[WJSelf5022]

When I click on "Connect to PC" on my Chromebook, the pop-up screen for the wi-fi connections displays the incorrect IP address for the tablet on my home network.  I cannot find a way to change the static IP address back to what the Chromebook wi-fi settings show to be the local IP address.  Does anyone have a solution to this issue?

[Zubersoft]

Chromebooks are a little interesting because they have a built-in firewall and the way they handle network may also involve a NAT. When MobileSheetsPro looks up the local IP address, it iterates over all available network interfaces and uses the first IPv4 address that is found that isn't the loopback address. It's possible with Chromebook that there are multiple network interfaces involved. Regardless, broadcasting is blocked by the firewall, so you won't see a connection pop-up on the PC running the companion app. This means you need to use the Connection->Manual WiFi Connect option in the companion application. Just enter the correct IP address when doing that and it should all work. Let me know if that is not the case.

Mike

[WJSelf5022]

Chromebooks are a little interesting because they have a built-in firewall and the way they handle network may also involve a NAT. When MobileSheetsPro looks up the local IP address, it iterates over all available network interfaces and uses the first IPv4 address that is found that isn't the loopback address. It's possible with Chromebook that there are multiple network interfaces involved. Regardless, broadcasting is blocked by the firewall, so you won't see a connection pop-up on the PC running the companion app. This means you need to use the Connection->Manual WiFi Connect option in the companion application. Just enter the correct IP address when doing that and it should all work. Let me know if that is not the case.

Mike

[WJSelf5022]

Chromebooks are a little interesting because they have a built-in firewall and the way they handle network may also involve a NAT. When MobileSheetsPro looks up the local IP address, it iterates over all available network interfaces and uses the first IPv4 address that is found that isn't the loopback address. It's possible with Chromebook that there are multiple network interfaces involved. Regardless, broadcasting is blocked by the firewall, so you won't see a connection pop-up on the PC running the companion app. This means you need to use the Connection->Manual WiFi Connect option in the companion application. Just enter the correct IP address when doing that and it should all work. Let me know if that is not the case.

Mike

Mike,

I thought that I sent you a reply by email, but I cannot find it in my "Sent" box.

I tried that several times, but it would never work.  I rechecked the IP address for the Chromebook on our home network, and it remains what it always has been, which is not what shows up in MobileSheetsPro.  I cannot find a way to correct the IP address in the MobileSheetsPro "Connect to PC" pop-up window.

I know almost nothing about Chromebooks or anything running a Google or Android OS.  I bought this Chromebook for my wife only because it was shown as a highly rated device to use with MobileSheetsPro.  We do not use it for anything else.  Now, we can't seem to be able to use it for that.

Any other suggestions you or someone else might have would be appreciated.

Bill

[Zubersoft]

Bill,

Just so we are on the same page - you used Connection->Manual WiFi Connect, and you've tried both the IP address shown in MobileSheetsPro and the IP address shown in the device network settings? What kind of error do you get when attempting to connect like this? If it doesn't work, the problem may actually be on the PC side. Please try the following:

1) Go to Windows Firewall->Allow App or Feature Through Windows Firewall and make sure public/private are both checked. 

2) Go to "Network Status" in Windows 10, go to "Change connection properties" and make sure it's set to private. 

3) Next, load the companion app and see if the connection works. If it does not, reboot your router, as this fixes problems in a large number of cases. 

4) If you have anti-virus software with a firewall, make sure to disable that or unblock the companion app. 

Let me know if that helps at all. As a side note, the companion application is completely optional and only helps you transfer files to the device and create entries on the PC. You can do all of it on the device itself using MobileSheetsPro. You can also import your files off the cloud directly. So I don't think just because the companion app isn't working that you have to give up on the using the app altogether. The companion app just helps you set up and manage your library - actually utilizing your library is all done on the device itself.

Mike

[aspiers]

Am I right in thinking that since Android apps running inside ArcVM on a Chromebook are subject to NAT on the internal 10.x.x.x class A network and can't listen on an external port, this means it's impossible to set up MSP on a Chromebook as a server over wifi, and therefore impossible to connect MSP on two Chromebooks together over wifi?  If so I presume the remaining options are bluetooth, or synchronizing via an intermediate server (e.g. Google Drive)?

If I'm right, I would suggest that MSP watches out for the case where the server is started on a 10.0.0.0/8 address and warns the user that it likely won't work the way they expect.  I had the advantage of knowledge of TCP/IP networking and Linux in general so I was able to guess what was going on here and search these forums for keywords such as "NAT" and "firewall", but I guess a lot of MSP users won't be that lucky and will just wonder why it's not working without any obvious way to find out.

[Zubersoft]

You can still use the IP address under which the Chromebook is connected to the router in order to connect other devices to it. You just have to use the "Direct Connect" option and enter that IP address. It should work perfectly fine to connect two Chromebooks this way. 

You are right that I should probably detect when running on a Chromebook, and display a warning the first time the user accesses one of the features that needs a WiFi connection (Connect Tablets, sync library or connect to companion).

Mike