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jlmster avatar image
jlmster asked

Remote console via VRM not working

Hi. I am new to the Victron world, having recently installed a MPPT solar controller, BMV 712, and Venus GX. MultiPlus in box to install next. All in a RV with new lithium batteries too.

All is working great so far with the exception of the Remote Console via internet with the vrm.victronenergy.com website or the VRM iOS app. I can use remote console when connected to the RV WiFi hotspot or using the built-in IP address in the Venus GX.

Other VRM functions work fine over the internet - and I have it set to update in 1 minute intervals.

I’ve spent hours reading online and trying different settings, without success.

Can someone please give me the specific settings for the Venus GX to enable remote internet Remote Console access? I think I have everything set properly - but it does not work. I must be missing something. Do I need to set SSH? What about 2-way communication?

It seems odd that all other VRM functions work fine via remote internet with the exception of Remote Console.

Thanks!

remote console
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13 Answers
jlmster avatar image
jlmster answered ·

An update to my original post:


Since updating my Venus GX to firmware 2.32, the Remote Console is working!


From keeping up with this thread, it looks like this firmware update was released in May and fixes an IP verification check that was the likely source of my issue.


Thanks.

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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

Hi!

Indeed. The trouble-making IP Verification check has been replaced by something better.

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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

Good to hear this solved your issue. matthijs

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Dave van Dongen avatar image Dave van Dongen commented ·

For me and my customers the Remote Console is now in version v2.32 working as well! :-)

Many thanks for fixing this!

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wkirby avatar image
wkirby answered ·

Do you have this setting enabled? Settings -> Remote Console -> Enable on VRM



1555417674169.png (38.9 KiB)
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jlmster avatar image jlmster commented ·

Thanks for the quick response.


Yes I do have the Enable on VRM setting on. And I see “online” status on the line below.

Just to be sure, I turned it off and “offline” appeared. I tried VRM and the Remote Console option did not even appear.

I turned the settling back on, and the Remote Console selection reappeared on VRM. But I get the same connection error.

I’m still stuck. I’ve run out of ideas.

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JohnC avatar image JohnC ♦ jlmster commented ·

Just a thought - if you have the Remote via LAN link open locally, then Remote via VRM won't work. Only one-at-a-time.. one may push the other off, but I can't test that from a single pc.

What's the 'error' of which you speak?

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jlmster avatar image jlmster JohnC ♦ commented ·

I'll double check to see, but I don't believe I have Remote via LAN open. I close down the browser page when done.

The "error" is a ! in a triangle followed by "Remote Console failed to connect. Make sure to enable Remote Console for VRM. set or disable the password and the reboot the Color Control."

Thanks.

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Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) answered ·

Hi,

Have you read through this troubleshooting document and followed all the tests and recommendations?

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/vrm_portal:troubleshooting_ccgx_vrm_connectivity

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thomas-weis avatar image
thomas-weis answered ·

Hello,


I have a similar problem to you. Have you found a solution?

I have 4 systems and no system can access the Remote Console via the VRM portal. The direct connection via IP works. But I can use this way only for 2 systems.

See attached the error notification:


remoteconsole.png (9.9 KiB)
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JohnC avatar image JohnC ♦ commented ·

Could be a firewall issue. I just tested mine ok, but that's where I'd look first

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eirik avatar image eirik JohnC ♦ commented ·

I have the exact same problem now: It worked for me until yesterday (and I have been using it since September last year). I can only access Remote Console directly on the boat's LAN/wifi network. Any access attempts via VRM gives the same result, i.e. "Failed to set up... ".

The Dashboard, Advanced views, etc., do, however, get updated as they should (i.e. every 10 minutes, no connection problems there).

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thomas-weis avatar image thomas-weis JohnC ♦ commented ·

My systems are now running for over a year. I noticed this problem for the first time this morning.

I have checked it with my smartphone with the vrm app and through the browser and it works normally.

Normally I use Firefox, so I checked it with another browser (Chrome) and it works.

So seems to be an issue with the new version of my Firefoxbrowser (Version 67.0.4 [64-Bit]).


Maybe this helps you too @Eirik

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eirik avatar image eirik thomas-weis commented ·

No, this applies to Chrome both on Android as well as Windows (PC) and also Microsoft Explorer. Also, there are no firewalls.

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eirik avatar image eirik eirik commented ·

Ok. Now it works. Went back to the boat and restarted the Venus and the 4G-router. Then everything was fine again.

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JohnC avatar image JohnC ♦ thomas-weis commented ·

67.0.4 [64-Bit]

Same here too. Works fine. Dunno??

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thomas-weis avatar image thomas-weis JohnC ♦ commented ·

Ok, I checked the changelog from Venus OS, which said the remote console was improved via the VRM portal in version 2.30. So I did an update to V2.31, because I still used the VenusOS version 2.23.

Now it works again with Firefox.

Many thanks for the support!

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jlmster avatar image jlmster commented ·

Thanks for the comment. I’m still having exactly the same issue. Same as you’ve outlined. I feel better knowing that I’m not the only one, but I’ve pretty much given up trying to fix it.

I cannot locate any Victron tech support number to call. And I’ve exhausted the online guides without success. It may be a complicated or simple fix - but I can’t figure it out.

I’ve been using the VRM portal regularly, just not the remote console. So, I can monitor but cannot make any configuration changes remotely.

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Thomas Pfeifer avatar image
Thomas Pfeifer answered ·

Hello,

the above described problem seems to appear in my Venus GX installation, too:

  • I have checked all setting as described above,
  • did the connection/firewall checks as described in https://www.victronenergy.com/live/vrm_portal:troubleshooting_ccgx_vrm_connectivity
  • can acces the remote console via LAN
  • but I cannot connect to Remote Console from VRM portal - same error message as above is thrown after ~15 seconds of connection attempt

Venus firmware is v2.30~35~node-red

Any ideas?

Thx,
Thomas


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Dave van Dongen avatar image
Dave van Dongen answered ·

Just like me, it sounds like you might have run into the "IP Address verification issue". There seems to be no practical fix for this. Good luck...

https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/3305/remote-console-and-sd-card-logging-not-working.html?childToView=3343#comment-3343

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Thomas Pfeifer avatar image
Thomas Pfeifer answered ·

Thanks to Dave for linking to the "IP Adress Verification Issue". However, Victrons explanation and recommended workaround (ask your internet provider???) is not really satisfying - first time for me, as I was absolutely convinced of Victrons professional service, so far.

My venus (for a remote, off-grid installation in Germany) is connected to an LTE-router, which occasionally gets a new IP address, e.g. after rebooting the router. I would assume that this is not such a fancy set-up, that VRM could not cope with it, or?

Question to Victron: Is there a way to manually reset the IP address verification, or to permit some frequency in changing the IP address (e.g. once per day). When I freshly installed the Venus with that LTE router, remote console via VRM was working fine. Now, you might imagine that this feature is urgently missing - e.g. for switching relays from remote.

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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

Hi @t.pfeifer: there is no IP address verification any more.

It was replaced by a better security mechanism per last May, in Venus OS version v2.30.


Please make sure you are running v2.30, or even better: the latest official release which is v2.32

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Dave van Dongen avatar image Dave van Dongen mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

Hi Matthijs, thanks for the notice! :-)

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repro avatar image
repro answered ·

I too am having the same issue, with the same error. I have tried 5 different browsers from Chrome, Firefox to MS Edge. I have checked all settings with no success. It was working just fine, and after the FW update, it quit working.

remote-console-error.jpg


remote-console-error.jpg (84.3 KiB)
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Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ commented ·

Hi @Repro,

Can you provide some more details?

Which GX device are you using?

From what firmware were you using, to what firmware did you update to?

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repro avatar image repro Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ commented ·

I have two Cerbo GX's. Firmware 2.66 is the currently installed FW version on both. They arrived two weeks ago with FW version 2.56, and the VRM Remote Console worked. After a couple of days with configuration and setup, I updated the FW and the console quit working. I have been researching solution and thought I would check here, and then I found this post.

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Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ repro commented ·

Have you investigated your local networking/firewall situation?

https://www.victronenergy.com/media/pg/Cerbo_GX/en/faq.html#UUID-a22d8284-f52d-aeb6-539d-e6919d14353e

https://www.victronenergy.com/media/pg/Cerbo_GX/en/vrm-portal.html#UUID-5667f877-3cf4-18d8-3f43-2e6ab2843066

Which of those troubleshooting steps were you able to complete?

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repro avatar image repro Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ commented ·

I turned off my firewall just now to test it, still does not work (Both the firewall on my PC and my router). I also shut down my anti virus and PC protection software. I tested the URL's (https://vncrelay.victronenergy.com & https://vncrelay2.victronenergy.com/) and it returned "Error Response" which is to expected. I would like to state again, that the console did work, and IMMEDIATELY after updating to FW version 2.66, the console quit working. I checked both installations after the FW update to ensure everything was OK, and saw the console was no longer working.

I also did a complete reset, and removed one installation, re-configured and tested it out again. No console through the VRM web site. The console does work on the VE App for iPhone. It is only the VRM console.

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sbman avatar image sbman repro commented ·

Did you ever get this working? I have a brand new Cerbo GX installation and I'm having the same issue, the VRM remote console won't connect. I've been through all the above steps and find no issues. The VRM reports:

Remote Console on VRM Enabled and up
Two way communication Enabled


I can get to all the URLS in the FAQ, I can connect locally on the LAN to the console, I have not left any other consoles logged in anywhere. I do not have a GX Touch attached to the Cerbo, is this required for remote console?
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rattus avatar image
rattus answered ·

Hello all.

So I'm having this exact issue, cannot access Remote Console via VRM.

Cerbo GX on firmware v2.86.

Here's the funny part, my partner's Macbook Pro can access the Remote Console, but I cannot. I'm on a MacMini, three metres away. Same IP, fixed line IP.


See screenshot below...


screen-shot-2022-05-29-at-125242-pm.png


Thoughts?

Also, under the Troubleshooting chapter "9.6 Remote Console on VRM: Troubleshooting" the first part refers me to Chaapter 5.4, which is about Temperature Relays. I'm at a loss...


Thanks.


screen-shot-2022-05-29-at-125242-pm.png (51.4 KiB)
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nickdb avatar image nickdb ♦♦ commented ·

Try from firefox, also clear the data in safari for all victron sites and try again.

Also, you can't both connect so make sure having the window open elsewhere isn't contributing.


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rattus avatar image rattus nickdb ♦♦ commented ·
@nickdb

yay!!!!

That worked, firefoxywoxy to the rescue!

Thanks nick

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rattus avatar image rattus rattus commented ·
p.s. Incidentally, I was using Chrome, not Safari.
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Andrea avatar image
Andrea answered ·

hello,

i have the same problem with a CERBO. All start when i end the credit on the SIM in the router, i do a recharge but the system not restart. Now i take at home the router and the CERBO, i change te telephone operator.The Cerbo is on line on VRM, i connected to another one MPPT charger and a smarth Shunt by cable. On the VRM i can't open the remote consolle. If i connect by the app on the cerbo i see the remote consolle, i ceck the firmware is the 2.87 and the remote consolle on the VRM is enable.

Where is the problem? what can i do to solve the problem?

thanks best regards

Andrea

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Andrea avatar image Andrea commented ·
hello, the router end to work from the end of november, yesterday on the VRM i see in the right top, it was offline from 6 months, later 5 months,than 4....3...and now is online and the remote console is possible to open correctly....

strange but work, or the system need time to returne active after a long time off line to put the data in the VRM....

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gnagflow avatar image
gnagflow answered ·

Anyone found a solution for those problems .. ??

https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/169040/remote-console-enabled-and-online-but-no-access.html


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jonathan-drewes avatar image jonathan-drewes commented ·
I am also having this problem.

Victron, please help somehow.

Tried opening ports, browsers, clearing cookies/cache, all settings are correct. RC works over bluetooth.

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mbr89 avatar image
mbr89 answered ·

Push ... fix this

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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ commented ·

Hi both @MBR89 and @Craig Robinson , the issue posted above has been fixed long ago (years).


I am not aware of any structural issue - I have tested on several sites just now, and all works well.

To diagnose further, please post here your VRM url.

Thank you, Matthijs

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Craig Robinson avatar image
Craig Robinson answered ·

I also have the same problem but as I first set up the system at base to ensure all was working and it was it was only when I went to site to fit the system it would not connect remote console. Even tried local ip access via web browser on laptop (Assigned ip on LAN 192.168.1.291) and would not connect it was as though it was rejecting the connection. you can view it online and everything else just can access remotely, and I see by this tread seems to be a common problem with no fix!vrm-view.png



vrm-view.png (134.1 KiB)
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Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ commented ·

Hi Craig,

We've collected lots of fixes for this issue over the years :)

The first step is to start from the beginning again and run through the remote console setup, step by step as described in the GX manual here.

Once that is confirmed, then proceed to work through the troubleshooting section.

If remote console was previously working, but has stopped, physically reboot the unit,

That should resolve it in all cases where there isn't some local networking issue that needs to be corrected at the router level.

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pwfarnell avatar image pwfarnell Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ commented ·

@Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) the reboot option is no longer coming up on the bottom of the diagnostics page. Deliberate change or lost during updates.

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Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ pwfarnell commented ·

Hi @pwfarnell,

A deliberate change. It was a temporary work around to an urgent in-field issue.

There is a better long term solution coming, but for now there is nothing. I will edit that posts now to remove the out-of-date info.

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