up with you.

3

Hi @Jim_Ridgway ---- Thank you for the report and sharing this observation you have made with us. The insight and feedback are both very appreciated. Sorry to hear of the troubles.

Moving forward, to help aide in our evaluation of this behavior you are experiencing may I very kindly ask you for the following:

  • Please expand the description of your setup using this link as a guide. I want to have a better sense as to what gear you are currently working with.

  • I know you mentioned that you did a re-install of the core. Did you also try to reinstall the application on the remote device as well?

  • Are the mentioned Win10 devices able to communicate with each other without issue outside of Roon across your network?

-Eric

1 Like
4

I had previously had a problem with getting my laptop to see the core (see my recent post “Can’t Get Roon to work properly”.

I. Here are quotes regarding the solution to that problem:
“After talking to various people, I concluded that somehow there must be 2 routers in my system.
This was not obvious because my fibre optic box and my router are out in the open with no other routers in sight. However, I also have an elaborate network box which I have not looked at in years and which is awkward to get at. While talking to my internet provider (SaskTel), I opened the network box and there was a white box within it which is a TCP Link TL-R860 Modem/Router (apparently a very ancient piece of equipment). When SaskTel upgraded my equipment a couple of years ago or so, they left the TCP Link box active when they should have integrated everything. Effectively, I have 2 separate networks that can’t talk to each other.
Fortunately, I was indeed correct and the problem was solved. I believe that when my internet connection was upgraded with new fibre optic equipment, the technician was too lazy to pull the old modem/router because it was acting as a switch-box and, not knowing any better, he did not bother to replace it. We got rid of the modem and I installed a new 16-port switch-box in its place and with a few tweaks, things are now working properly.
II. Here are the settings as I described them for that installation:

I have installed the Core on my Desktop PC (Windows 10 X64). Remote connections are set to be accepted on the Desktop.
I installed the program on my Lenovo Windows Laptop X64 (Windows 10 X64)). It cannot find the Core.
On my desktop the Oppo 205 appears on the Network but not on my Laptop’s Network.
I have tried to configure the ROON OS Devices but that doesn’t work.
Windows Firewalls and Kaspersky seem to be o.k. although given the nature of those beasts I am not 100% confident.
Desktop (Roon Core) has a hardwired ethernet connection.
Laptop (To be used as the remote) is wireless only.
There are no switches.
Router is Actiontec V1000H 2.

IP addresses are:
A. Desktop
IPv4 Address 192.168.1.100
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway 192.168.1.1
Ethernet adapter Ethernet:
Media State…: Media disconnected
B. Laptop
IPv4 Address 172.16.1.66
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway 172.16.1.254
Wireless LAN Adapter Local Area Connection3:
Media State…: Media disconnected
Same for Local Area Connection4 and Ethernet Adapter
I believe my Local Area Connection is 4
As far as I can tell, there is no ethernet port on the laptop so I can’t easily connect the laptop physically to the router.

II. Settings for my current installation
Everything is the some except:
I now have a 16-port switch installed in my network panel to take the place of the extra router that was causing the previous problem.
I have a 5-port switch in my sound room going to the 2 OPPOs that I am using to play music.
The tech installed an extender which I have disabled at the suggestion of the provider’s online support people.
III. Current Network Properties
IP Assignment: Automatic (DHCP)
SSID: SASKTEL0950
Protocol: 802.11n

Security type: WPA2-Personal

Network band: 2.4 GHz
Network channel: 11
IPv4 address: 172.16.163
IPv4 DNS servers: 172.16.1.154
142.165.21.5
Manufacturer is Realtek RTL8723AU Wireless LAN 802.11n USB 2.0 Network adapter
Driver version: 1027.4.630.2015
Physical Address (MAC): 2C-D0-5A-22-73-6B

IV. Current Laptop

Name: Local Area Connection* 3
Description: Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter #2
Physical address (MAC): 2c:d0:5a:22:73:6b
Status: Not operational
Maximum transmission unit: 1500
IPv4 address: 169.254.14.5/16
IPv6 address: fe80::d469:f68d:3ace:e05%4/64
DNS servers: fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1, fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1, fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Disconnected

Name: Local Area Connection* 4
Description: Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter #3
Physical address (MAC): 2c:d0:5a:22:73:6b
Status: Not operational
Maximum transmission unit: 1500
IPv4 address: 169.254.59.232/16
IPv6 address: fe80::bda1:7f8a:3a47:3be8%15/64
DNS servers: fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1, fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1, fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Disconnected

Name: Ethernet
Description: Kaspersky Security Data Escort Adapter
Physical address (MAC): 00:ff:3f:82:9f:20
Status: Not operational
Maximum transmission unit: 1500
IPv4 address: 169.254.197.217/16
IPv6 address: fe80::e0f7:67be:1e2a:c5d9%8/64
DNS servers: 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4
Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Disconnected

Name: Bluetooth Network Connection
Description: Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)
Physical address (MAC): 2c:d0:5a:22:7f:b9
Status: Not operational
Maximum transmission unit: 1500
IPv4 address: 169.254.10.157/16
IPv6 address: fe80::e860:8c9f:d51b:a9d%16/64
DNS servers: fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1, fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1, fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Disconnected

Name: Wi-Fi
Description: Realtek RTL8723AU Wireless LAN 802.11n USB 2.0 Network Adapter
Physical address (MAC): 2c:d0:5a:22:73:6b
Status: Operational
Maximum transmission unit: 1500
Link speed (Receive/Transmit): 300/14 (Mbps)
DHCP enabled: Yes
DHCP servers: 172.16.1.254
DHCP lease obtained: ‎Saturday, ‎August ‎11, ‎2018 10:48:33 AM
DHCP lease expires: ‎Sunday, ‎August ‎12, ‎2018 10:48:33 AM
IPv4 address: 172.16.1.63/24
IPv6 address: fe80::3de9:3d24:af1:8da1%9/64
Default gateway: 172.16.1.254
DNS servers: 172.16.1.254, 142.165.21.5
DNS domain name: Home
DNS connection suffix: Home
DNS search suffix list:
Network name: SASKTEL0950
Network category: Private
Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Connected to Internet / Connected to unknown network

V. Current Desktop

Name: Ethernet
Description: Kaspersky Security Data Escort Adapter
Physical address (MAC): 00:ff:7c:89:cb:f1
Status: Not operational
Maximum transmission unit: 1500
IPv4 address: 10.102.37.150/30
IPv6 address: fe80::808c:2535:7bd:1962%9/64
DNS servers: 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4
Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Disconnected

Name: Local Area Connection
Description: Intel® 82579V Gigabit Network Connection
Physical address (MAC): 38:60:77:7c:43:bf
Status: Operational
Maximum transmission unit: 1500
Link speed (Receive/Transmit): 1000/1000 (Mbps)
DHCP enabled: Yes
DHCP servers: 172.16.1.254
DHCP lease obtained: ‎Saturday, ‎August ‎11, ‎2018 12:47:11 AM
DHCP lease expires: ‎Sunday, ‎August ‎12, ‎2018 12:47:11 AM
IPv4 address: 172.16.1.65/24
IPv6 address: fe80::7016:e545:7172:a22a%13/64
Default gateway: 172.16.1.254
DNS servers: 172.16.1.254, 142.165.21.5
DNS domain name: Home
DNS connection suffix: Home
DNS search suffix list:
Network name: Network 3
Network category: Private
Connectivity (IPv4/IPv6): Connected to Internet / Connected to unknown network

I have not tried reinstalling roon on the remote. What is the best way to reinstall it on a Windows 10 Laptop? (Precise instructions please).

Also, my Android (LG) phone would not connect with the core.

I hope that this is of some use in troubleshooting this problem.

Jim

5

Eric,

I played around with this some more today.

Apart from the usual reboots and checking of settings, I tried a reinstall on my Laptop Remote.
I ended up with some problems because Kaspersky seemed to think it was malicious software whereas it was almost certainly false positives.

This afternoon I took my Laptop and my LG Android phone to my Audio Dealer. We eventually succeeded in clearing up the Kaspersky program on the Laptop but it ran very slowly. However, the dealer did something (I believe 3 instances of Roon were running simultaneously but I’m not sure) and that problem appeared to be solved. We were able to get both the Laptop and the Phone to work with his core.

When I got home, I tried again to get the Laptop and the Phone to connect to my Desktop Core. Unfortunately, neither attempt succeeded. However, my dealer let me have a spare iPhone that had been used as a remote controller and that did work.

Incidentally, I tried the Laptop again with Kaspersky off and then with both Windows Firewall and Kaspersky off. Again, both remotes would not work. Both attempts failed.
Perhaps as a result of these recent experiments and observations, you can suggest a course of action.

Jim

6

Yet more information:

I. On the Laptop

Windows file explorer-> Network gives me the following:

Media Devices (1)

JIMRIDGWAY: J.R.’s Library   (this is my Windows Media Library, I believe)

Other Devices (1)

VB681     (this is an Action Tech V1000H VDSL Modem Router)

Clicking on the VB681 icon gives you various information including:
Broadband
IP Address 64.110216.39
Home Network
List of Connected Devices

owner-PC Ethernet [Port 3] 172.1.16.65 [Desktop]
JimRidgway Wireless 172.1.16.63 [Laptop]
Unknown Ethernet [Port 3] 172.1.16.69 [Has to be one of my OPPO 205s]

II. On the Desktop

Computer (2)

JIMRIDGWAY

OWNER-PC

Media Devices (2)

OPPO UDP-205

OWNER-PC: J.R.s Music Files:    (Windows Media Library I believe)

Network Infrastructure (1)

Broadcom ADSL Router

Other Devices (1)

VB681

Clicking on either the Broadcom ADSL Router or the VB681 yields exactly the same results as listed for the VB681 on the Laptop above.

Note: It almost looks like there are 2 routers but I don’t know enough about this stuff to be sure.

III. External Hard Drive

I have my music files on an 8 terabyte externa hard drive (E:) connected to my Desktop. I doubt if this makes any difference

IV. OWNER-PC: J.R.s Music Files:

For what it’s worth (probably not much), I can play these files through my OPPO but not via Roon. This is an interim measure until I go to another solution such as Nucleus or Nucleus + so that I can play multi-channel files.

I have no idea if this helps but it can’t hurt anything other than perhaps your eyes.

Jim

7

hi, did you try to optimize your setup using AO 2,20 and fidelizer pro 8,2 all toguether with process lasso, you should use win 10 pro instead of 10 home basic, . i reccommend all wired connections
let me know your setup

8

The brief answer is no, I did not try to optimize my setup; I am just starting out with this.

I am simply running the core from my ethernet connected desktop windows 10 PC located upstairs and trying to use a wireless laptop as a remote in my sound room downstairs. I plan to go to something like a
nucleus/nucleus + with an iPad remote once I get the hang of things. The system as set up now was working until last Thursday (August 9) when the connection to the remote inexplicably disappeared and I have been unable to get it back.

The strange thing is that although my laptop and my phone no longer seem to be able to connect to the core, my dealers spare iPhone that he was kind enough to lend me does work in my system.

Jim

9

Hi Jim,

Sounds like you going though the mill with this one, don’t worry about not using Audio Optimiser, some swear by it whilst others other are indifferent… but it is absolutely not essential to have a stable Roon installation.

As the iPhone is working but your wireless laptop is having problems it tends to suggest your Roon Core installation is fine and the problem lies with the laptop and/or with how it is connecting to your LAN.

I’m tagging @support to follow this up with you.

2 Likes
10

Agree…

It seems either the laptop is on a different or no network or it is a firewall issue. Since it is 2 different devices I tend to think that it is not on the same network vs a firewall issue.

From the laptop can you ping your Core PC?

–MD

1 Like
12

Mike:

I tried pinging my Desktop Core (172.1.16.1.65) from my Laptop Remote (172.16.1.63) and received the following:

Request timed out
Request timed out

Host unreachable
Host unreachable

Packets sent = 4, Packets Received = 2 (50% loss)

I also tried the reverse, pinging my Laptop (172.1.16.63) from my Desktop (172.16.1.65) and got the following:

Request timed out (X4)

Packets sent = 4, Packets Received = 0 Loss = 4 (Loss = 100%)

Just to be clear:

  1. My Lenovo Laptop WILL NOT access my Desktop Core
  2. My LG Android Phone WILL NOT access my Desktop Core
  3. To my surprise, on repeated attempts, my Dealer’s iPhone WILL access my Desktop Core and function properly.

FWIW, my Laptop is now in the state “Find my Roon core (Nucleus, Rock, etc.)” while “LOOKING FOR ROON CORE”.

Also, again FWIW, when I ipconfig my Desktop computer, I noticed that under Ethernet Adapter it says:

“Media State…Media disconnected”

Furthermore, when I ipconfig my Laptop, all the adapters say that “Media state…Media disconnected”

Jim

13

Your laptop is wireless.

Lets divide and conquer.

Since you have established that you are part of the same subnet, maybe temporally move your laptop to an open ethernet port and connect it via a Patch cable. You should then be able to see your core.

Let see if this works.

–MD

1 Like
14

HI @Jim_Ridgway ---- Thank you for the follow up and providing the requested information. The additional feedback is greatly appreciated and my apologies for the delay on my end.

I agree with the suggestion made in @MikeD’s post above (:+1:) you should test with the laptop on a hardwired connection to see how things perform with Wifi temporarily removed from the equation. Please let us know what results that test yields and we can continue troubleshooting from there.

Many thanks!
-Eric

2 Likes
15

Eric and Mike,

I did manage to get the laptop to connect with the core using an ethernet adapter.

A tip for others installing a driver for the adapter: If it doesn’t work right away, make sure you do a restart of the computer. That is what happened to me and it worked after the restart.

Jim

1 Like
16

Those are two different subnets. Double check to verify that the middle two numbers as they seem transposed.

17

Daniel,

You are correct. The numbers are transposed. It is a typo

Desktop is 172.16.1.65
Laptop is 172.16.1.63

To be sure, I pinged again making sure I had the correct addresses and the results are the same.

Sorry about that.

Jim

1 Like
18

Hi @Jim_Ridgway ---- Thank you for the follow up and sharing the results of the proposed test. I am pleased to hear that a hardwired connection between the remote and router has yielded a positive result :+1:

I wanted to follow up with you and see if there have been any other observations or progress has been made with the remote making use of Wifi in your system.

-Eric

19

The good news is that the problem appears to be solved. I have been testing access to the core via my laptop for almost a week now and it has worked every time.

The “bad” news is that I am not entirely sure what I did to make that happen. I would like to know in case something like that happens in the future. To that end, as best as I can remember, I will relate the events that caused the connection between the laptop and the desktop to work again.

In my desperation, I had a look at the connection between the fiber optic box (I’ll call it the modem) and the router. The connection went from Lan 1 on the modem to Ethernet Lan 3 on the router. I decided to try a different connection and so I changed the modem connection to Lan 3. All that seemed to do is make things worse as my laptop could not even get internet anymore. Therefore, I reverted the connection back to its original state (Lan 1 Modem to Ethernet Lan 3 on the Router). Somewhere along the line (unfortunately I can’t remember exactly when) I rebooted the router (I think I was forced to if I’m not mistaken). Incidentally, I’m sure I rebooted the router in previous attempts to get things working.

Later that evening, after listening to music using my on-loan iPhone as a remote, I had another go at things. Just for the hell of it, I tried pinging and to my great surprise it worked. I then tried using the laptop as a remote and it worked and has worked since then including a few minutes ago.

I hope that someone has an explanation for this as it would save me (and possibly others) time in the future.

In any case, thank you for all your help. Although often frustrating, the experience has been quite educational. I have learned a lot about networking and internet connections that could help me in the future.

Jim