Cannot enable internet access

[mattford]

Hi Guys-

For some reason I cannot enable internet access on my device.  I even had this issue on the older 99i.   What's weird is that it will sync with the internet clock, I can access it from my computer via my home network but I cannot enable internet access on the device.  What am I doing wrong here?  Screen shot attached...

[paulbates]

Hi Matt, welcome to the UDI Forums!

Are you talking about UPNP check box? UPNP discovery is not necessary or desired, from a security perspective.

There are 2 ways to access your ISY from the internet

1. Modify the firewall rules of your router so that port 443 (TCP) from the internet points to your ISY (currently 192.168.1.195). You'll want to be sure that your ISY is always given that same local address. Some router's DCHP feature will assign a different address when its refreshed. This is not often in my experience, but it can happen. When it does happen it can be a real pain to figure out. To get around that, you can reserve a dhcp address for your ISY in most routers. We can discuss how to do this if you are not familiar with it, and the actual procedure steps vary from router to router
   
   Also, the subnet mask (255.255.255.0), gateway (192.168.1.1) and DNS (192.168.1.1) should be filled in and them being empty could also partially explain the symptoms. Your router's DHCP server should be providing that to the ISY with the address. Do you know how your router is set up to provide addresses?
    
2. Subscribe to the optional ISY portal. With this model, you pay for the ISY subscription, and login remotely to the ISY with your portal credentials. I do this and personally I think its safer as I open zero ports on my router. The ISY is not directly exposed to the internet this way. The portal comes with additional features like Alexa / google home integration, IFTTT supporet and geofencing. I think thing the empty fields described above might still prevent this from working

Paul

 

[Bumbershoot]

15 minutes ago, mattford said:

Hi Guys-

For some reason I cannot enable internet access on my device.  I even had this issue on the older 99i.   What's weird is that it will sync with the internet clock, I can access it from my computer via my home network but I cannot enable internet access on the device.  What am I doing wrong here?  Screen shot attached...

 

From the Wiki:

Enable/Disable Internet Access

In order to achieve remote/internet access, you will need to setup your router for port forwarding. Port forwarding allows the ISY’s port to be seen over the internet.

The controller default setting is with internet access disabled. If you would like to enable internet access to the controller select this option. It is reversible and you will be presented with the Disable Internet Access menu option. For a list of supported routers, please see the Supported Remote Access Routers page.

If you do not have one of the routers listed above, please contact us and we’ll walk you through setting up your router (port forwarding) manually. 

Unless you're port forwarding, you shouldn't need to enable this (and I'm pretty sure it's not recommended).  You ISY can get out to the Internet (evidenced by your ISY's ability to use your local network to sync the clock) but the Internet can't get in to your ISY.

[Broyd]

That message is one of the most misleading messages the ISY team have ever created! The implication behind this message involves the ISY setting up port forwarding on your router so that you can access the ISY from OUTSIDE your network. If you aren’t planning on doing this, you can ignore that message. Or if you are planning on accessing your ISY from outside your network, set up a port on your router manually. I believe the ISY function depends on enabling UPnP on your router. In my opinion this is an unsafe practice.

[mattford]

Where I am having the issue is that it won't update to the latest software hence why I figured it could not access the internet.

[Bumbershoot]

29 minutes ago, mattford said:

Where I am having the issue is that it won't update to the latest software hence why I figured it could not access the internet.

If you're trying to update to the latest released software for your ISY, you might have a look here.  The "Enable Internet Access" menu item is irrelevant to that process.

[giesen]

That menu item should really be called "Enable access to ISY from the Internet (using UPnP)”. All it does is have the ISY talk to your router using UPnP to set up port forwards. Many routers don't support UPnP or have it disabled by default-and for good reason, UPnP is a security nightmare.

 

You can accomplish the same thing by configuring port forwards on your router manually. It has nothing to do with the ISY itself having access to the Internet (to set the time or connect to the portal, for example).

 

I don't know why UDI hasn't changed the name of the menu options, there have been many threads and posts on this forum with people confused about the same thing.

 

Sent from my SM-N9500 using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

 

 

[larryllix]

1 hour ago, giesen said:

That menu item should really be called "Enable access to ISY from the Internet (using UPnP)”. All it does is have the ISY talk to your router using UPnP to set up port forwards. Many routers don't support UPnP or have it disabled by default-and for good reason, UPnP is a security nightmare.

You can accomplish the same thing by configuring port forwards on your router manually. It has nothing to do with the ISY itself having access to the Internet (to set the time or connect to the portal, for example).

I don't know why UDI hasn't changed the name of the menu options, there have been many threads and posts on this forum with people confused about the same thing.

I thought UPnP would not transmit through a router to the outside world through any router???

[giesen]

I thought UPnP would not transmit through a router to the outside world through any router???

It doesn't transmit through the router, it transmits TO the router, instructing it to open ports. So if your router supports UPnP, any piece of malware inside your network can open ports to expose your internal network to the Internet without any sort of confirmation or authentication.  

 

 

See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Plug_and_Play#Problems_with_UPnP

 

Sent from my SM-N9500 using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MWareman]

I thought UPnP would not transmit through a router to the outside world through any router???

The reason upnp is normally disabled - malware that manages to execute on your machine (or even JavaScript delivered via a web page) would be able to open up port forwards - allowing the malware to host phishing pages for instance. Not at all a good idea. This is because there is no authentication in upnp.

[paulbates]

Ideally upnp should be shut off at the router, if there’s a setting for that. Then it doesn’t matter what individual devices on the LAN do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[larryllix]

Thanks guys!

I know in previous times if UPnP was shut off things stop working and some will complain about it.
This sounds more like a router deficiency that was fixed a few years ago in later router versions.