This is really just a heads up more than anything else but I wanted to give it a post of it's own so it didn't get buried in just one of the many existing iTunes Remote App threads.... Since this 'issue' can affect just about any iPhone app that needs to find 'something' (some hardware device/your iTunes servers/etc) on **your** own local network... For instance, I'm writing an app that will allow me to control all the lighting (and some other stuff) around the house that utilize Insteon home automation controllers and switches. It's so cool being down in the family room and being able to turn off any light I want all from the comfort of my couch (and the iPod Touch). Anyway I'm getting ahead of myself...

Background:

I installed the iTunes Remote on my iPod Touch and it worked without a hitch and I was having loads of fun messing around with it... I then put down the iPod to do some other stuff and then went back to it later only to find the Remote App could no longer find the iTunes server....

I tried everything...

- Hitting the 'home' button and then going back into the Remote!
- Restarting the iPod!
- Went so far as to delete the App and reinstall it!

Nuthing worked... and then I tried it one more time and don't you know it the freakin application was WORKING once again... This had me stumped for quite some time...

All the while I've been writing a program (for the iPhone/iPod) that talks to another device thats on my network... and yesterday I **finally** got accepted into the 'official' iPhone developers circle and have been blessed to finally debug the app I'm writing on the hardware (instead of just the simulator)....

Well wouldn't you know it, it WORKED (once) and then it too exhibited similar behavior to the Remote app...

Wanna take a guess what the problem is/was???

Well the signal I get from my old wireless router can sometimes be 'not so good' and a neighbor (don't know who) has a **wide open** linksys wireless router that seems to give me excellent coverage... Got if figured out yet?

Yep my iPod Touch was giving up on MY wireless router and hopping a ride on the neighbors linksys...

Needless to say any app that was looking for a 'server' (iTunes or otherwise) on 'my local network' would NEVER find it so long as it was connected to the neighbors network...

Now I've gone into the settings and made sure 'ASK BEFORE JOINING NETWORK' is turned ON and I deleted (pressed the forget button) my neighbors linksys... but for some reason the linksys is back in the settings window and I think my iPod is still hopping over without ASKING me... I'll need to do more testing but if it is doing that then we clearly have a bug on our hands....

Anyway... I hope this solves some problems with people trying to use the iTunes Remote and/or other programs that **need** to be on **your** local network.

In short, when things don't work (or stop working) with 'network dependent apps' take a second and check out your wifi settings and make sure your connected to YOUR network before you start tearing everything down on the iPhone/iPod and starting from scratch....

Cheers!

Dave

Dave, that's a nice troubleshooting tip, thanks for sharing. The fact is, though, that something is prompting your Touch to turn to your neighbor's Linksys--so how much of this could be your network itself, i.e. the old 'not so good' wireless router? what hardware (brand, "g" versus "n") and security settings do you employ? And what functions as your iTunes server?

I'm curious because you aren't the first person to report some strange wireless behavior with the iPhone/Touch when the remote app is installed...

I'm curious because you aren't the first person to report some strange wireless behavior with the iPhone/Touch when the remote app is installed...

Oh no... I fully realize its a clear sign that I need to replace my router to something built sometime in the 21st century... I think my router I have is circa 1996 or so but its one of those things that 'just works' (for the most part) and I keep putting off an upgrade...

But I remember seeing quite a few post (maybe not here) about people complaining that while the iTunes Remote is cool some were having troubles connecting and/or reconnecting and random times thru-out the day. Dollars to doughnuts I'll bet some of those 'problems' where due to the fact that the iPhone/iPod either hopped over to someone else's wifi and/or jumped onto the AT&T data service... Both of which would prevent the Remote app from ever seeing their iTunes 'server'.

But thanks.... and yea I thought it was an important item to share and hope it solves other peoples problems too and remember this isn't just an 'iTunes Remote' issue alone... the same problem would pop up if someone had an app that would (someday) control a sonos (sp?) or some other network device that might eventually become controllable over the network (with the iPhone/iPod).

Heck, I wouldn't have even noticed the problem at all had it not been for the program I'm developing... It's a home automation app that works with the ISY-26 a hardware device on the net that controls INSTEON/X10 device... Its from Universal Devices and lets me turn on/off dim/bright all the INSTEON/X10 enabled devices I've installed around my house.

Could you imagine my disappointment when the program that was running so well in the iPhone simulator started having connection problems galore when I was finally allowed to install my app directly onto my iPod (yep, finally got my iPhone SDK developer credentials that allows me to install/debug my code directly on iPhone/iPod hardware)...

I though it was something that was gonna be really hard to debug but then I took an off chance look at my wifi settings and bang... instead of my wifi showing up it was someone else's linksys... Had I not noticed this I'd be banging my head wondering what could be wrong with my code.... but it does give me a good idea for an addition to my program so that when the ISY-26 can't be found the user should not only check to make sure the ISY is turned on but **also** make sure they are connected to their LOCAL wifi device and not someone else's open wifi router.

Dave