[SOLVED] Reverse VNC Connection

[brennen.exe]

-- SOLVED --> For those who care...

Initial issue/goal: Ports open or blocked over 3G/4g? Getting a reverse VNC connection working on an android phone.

Resolution: Ultra VNC SC basically allows someone behind a firewall or router to, without any configuration required, share their desktop with someone (you) for technical support or any other means. I use it for friends and family and such, and it works great, but the real question and purpose of this thread was about open ports on a 3G/4G connection and what VNC apps allow listening. This is what worked for me: Remote VNC Pro from the market (~$6), DynDNS from the market (free), a dynamic DNS account that is supported by the DynDNS application (like no-ip, dyndns, etc), and a personalized/configured version of Ultra VNC SC (linked below). Port 5900 works, as well as a few others, but 80, 8080, and 443 won't.

VNC Application: Remote VNC Pro (for the phone)
VNC Application: Ultra VNC SC (for the client)
Dynamic DNS: DynDNS (update agent)

Mods/Admins feel free to move this thread and/or lock delete if I am breaking any rules (like advertising?) or something.

 

[rdude]

Re: [HELP] Reverse VNC Connection

I know with 4G you definitely get a publicly accessible IP without any proxy in the middle. I imagine 3G would be the same so it should be fine in that regards.

As for open ports, any app worth its chops should let you choose which port it listens on so that shouldn't be an issue.

Why don't you just buy one of the apps and give it a try? If it doesn't work you can always return it within 24 hours for a full refund.

 

[brennen.exe]

Trial and Error

---- ORIGINAL FIRST POST ----

Not sure if this should go here or not, but I'm trying to see if I can get a Reverse VNC Application going. Looking at existing VNC applications for Android, the only one that allows listen mode is Remote VNC Pro v1.7.7 and above. Unfortunately, since it is not free, I cannot test the listening capabilities. Listening aside, I suppose my biggest issue will be open ports. Given 3G/4G addresses (NAT, I assume?) are out of our control, does anyone know what ports are open and what ports are not?

Has anyone else tried? Interested? Suggestions? Here's what I have so far:

VNC Application: Looking at Remote VNC Pro (for the phone)
VNC Application: Ultra VNC SC (for the client)
Dynamic DNS: DynDNS (update agent)

---- END FIRST POST ----

Why don't you just buy one of the apps and give it a try? If it doesn't work you can always return it within 24 hours for a full refund.

Well the idea was to see if anyone had already tried this and/or had the application to save me time troubleshooting. Since there has been no response, save yours, I went ahead and purchased it.

As for open ports, any app worth its chops should let you choose which port it listens on so that shouldn't be an issue.

Oh, it has the option to specify ports, but which ports are open over a 3G/4G connection is what I wanted to know. I tried 443 and 80, and both gave me permission errors. Surprisingly 1723 (PPTP) works, but VNC Pro on the phone just sits on the 'please wait while listening on <ip address>' screen forever. The computer running the Single Click VNC server says that the connection was successfully acquired, but the icon never changes colors (suggesting I am completely connected). The interesting thing is that when I cancel or close the connection on the computer, VNC Pro on my EVO closes the 'listening' window and gives me a java exception error.

*sigh* any ideas? I'm guessing the connection is going through but other traffic is getting blocked or something. Not sure what other ports to try, but I will fiddle around with it in the mean time.

Edit: I tried the standard ports on a local WiFi connection. I gave the phone a static IP, port forwarded everything appropriately, and then received the same results. I'm going to take a few screenshots and send and e-mail to the developer for now.

Edit: It appears to be an issue with Ultra VNC SC. Ultra VNC and Real VNC both worked by manually adding the viewer client from the installed server while using port 5900. Sort of defeats the purpose for me, but the developer said he would try it out and (hopefully) get it working.

Edit: The dev got back to me really quickly and we figured out the issues and fixed it over the weekend. He pushed out a new version of the application on Sunday. First post has been updated for those who care.

 

[brennen.exe]

Bumping the thread for those who are interested in what worked for me, now that everything is fixed.

 

[Philosuffer]

Nice, been interested in this. How is the refresh rate when your phone is on WiFi and also how is it on 3G?

I tried Screencast (http://code.google.com/p/androidscreencast/), but it only runs at 3-5 FPS, so it was pretty unusable.

 

[brennen.exe]

I've only had it working for a day, and nobody has really needed my help, so my testing of the application has only been to confirm it works. The best thing I can say, for now, is that the reviews all brag about the performance and pinch-zoom, that the developer is pretty cool and was willing to return the application well beyond the 24 hour limit, should the application not meet my needs, and finally that he fixed the issue I was having in less than 48 hours from the time I reported it to him. Overall, as far as the application is concerned, I am pretty satisfied. For example, I wrote (and edited) this post while using it over 3G from my phone. I saw all the text as I was typing, so I would say the frame rate is satisfactory.

Edit: Wait, after following your link, I think you might be misunderstanding the purpose of this application. This allows you to control a PC from your Android, not the other way around. The purpose is to supply people with a pre-configured portable application that allows you to connect to the computer without any port forwarding or security changes on their machine. The application (uVNC SC) also "uninstalls" itself from their computer after the connection is closed. To reiterate, the primary benefit is to allow you (the admin) to connect to someone else (the user) without them having to do anything but double-click on your connection.

 

[Philosuffer]

You're right. I misunderstood, didn't know what "reverse vnc" really meant.

 

[brennen.exe]

Sorry, I knew people confused the two, so I could have been more clear. On that note, I am also interested in a... remote connection to my Android phone. Recording, in particular, would be great for demo's and setup instructions, given so many people have android devices now-days. But yeah, this is not the setup for that. =/

 

[rdude]

Bumping the thread for those who are interested in what worked for me, now that everything is fixed.

Glad to hear you got it working! I'll try installing it this week and see how it goes.

 

[Riel]

Looks to me that I want to do exactly the same. Sorry to bump the thread but seems the best thing to do.

I want to support people OTA, since I don't need high framerates, just a view at some PC settings.

I have Remote VNC Pro and it allows the phone to Listen for incoming VNC connections. But it listens on a 10.20.xxx adress, instead of my WAN 3G/4G ip-adress.

I want to use GITSO (awesome little program) for the http://code.google.com/p/gitso/ support issues.

It works flawless pc-to-pc where I have my own portforward setup, saves tons of hassle with the people I want to support.