question

pyemarine avatar image
pyemarine asked

No remote Console in Victron Connect

With a Cerbo GX firmware 2.54 and new Iphone SE OS 13.4.1 and on a macbook pro with OS Seirra, the Rremote Console is NOT available. The Cerbo gets seen, connected via bluetooth, but there is no option to get to the remote console, the only way to control the Cerbo, is via VRM and that is painstakingly slow. Has anybody seen this ? the fact that it seems to happen on several devices makes me believe this could be a bug. All devices are also on the same wifi network and trying the venus.local/app/ wont work (ip address subsitute also will not resolve anything)

VictronConnect
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jdubbayew avatar image jdubbayew commented ·

I am having the same issue with my Cerbo. Was your Cerbo also one of the models impacted by the duplicate VRM IDs? wonder if it is related perhaps.

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kabyak avatar image kabyak commented ·
I was having similar problems, remote console did not appear in the Victron Connect app. I mistakenly tried to hotspot my iPhone, then discovered by scanning the QR code on the the Cerbo that it's hotspot was "venus gx (multi character string)", selecting that wifi network on my phone and using the browser with the Cerbo's IP address brought me to the remote console.
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4 Answers
Alexandra avatar image
Alexandra answered ·

@pyemarine

Check that under general the access level is set to user and installer.

https://www.victronenergy.com/media/pg/2556-GX_Device_Manual/en/configuration/menu-structure-and-configurable-parameters.html

If not then the account you are viewing from does not have full control. This can be corrected on vrm under users.

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Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ commented ·

Also: make sure the iphone and GX device are connected to the same (wifi?) network, it only works on a local network (or you have to use VRM indeed)

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pyemarine avatar image pyemarine Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ commented ·

Thanks Alexandra and Daniël but that is not the issue. Access level was set to user/installer and all devices are on the same network. The issue is that the "remote console"as shown in the manual (cerbo and victron connect) is simply not there,

The inly option I get is to go to VRM. That seems the long and slow way around and currently the only way for me to configure and control the Cerbo which is a pain. Both the Macbook and iphone see the Cerbo via VC on bluetooth, and although only 1 can connect at the time, I can see the blue LED on the Cerbo turn solid when connected. Then when I click the Cerbo Garphic, the next screen shows me pincode change, and the orange go to VRM button on the bottom but no remote console option/button to click

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Matthias Lange - DE avatar image Matthias Lange - DE ♦ pyemarine commented ·

Is the remote console enabled for LAN?

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Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ Matthias Lange - DE ♦ commented ·

https://www.victronenergy.com/media/pg/2556-GX_Device_Manual/en/accessing-a-gx-device-with-remote-console.html

I am assuming you have followed all the steps here.

Is it that you are not seeing the remote console option like in this picture?

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pyemarine avatar image pyemarine Alexandra ♦ commented ·

Alexandra, yes that is correct. I am not seeing the Remote Console option next to the host address. And yes I did follow the isntructions on that link and the top 3 ways to connect to remote console are not available, only VRM

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phil baxter avatar image phil baxter Alexandra ♦ commented ·
Hi. I have a related issue that you might be able to assist with. I get to that point and can see the Cerbo but when I select remote console it tells me 'failed to connect to the device' My laptop and the cerbo are on the same network
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pyemarine avatar image pyemarine Matthias Lange - DE ♦ commented ·

Matthias

I have tried both enabling and disabling it, but it did not make a difference. And according to the manual, there should be a way to use remote console via bluetooth or via Wifi as well as LAN and VRM. The Cerbo is connected via Wifi and Bluetooth

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Matthias Lange - DE avatar image Matthias Lange - DE ♦ pyemarine commented ·

I'm pretty sure that the remote console is not available directly via Bluetooth. The GX device has to be connected to your local network and the device you using to connect has to be in the same network.

I think the manual is not clear at this point.

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mvader (Victron Energy) avatar image mvader (Victron Energy) ♦♦ Matthias Lange - DE ♦ commented ·

Hi, I can confirm: to use Remote Console on LAN, your phone and the GX Device must be on the same local network (can be either wifi or LAN). But not bluetooth. There is no Remote Console on just Bluetooth. I’ll check the manual.

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

"From the main device screen it is possible to change the networking settings, view the system on VRM, or open the Remote Console.

Network settings for the Cerbo GX are set in the Cog menu."

Page 23, the above may be interpreted as a Cerbo feature and not as a VictronConnect one as may have been the intention.

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

OK, thanks Mathijs,

But I am connected to the Cerbo via wifi and am still not getting the remote console option next tot he host address entry in the UI as Alexandra showed in the picture above

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

hi could you post a screenshot of what you're seeing?

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

Here are some screenshots showing the iphone Victron Connect screens and also the Macbook Pro victron connect Screen.


Both Iphone and Cerbo are connected to the Wifi network "eclipse" which is connected to the internet with no firewall enabled. This is the same connection in how I access the Cerbo remote console via VRM. No LAN connection has been made or tried yet to the Cerbo.

The Wifi router has ip address 192.168.1.2 and the Cerbo lists as 192.168.1.144 as you can see in the iphone VC connect network settings screenshot.

The macbook (via "eclipse") has ip address 192.168.1.163

When I try to connect locally via a browser to the Cerbo's IP address i get the following:


I also tried switching over to the Cerbo's built-in Wifi hotspot; When I connect to that, the Macbook's IP settings are as follows, the Cerbo's IP as expected:

Now here comes the weird one, now still connected to the Cerbo's internal wifi hotspot, when I type 192.168.1.144, the console works all of a sudden.....as in this shot:


but as soon as I switch back to "eclipse" the 192.168.144/app does not work. I am beginning to think this may have something to do with my router, but I reset all to default, I may try a different wifi router to check, but if anyone has an idea based on this I would appreciate the feedback.

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ejrossouw avatar image
ejrossouw answered ·

@pyemarine The bluetooth connection has very limited functionality and won't give you VRM style interface. It basically is only used to configure wifi and LAN settings.

https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/52480/cerbo-gx-not-sharing-multiplus-info-over-bluetooth.html

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pyemarine avatar image pyemarine commented ·

not according to the manual. There are 4 ways to connect via remote console, one of them is via bluetooth. See Alexandra's post below.

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ejrossouw avatar image ejrossouw pyemarine commented ·

It refers generically to GX devices and does not specifically mention the Cerbo, but I can see why it creates the expectation.

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mrseas avatar image
mrseas answered ·

Can you "reboot" the Cerbo?

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jdubbayew avatar image
jdubbayew answered ·

@pyemarine seems firmware 2.63 has solved this issue for me.

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