IMatch webviewer can be found on home network

[mastodon]

It is definitely a user error. I had used IMatch Anywhere for years, worked great. But I did not use it last year.
Now I updated it, and using the upmost IMatch, too. It is really super easy to configure. I can use the IMatch WebViewer on the PC, that is the server, but not on any other PC-s (win11) or android devices on the local network. I get: ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT
What can be wrong?

[Mario]

Do you use the computer name (of the PC running IMWS) to connect or IP address?
If you use the computer name, does the IP address work?

See https://www.photools.com/imatch-anywhere/imatch-anywhere-faq/ and there "My browser cannot connect to IMatch WebServices"

Timeout can mean many things, most likely your devices cannot connect. Maybe the firewall on the PC running IMWS does not allow incoming connections?
IMWS creates an incoming firewall rule when it installs, but maybe a Windows update or something has disabled the rule and thus IMWS cannot longer accept connections from other computers?
Open the Windows firewall and search for the IMatch Anywhere rules and make sure they are still enabled.

[mastodon]

I had managed to get trough. I have set something wrong in WinWindows Defender Firewall formerly. Now, I let data trough Windows Defender Firewall in the Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security setup, by checking the all "public" checkboxes for IMatch Anywhere. So, I can reach the Imatch Anywhere website inside the home network.
Is this the right setup?

[Mario]

The correct settings are usually automatically created by IMA when it installs.
The IMA help describes it under "Windows Firewall Settings":



You should set it to private for additional security and discoverability inside your home network. Public is designated for public networks like Wi-Fi hot spots at internet cafés or airports.

[pmcabinet]

On Windows 10 Pro, with 'standard' wi-fi router, I have the same problem. Laptop and Android phone will not connect (both on wi-fi network) whether I use PC name or IP address for the URL. The URL as shown in WebService Controller works fine on PC default browser - but that's not much good since I would anyway be using iMatch software on same PC!

As per your FAQ advice, I have tried to change the config.json file to use IP address but Windows will not allow me to save the change. Is that de rigeur for browser access via IP? I am sole user of standalone PC with administrator rights.

Windows firewall has all photool Private permissions enabled - but not Public.

Anything else to try, or is more info needed?

[Mario]

As per your FAQ advice, I have tried to change the config.json file to use IP address but Windows will not allow me to save the change. Is that de rigeur for browser access via IP? I am sole user of standalone PC with administrator rights.

Right-click on the file in Windows Explorer and open the Properties.
Make sure your user account has write privileges for the file. Then you can safe it.

This is the default (the file is meant to be changed by the IMA admin), but who knows what got wrong in your particular installation.

You can also try to copy the file into another folder ("My Documents"), change it there, and then copy it back, replacing the original file.

If in your network your browser cannot reach IMWS via the machine name http://my-pc/.... (usually this works just fine, except you use Apple clients) you must a) change the WebViewer config to use the IP address and b ) use the IP address in your browser to open IMatch Anywhere WebViewer.

a) Makes sure that WebViewer can find and access IMWS
b) Makes sure that your browser can open the WebViewer app

[pmcabinet]

Thank you for your comments Mario.

I have changed the config.json file from PC name to (verified) IP address.



iMatch WebServices controller Service info.txt  

(The WebService Controller still shows the WebViewer URL with PC name - is that how it should be?)



Having changed the address in the config file, if I type the IP address into Firefox (on my PC), Firefox cannot connect. (Nor will it now connect if I click on the Controller URL - which it did before.)

 



Should I:
a. Change the config.json file back to its original and then look for a solution elsewhwere?
b. Uninstall IMAW and start again?
c. Give up?

I would be very disappointed to have to do 'c' - IMAW would be so useful on my laptop - but I am very conscious of taking up your time, not to mention my own!

 

 

[Mario]

(The WebService Controller still shows the WebViewer URL with PC name - is that how it should be?)

The WebService Controller does not use the IMatch Anywhere WebViewer configuration file.
The controller runs on the same machine as IMatch Anywhere and always accesses is via the machine name.

The quick launch for the WebViewer is just a convenience to get users started quickly, it does not use the web viewer configuration file (which can be on a totally different computer!).

Start IMatch Anywhere via the WebService controller.

On the same computer, open a web browser and press <F12> to open the developer tools.
Make sure the "Network" tab is visible (the naming is slightly different for different browsers).

Enter this URL:

http://192.168.1.1:8081/info

This should contact IMatch Anywhere and fetch some information in JSON format.
The browser then displays that data.
Since you don't use HTTPS, the browser will warn you.

If this fails, you should see entries highlighted in red in the Network tab of the developer tools.
Click on this row to see the error message logged by the browser.

Repeat the test, but this time use this URL:

http://localhost:8081

This does the same, and should produce the same result.