There will be a TLDR at the bottom if you want to skip my desperate ramblings.
Hi all. I have searched these forums and found similar issues but ultimately nothing that seems to line up with what I'm facing now. I've read the user manual cover to cover dozens of times at this point, I've youtube'd and reddit'd and finally remembered this forum existed, so here I am - pleading for advice and/or assistance.
For reference, I am running Calibre 7.7 (was 7.6 until today, I always update ASAP) on a windows laptop with generally solid wifi connectivity from our Fibre Optic connection. The only reason I am not keeping this computer hard wired in is that I simply move it around the house too much, and the WiFi is typically strong enough I don't need to. I use Calibre's content server to access my library on my phone or tablet when I am away from home. There has never been a hitch until this issue. The content server runs perfectly from the laptop it is hosted on. But it will not run on any other device, whether it is on the same network or not.
I can NOT get my content server to work, and I feel like I've tried everything!
Which is odd, because literally 7-10 (roughly) days ago, it was working seamlessly, and had been for quite honestly years, without a hitch.
I believe the problem started when my WiFi went on the fritz - that's when I noticed it anyways. Makes sense - PC is not connected to the internet, ergo server is unreachable. Fine. I got my internet provider on the phone, they confirmed that my router was out of date, which could be causing the fritzing. They updated it and performed a factory reset. Cool. My WiFi works perfectly again!
But ... Calibre Content Server does not; unless I am accessing it through the browser on the computer that houses my Calibre Library. Which for me, defeats the purpose. On any other device (android, apple, PC) on any other browser (chrome, edge, safari, firefox) it simply says
"This site can't be reached. (IP Address here) took too long to respond. Try checking the connection." or
"Error: Connection Timed Out.".
I did go back into my router configuration panel and set up port forwarding again, exactly as I had done before. I even took a screenshot of the settings before the tech performed the reset, so I know for certain it is set up the same way. Port forwarding went off without a hitch. Due to it not working, I attempted to forward to different ports, all with no success. I have thus far tried 8080 (Calibre default), 8585, and 7575.
My external IP address (which I have always used to access the content server) did not change.
I thought perhaps it was a setting gone wrong in Calibre, so I did a complete uninstall and clean reinstall (which really sucked to lose my settings) - but it did not make a difference. Still no Content Server access outside of this computer.
Thankfully I had done a backup of my calibre libraries, so I returned it to it's normal state while I continued to play with it.
I even had the opportunity to upgrade my laptop over this past weekend, so I thought great, maybe a TOTALLY fresh install would help. No bueno.
I ended up simply importing my backups onto the new laptop just so I still have it and can use it with my Kindle.
I did discover in all of this that my husband's gaming PC and his laptop also share the same external IP address as my laptop, but from what we can tell, that has always been the case?
Literally every other aspect of Calibre is seamlessly running perfectly - except this dang content server and I can't figure out why. It is entirely possible there is the tiniest setting I have overlooked, and so I plead for advice if anyone has some to share.
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TLDR: Calibre Content Server No Longer Working After Router Reset & Update
Things I have tried to no avail:- Reading User Manual
- Searching the internet (youtube, reddit, here, google, etc)
- Ports are forwarded correctly as they were before the reset & update
- Another reset of the router
- Forwarding Calibre through different ports (8080, 8585, 7575)
- Firewall settings allow Calibre as they did before - settings are identical
- Attempted uninstall and clean install
- Started fresh on a brand new computer
Situations in which Calibre Content Server Works Currently:- In any browser on the same device the library is hosted on, on the home WiFi network.
Situations in which Calibre Content Server Won't Work:- In any browser on any device other than the laptop that houses Calibre on the home WiFi network
- In any browser on any device other than the laptop that houses Calibre not on the home WiFi network
- Literally anything other than the same device the library is hosted on