Volumio 1.55 - RPi2/B - OS X - cannot get to UI

Hello,

I flashed my 4GB SD card with the Volumio 1.55 image file, using the tool ApplePi-Baker. I then connected my Raspberry Pi 2/B with an Ethernet cable directly to my MacBook Air (running El Capitan). I checked in Network preferences and my Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter has the IP 169.254.27.172 (see screenshot).

When I type in that IP address into Safari’s address field as volumio.local and this also does not do anything. Instead I get the error “Safari Can’t Connect to the Server.”

My Firewall is off.

Can anybody please help me or point me to a path to troubleshoot this?

Thanks in advance,
Martin
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A 169 address is an Automatic Private Address. Basically, the IP address the machine has given itself because you haven’t specified a static one or there isn’t a DHCP server to assign one. The IP address you are trying to connect to is your own as well, not the RPi. Your RPi won’t have an IP address either for the same reasons.

Ideally, you would plug them both into a router that would then give each device an IP address and you would be able to connect using volumio.local

I connect using DHCP, so the address was given by the Raspberry Pi (Volumio) automatically (dynamically), not by my computer. And of course, I expect a 169.x.x.x.x address, obviously, because my Ethernet cable is not connected to the Internet but to an internal server (the Volumio server). When I unplug the RPi, the address disappears. Not my computer is the server, but Volumio. Also I cannot specify a static address, because I have not access to the Volumio server.

To narrow it down, I disconnected my Mac from Wi-Fi (the Internet) and exclusively connected the Raspberry Pi with Volumio 1.55 to the Mac (El Capitan) using a working Ethernet cable.

  1. When I connect computer and Volumio with the cable, I see the IP address that was attributed using the dynamic DHCP protocol. When I unplug the Ethernet cable, the IP address disappears (see both screenshots).

  2. When the cable is connected I cannot connect to the Volumio server, neither using volumio.local, neither using the IP address of the server.

Why can’t I connect to the server, despite that my computer can see the device? Please help.

Thanks,
Martin
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Ethernet cable unplugged.png

Just because you have specified DHCP doesn’t mean the address you have was assigned by DHCP since you have no DHCP server handing out addresses. I can assure you, the pi is not giving you a 169 address since volumio is not a DHCP server either. Your computer will attempt to get an IP address from a DHCP server, after it fails and times out it will assign itself a 169 address. That address is NOT the address of the Pi it is the self assigned address of your Mac. Attempting to connect to it will do absolutely nothing. Your pi is sitting there doing exactly the same thing as your mac, waiting for an address to be assigned by DHCP. Since between the pi and your mac there isn’t one, it will never happen.

The reason the 169 address disappears when you unplug the cable is because the connection is no longer active.

Where do you get your Wifi? Presumably a router of some kind, plug your Pi into the router with the ethernet cable and you should be able to connect using the wifi on your Mac. Your router will be operating as a DHCP server so will assign an address to it the same way you get an IP address on your wifi connection. Just plugging in a cable between the two isn’t going to work i can assure you!

Thank you for your continued help. I have now connected the Raspberry Pi to my router and Volumio appears in the list of connected devices (see screenshot). When I enter the displayed IP address into the address bar of Firefox (computer now exclusively connected by Wi-Fi to the network of Time Capsule) I can now see the Volumio user interface. Additionally volumio.local gives me access to that interface. I’m using a router which is provided by my phone company together with an Apple Time Capsule which is connected in Bridge mode behind that router.

My ultimate goal is to find an alternative to vTuner which was disabled by Sony early 2016 for all of Sony’s Internet Radio enabled products. All I’m currently looking for is to stream Internet radio to the Sony DLNA enabled entertainment system, without having to resort to using a smart phone or turning on my computer.

Thanks,
Martin
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