Neither Easy Connect nor Remote Assistance work

Question

Is there any way to make this feature work? Do any current routers even support Easy Connect? I have tried three routers--Linksys WRT54GS v6; D-Link DIR615 revC (new); D-Link DIR628 (new)--always get a failure to connect to peer name blah, blah, blah. I'm running out of money and time to run around buying routers. Even Remote Assistance via Messenger consistently fails. There must be some kind of arcane router and Windows configurations that MS is keeping secret. I had to go with TeamViewer to be able to make a connection to two different folks. I'd rather use the Windows native tool instead, but it seems to be hopelessly broken.

UPnP enabled. Remote Assistance allowed in Win Firewall. Port 3389 forwarded.

Answer 1

Is there any way to make this feature work? Do any current routers even support Easy Connect?

Well, yes and yes, to answer my own questions. After finding that my Win7 laptop would begin the Easy Connect process successfully, I determined to dig around and look for any configuration differences between it and my balky desktop.

Network and Sharing Center > Change advanced sharing options (on left pane) > Public > Public folder sharing --on the laptop Turn on sharing so anyone...... was checked. On my desktop Turn off Public folder sharing was checked instead. After changing that one setting on the desktop, magically Easy Connect began working--my desktop will now find the "peer-to-peer network" when trying the Easy Connect option. I was easily able to use my laptop to "request" RA help from my desktop via Easy Connect, and vice versa. Would not work before. I have not been able to try a RA session to another computer across the net and behind its own router yet, but I suspect it will work now provided the other computer and router have appropriate settings.

Edit: And, I can say that a D-Link DIR628 does work with Easy Connect, so most others probably do to, since that D-Link isn't anything special.

Answer 2

The routers also need to support Peer Name Resolution Protocol [PNRP] and the Novice computers you want to reach with Easy Connect must also be running Windows 7. You can run the Internet Connectivity Evaluation Tool to test the routers. You can also use the File Invitation method.

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MS-MVP Windows Desktop Experience, "When all else fails, read the instructions"

Answer 3

So, can anyone identify a currently available router that supports PNRP? Or, is PNRP so new that no hardware supports it?

Answer 4

OK, so now I discover a weird twist with Easy Connect . My desktop with Win7 Pro consistently fails to start the Easy Connect process when trying either the "Invite someone" or "Help someone" options. It begins with "Testing your network connection", churns for a while, then returns with "Easy Connect is not available .....Can't connect to the global peer-to-peer network ." As before, Remote Assistance is definitely enabled in Windows Firewall (no third-party software firewall installed). This usually leads to a suggestion to run MS's Internet Connectivity Evaluation Tool , which returns a "Not Supported" result for NAT type, and UPnP test "Not Run" (it for sure is enabled in the router).

Now, using a laptop with Win7 Pro, connected via wireless to the same router, the Easy Connect feature nearly instantly succeeds in making the initial connection. I get either a password to send to my "helper", or get a RA terminal with a password field ready for me to enter the "requestor's" password. My laptop is making the connection straight away to the "global peer-to-peer network". When I run the Connectivity Evaluation Tool from the laptop, it returns a "Supported" result for NAT type, but still a "Not Run" for UPnP.

Why might my desktop be failing at Easy Connect, but the laptop succeeding, with the same router, same OS? Why would the laptop return a differing result after running the Connectivity Evaluation Tool behind the same router? There must be a software setting in the bowels of Win7 on my desktop at fault. Maybe that is why the desktop cannot make a connection for RA via any method over the net. I don't yet have an opportunity to test the laptop with a friend's computer, but if it works I'll sure be pleased.

At the very least, it appears that my new router is capable of supporting RA sessions, including the new Easy Connect method in 7. I just need an opportunity to try it with the laptop to know for sure. Would be great to get the desktop working as well.

Answer 5

Is there any way to make this feature work? Do any current routers even support Easy Connect?

Well, yes and yes, to answer my own questions. After finding that my Win7 laptop would begin the Easy Connect process successfully, I determined to dig around and look for any configuration differences between it and my balky desktop.

Network and Sharing Center > Change advanced sharing options (on left pane) > Public > Public folder sharing --on the laptop Turn on sharing so anyone...... was checked. On my desktop Turn off Public folder sharing was checked instead. After changing that one setting on the desktop, magically Easy Connect began working--my desktop will now find the "peer-to-peer network" when trying the Easy Connect option. I was easily able to use my laptop to "request" RA help from my desktop via Easy Connect, and vice versa. Would not work before. I have not been able to try a RA session to another computer across the net and behind its own router yet, but I suspect it will work now provided the other computer and router have appropriate settings.

Edit: And, I can say that a D-Link DIR628 does work with Easy Connect, so most others probably do to, since that D-Link isn't anything special.

Thanks for the feedback. That's interesting because the Public > Public folder sharing was enabled on my Win 7 laptop. I would have thought it would have been disabled for the Public network location type as illustrated in this Cable Guy article. I subsequently found a statement on this page that Public folder sharing is turned off by default unless your in a Homegroup which I had previously setup on my Win 7 laptop. I presume this means you never setup a Homegroup on the desktop. I will have to play with this more once I upgrade my wife's XP machine to Win 7.

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MS-MVP Windows Desktop Experience, "When all else fails, read the instructions"