Unable to ping my iPhone on any WiFi outside my home network

nuspieds · 07 Sep 2011

Hi,

There's a program I use (Pocket Informant iPhone Outlook Sync) which requires that my PC and iPhone be on the same network in order to sync.

The problem is that it works only when using my home network. When I'm at home, from my PC I am able to successfully ping my iPhone, which is connected to my WiFi network. This works whether myh PC is also ethernet-connected or WiFi-connected.

When I travel, however, even though I successfully connect to the WiFi network on my iPhone and PC, I am unable to ping my iPhone.

I have tried disabling the Windows Firewall and I get the same result!

I can't believe that all these different WiFi networks I connect to (airport, hotel, work) that they all have a configuration issue, so I'm thinking that the reason for the discrepancy must be because of some setting/configuration on my PC/home network.

Is there anyhing else besides disabling the Windows Firewall that I can try?

Thanks!

brady · 07 Sep 2011

You wouldn't want your devices pingable from a public network... thus the reason they're configured this way.

nuspieds · 07 Sep 2011

I'm not sure what exactly you mean by "thus the reason they're configured that way."

The WiFi network at work is definitely not public. And as for the other ones (aiport lounges, hotel), although they're open/not secured via WPA, for example, they still require some sort of login in order to connect. Thus, they are not truly public and open.

So I successfully connect my iPhone to all these networks and have an IP address. What exactly, then, is making the ping fail?

DeaconFrost · 07 Sep 2011

I'm always confused when I see people going through strange hoops to get data synced to their smartphones, instead of just simplifying. If you set up a free Live or Gmail account, everything is synced automatically. There's no PC involved, nothing to be backed up, and you can access or update your information anywhere.

I realize this isn't a solution to your issue, but an easy way to accomplish the same goal.

nuspieds · 07 Sep 2011

DeaconFrost said:

I'm always confused when I see people going through strange hoops to get data synced to their smartphones, instead of just simplifying. If you set up a free Live or Gmail account, everything is synced automatically. There's no PC involved, nothing to be backed up, and you can access or update your information anywhere.

I realize this isn't a solution to your issue, but an easy way to accomplish the same goal.

Similarly, I am surprised at the number of people who foolishly upload and maintain personal and confidential information to the cloud all under the belief that their data are protected and safe. However, those who do so and are aware of the inherent risks, then that's their choice.

No, as you stated, your suggestion is not a solution to my issue. Per my original post, I just want to know if there's anything in my Windows 7 configuration that is preventing me from seeing my iPhone (via ping) when both my laptop and my iPhone are connected to a WiFi network outside the home.

My post is not about sync'ing or the pros/cons of doing so via the cloud; it's about what's preventing me from pinging my iPhone outside my home network.

DeaconFrost · 08 Sep 2011

If you want to put on your tin foil hat, go right ahead. I don't store my banking info "in the cloud", but I hardly consider my calendar and contact list as confidential. My suggestion would be to stop the paranoia, stop listening to buzz words, and read up on a subject before you bash it as an alternative.

Have you looked into any security apps you may have installed on the phone, considering your level of mistrust? How about any custom settings?

kronckew · 08 Sep 2011

how do you connect to the internet?

if via a wireless router/firewall it will be assigning your device an address which is an iana reserved private address. works fine on your private lan. isp's in general do not allow these addresses directly on the internet.

these can be ranges like 192.168.x.y or10.0.0.x. your router has an external ip address which is assigned by your ISP, the router assigns your devices internal ip addresses and routes requests to the appropriate device on your lan which requested them. in order to ping the device on your lan directly fom a remote device, you need to configure the router to reroute the ping to your device. this is different depending on the routing device, so i won't go into it here.

some routers also operate in a more secure stealth mode and do not respond to pings at all. this also may need configuration change. all the non-you access points will be connecting to the internet somewhere via a router/firewall, so yes all the other connection sources you connect to may indeed have a configuration issue.

you might also need some reconfiguration. both the pc and the iphone would have to be assigned an address in the same subnet to ping each other if they are both connecting via the same source, ie. both in your hotel room connecting to the same wap as if they were in a home lan. the pc and phone both would need to be assigned an ip address via dhcp or manually in that same range. if you are using your phone at the hotel and your pc is home, the ip address ranges for private lans are not routeable, so the pc would have to have it's router configured to allow your remote connection. if you look at the ip addresses of the pc and the device, if you see a 169.x.y.z address, it means your device is NOT getting a ip address from your router or isp, but is defaulting to an APIPA (automatic private ip address).

this is a generic answer as i do not have an iDevice of any sort, i hate apples, and thus have no idea how an iThing gets a proper ip address or how you can set it manually,if steve jobs allows that. i do know how the IP standards are supposed to work tho. being on the 'same network' usually means that you must be on the same subnet range. a VPN is a special trick to convince it that it is, but that's not pertinent here now.

so, the pertinent info is what is the IP of your PC? and what is the IP of your iThing? and are both in the same location connected to the same lan when not at home or are you trying to sync from the ithingy at the hotel to your pc at home?

nuspieds · 08 Sep 2011

DeaconFrost said:

If you want to put on your tin foil hat, go right ahead. I don't store my banking info "in the cloud", but I hardly consider my calendar and contact list as confidential. My suggestion would be to stop the paranoia, stop listening to buzz words, and read up on a subject before you bash it as an alternative.

My first suggestion to you would be to stop making assumptions about the data I keep in my PIM. You're in no position to tell me to stop the paranoia without knowing the data I keep in my PIM.

In addition, it's especially because I am so cognizant of all the online hacking incidents that is the basis of security concern; those who do not read up on or are aware of such incidents are the ones who are not fully informed. However, as I previously stated, "those who [store personal and confidential information online] and are aware of the inherent risks, then that's their choice." Sorry, but that's not bashing.

My second suggestion to you would be to stop hijacking my thread. "As a Senior Member, Gold Member, Supporter and Seven Guru," you should know better.

Once again, my post is not about sync'ing or the pros/cons of doing so via the cloud; it's about what's preventing me from pinging my iPhone outside my home network.

nuspieds · 08 Sep 2011

kronckew said:

how do you connect to the internet?

if via a wireless router/firewall it will be assigning your device an address which is an iana reserved private address. works fine on your private lan. isp's in general do not allow these addresses directly on the internet.

Thanks for all that info and sorry for not being so clear, but when I stated that I can connect to the internet, I meant that after successfully connecting to the WiFi network, both my laptop and my iPhone can successfully surf the internet.

Also, it's not that I'm remote somewhere and trying to ping my laptop or iPhone that's at home. Rather, both my laptop and my iPhone are with me when I travel and both are successfully connected to the same WiFi network and can surf the internet.

As you stated, both have that same type of router-assigned IP address, so I'm confused as to why both are on the same network, then why can't I ping one of them.

Thanks!

DeaconFrost · 08 Sep 2011

nuspieds said:

My first suggestion to you would be to stop making assumptions about the data I keep in my PIM. You're in no position to tell me to stop the paranoia without knowing the data I keep in my PIM.

In addition, it's especially because I am so cognizant of all the online hacking incidents that is the basis of security concern; those who do not read up on or are aware of such incidents are the ones who are not fully informed. However, as I previously stated, "those who [store personal and confidential information online] and are aware of the inherent risks, then that's their choice." Sorry, but that's not bashing.

My second suggestion to you would be to stop hijacking my thread. "As a Senior Member, Gold Member, Supporter and Seven Guru," you should know better.

As usual, a person fails to follow their own advice. You're making quite a lot of assumptions yourself...exactly what you accuse me of doing. I'm the director of IT for my company, and I'm paid to assess the risks of current technologies. Save your lecture.

Also, while we're on the hypocritical path, you accuse me of threadjacking, yet you ignored my questions that are aimed at your exact issue. You've got some forum etiquette to work on.

You may not always like the solutions or questions posed, but just like in the real world (won't make assumptions), that doesn't mean they should be ignored or ruled out.

We're posting here on a volunteer basis, so when someone poses an alternative, consider it, then decide if it works or not. If not, be polite and professional about it, and then keep the conversation going. You didn't like my suggestions early on (for various reasons I'll skip), but then when I moved along to posing questions about your current issue, you ignored them.

Is that any way to get assistance....the very thing you came here for? We aren't paid to post here...we're doing so out of interest and hobby. Work with us, not against us.

In case you skipped it, I'll ask them again. Do you have any security apps or third-party network apps running on your iPhone? I once had a wireless network finder app that conflicted with my ability to join and function on a wireless network, giving me issues just as you describe. I would get an IP, but nothing more. Once I removed the app, all was fine for using local network apps, such as Folder Pro.