EmiratesMac - View Single Post - Is i-chat disabled in Dubai?

DXB Law · 6th July 2006, 18:15

I have been using iChat AV since 2004 from both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, from a variety of locations and on both ISPs (Etisalat and DIC Telecom) without any serious difficulty for audio and video chats with users in the US and the UK.

Users need to follow the configuration steps outlined in the earlier post:

1) Set the log-in port to 443 (this is the biggest thing, because Etisalat blocks port 5190) by going to iChat>Preferences>Server Settings and replacing the number 5190 with 443.

2) Open the appropriate ports in the Firewall. (these are listed in the earlier post). Go to System Preferences>Sharing>Firewall. Click on "New" and a dialog box will pop up. For the "Port Name" choose "Other." Then in the box marked "TCP Port Number(s)" type 5190
In the box marked UDP Port Number(s) type 554, 5060, 5190, 5297, 5298, 5678, 16384-16403
In the box marked "Description" type iChat AV
Then click OK
This will create a new entry called iChat AV; make sure that the checkbox next to it is checked.

3) Check that you have sufficient resources to run an audio or a video chat. iChat AV is a fantastic application, but it uses a lot of RAM (so you might want to shut down other apps while running it) and an audio chat uses a good deal of bandwidth (and a video chat uses even more) so you want a high speed DSL connection. Do a DSL speed test at http://www.auditmypc.com/internet-speed-test.asp

4) Finally, there are some specific applications that conflict with iChat AV. For example, I have found that Lotus Notes creates a software conflict. You simply cannot start an audio or video chat in iChat if you have Lotus Notes running on your Mac, no matter how much RAM you have. Shut down Notes before starting your iChat and you will be good to go.

6th July 2006, 18:15	#9 (permalink)
DXB Law Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 120	I have been using iChat AV since 2004 from both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, from a variety of locations and on both ISPs (Etisalat and DIC Telecom) without any serious difficulty for audio and video chats with users in the US and the UK. Users need to follow the configuration steps outlined in the earlier post: 1) Set the log-in port to 443 (this is the biggest thing, because Etisalat blocks port 5190) by going to iChat>Preferences>Server Settings and replacing the number 5190 with 443. 2) Open the appropriate ports in the Firewall. (these are listed in the earlier post). Go to System Preferences>Sharing>Firewall. Click on "New" and a dialog box will pop up. For the "Port Name" choose "Other." Then in the box marked "TCP Port Number(s)" type 5190 In the box marked UDP Port Number(s) type 554, 5060, 5190, 5297, 5298, 5678, 16384-16403 In the box marked "Description" type iChat AV Then click OK This will create a new entry called iChat AV; make sure that the checkbox next to it is checked. 3) Check that you have sufficient resources to run an audio or a video chat. iChat AV is a fantastic application, but it uses a lot of RAM (so you might want to shut down other apps while running it) and an audio chat uses a good deal of bandwidth (and a video chat uses even more) so you want a high speed DSL connection. Do a DSL speed test at http://www.auditmypc.com/internet-speed-test.asp 4) Finally, there are some specific applications that conflict with iChat AV. For example, I have found that Lotus Notes creates a software conflict. You simply cannot start an audio or video chat in iChat if you have Lotus Notes running on your Mac, no matter how much RAM you have. Shut down Notes before starting your iChat and you will be good to go.