Opening A Webpage Served on a NON-STANDARD PORT

[SoonerLater]

I need to open a webpage which is generated/served by a hardware device on my local network. The problem is that it uses a non-standard port. The address I need to load is http://192.168.3.112:82. If I use that address on a PC (in IE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari...) it loads. If I open http://192.168.3.112 (no port specified) on a PC, it redirects to http://192.168.3.112:82 automatically. However, trying to open http://192.168.3.112 or http://192.168.3.112:82 on my Droid-X fails (in native browser, Dolphin HD, Opera and Miren).

Does the Android OS (2.2, anyway) prohibit communication by browser over ports other than 80 (the default port for web pages)?

Is there an onboard firewall that can be adjusted?

 

[jdbower]

I think something a bit deeper is going on. I can open up a webpage on a non-standard port without an issue (make sure you specify http:// at the beginning or it won't necessarily know which protocol to use), but I'm a little concerned about the sentence "If I open http://192.168.3.112 (no port specified) on a PC, it redirects to http://192.168.3.112:82 automatically." There's no way your computer should know to guess that port 82 is the right port number, either it's autocompleting because you once went to port 82, or there's some sort of redirect going on behind the scenes (for example, the device itself can forward you to 82 or it could be using a proxy IT set up for you).

Some guesses:
Is your PC on the same wireless network as your Droid? If not, it's possible you can't get to the device from that WiFi network.

Is the device on the same WiFi network as the Droid? Some access points are configured so you can't talk between two WiFi hosts.

Try getting a port scanner for your Droid (there are plenty on the market) and try scanning that IP address. See if it detects any ports (especially 82) as open.

If it's a proxy on your corporate PC that may provide some level of authentication for the device, unless you can set up that proxy (try FireFox Mobile and the Proxy Mobile add-on) you may be stuck.

Obviously, if this is a non-standard config you may be better off talking to your IT guys to see what's up and if there is other access for mobile devices.

 

[SoonerLater]

My apologies for giving some incomplete and misleading information in my original post. The hardware device to which I refer is a Redeye by Thinkflood. A Redeye is a wifi-connected device which emits IR (infrared) signals to control A/V devices such as TVs, DVRs, DVD players, etc... A Redeye can be controlled two ways: (1) by an app running on an iOS device (boo, hiss) or (2) via web browser. Note: also controllable via an Android native app coming circa 3d Qtr. 2011 (yea!!!). For control via a webpage, the Redeye acts as a webserver, much like most/all modern Routers do. Just as you browse into a secure page on your router to configure it, you browse into a page on the Redeye to control it (and, by extension, control A/V devices in your home).

The Redeye uses Ports 80, 81 and 82. Ports 80 and 81 are used by the iOS device app. Ports 80 and 82 are used by the webpage control. If you browse to [Redeye's IP] with no port specified, within a few seconds it will redirect you to [Redeye's IP]:82 which is where you'll control it for the rest of the "session."

The IP address of my Redeye is 192.168.3.112.

On a PC, if I browse to http://192.168.3.112 (no port specified), within a few seconds, it will redirect me to http://192.168.3.112:82. Or I can simply start at http://192.168.3.112:82 using a bookmark. Doing either will let me control my Redeye (and then control my TV, DVR, etc...), but starting at the Port 82 address is faster, because I don't have to wait for a redirect.

On my Droid-X, if I browse to http://192.168.3.112 *OR* http://192.168.3.112:82, the page never loads. This is true whether I use the default browser, Dolphin HD, Opera or Miren browsers for Android.

I can't tell if browsing to http://192.168.3.112 on my Droid-X is successful initially, but seems to fail because of the immediate redirect. I am sure that my Droid-X won't load http://192.168.3.112:82 whether through re=direct or starting from that address.

So back to the original question... why won't my Droid-X load a webpage on a non-standard port?

 

[jdbower]

That makes more sense, the service on port 80 is redirecting to port 82.

I've got a webcam set up on port 8889 which the X sees without a problem, so I don't think it's a non-standard port that's tripping you up. Have you tried both in Desktop Mode and Mobile Mode (at least on the mobile browsers that support easy switching)? Most embedded devices don't do context-based page delivery like that but it's worth checking out.

Beyond that, I'm wondering if there's an ActiveX control or some Java that the X doesn't handle well. For example, the X browser can't handle the actual video display from the camera but I can at least get the login. Doing a View Source on the page you get from port 82 may provide some clues as to why it's failing.

You must have been monitoring my Google searches, I was just looking at the RedEye or some alternative to replace my Harmony. I wish they'd just open up the API so I could write my own apps...

 

[SoonerLater]

>>> I wish they'd just open up the API so I could write my own apps...

They just put up a 65 page "Redeye Advanced Programming Manual" which describes the scripting language and system in detail. I'm not sure that you'd call it an API per se, but I bet that it is enough for you to write your own app. By the way, if that link doesn't work for you, it may be that you have to register with a serial number to see it. If that's the case, post back and I'll email you a copy. I know you have to register with a device serial number just to read their user forum.


SOLUTION: My wifi profile for my home network was corrupted somehow. My neighbor never renamed or locked down his wifi, which is still just called "Linksys." I recently was at a business meeting where the open/public wifi provided was also called "Linksys." My Droid was using my neighbor's wifi because I had a profile which matched the name of his WAP SSID ("Linksys"). Thus, I wasn't really on my own network. I was fooled, because I saw the wifi indicator in the status bar and just assumed that I was on my own locked-down network. Alas, sometimes the hardest problems to solve are the result of the simplest oversights.

 

[jdbower]

Good news about finding the issue, unsecured WiFi access points have been the bane of my existence before as well.

I may throw a RedEye into my shopping cart the next time I'm at Amazon. I can read the manual and it looks interesting. I wonder if anyone in one of the apps forums has more time/skill to get something coded. Between the guide you linked, the RC Code database and the Logitech Harmony concept of Activities (push a button and it will power on your TV, XBox, and set your tuner to the right input) I think this could be a really cool application. The only downside being figuring out how my wife will control the TV.