WiFi Connection (as in B4A Bridge) - Explanation Please!

[Andris]

I have a general question about establishing WiFi connections between B4A and my Android device. I've been using B4A Bridge for a long time now, and it works great as long as I'm at home with my home routers. However, let's say I'm at the Toyota dealership waiting for my car to be serviced. My laptop connects easily to their Wifi, as does my Android device. Opening up B4A Bridge, I get the local IP address and enter it in B4A to make the connection ... but it doesn't connect.

I do understand that both my laptop and B4A Bridge have to be on the same network and same router. But isn't this the case if I connect to the Toyota dealership's WiFi? Wouldn't my laptop and my Android device be on the same router? I'm sure the explanation is simple ... can someone quickly give me one? It would probably help a number of us who don't yet have the best grasp of how WiFi connectivity works. Thanks!

 

[Erel]

The problem is probably related to the router configuration. It might be configured to block all ports except common ports such as 80 (HTTP default port). It can also be configured to not allow incoming connections. This will prevent the PC from connecting to the device.

Have you tried to connect with Bluetooth?

 

[Andris]

The problem is probably related to the router configuration. It might be configured to block all ports except common ports such as 80 (HTTP default port). It can also be configured to not allow incoming connections. This will prevent the PC from connecting to the device.

Have you tried to connect with Bluetooth?

Thanks Erel. I thought it would be something like that but wanted a credible explanation since I hadn't seen one anywhere in the forum.

I'm sure Bluetooth would be OK. But, I just wanted a good explanation to give customers when I add WiFi synchronization to my app. Presently I give them USB synchronization only (Android to PC). However, with newer versions of Android (4.1+), USB Mass Storage Mode is no longer available and I have to provide WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities. I'm just anticipating future user problems. Thanks for helping out!