Is i-chat disabled in Dubai?

[seabreeze]

Hello, I am new to this site, and am not sure if this was the correct place to post this question. I posted it here as it seems to be the one that's most used.

Is i-chat disabled in Dubai? with or without the Web-Cam? We are moving and my kids use it to chat with their friends all the time. They have huge buddy lists and are thinking at least they will be able to stay in-touch. If I tell them it's disabled, they will blow a fuse! Does MSN work? So far I have heard that i-chat is
disabled. Would really appreciate an answer.

Thanks

[Magnus]

Hi seabreeze! Did you read our entry on the FAQ page about iChat?

I've heard that people have had problems with iChat and video but don't know if it's widespread. And I don't really use it myself, but perhaps other users can tell us their experience.

"MSN"... hmm... what's that?

[snow7]

MSN works fine and so does iChat. However, I've never tried iChat's voice or video features, but text based communication works fine.

[iDubai]

yeah, I am ok too........ I need that dusty iSight workout a bit

[jmonfries]

I had the same problem with iChat not letting me do voice or video chat, but the IM worked fine. It kept saying that I didn't respond, but I was the one making the chat request!

[carrigan]

same problem. I am in Habshan, Abu Dhabi. IM works fine but get the same message - refused connection - in audio and video.
It was suggested by .mac support that the Aztech modem I got from Etisalat was the problem (is was pretty poor) so I bought a US robotics modem and get the same problems.
The mac support guy in the UK gave up with me.
Don't know where to get help.

[Magnus]

Welcome to the site carrigan.

So let's pull together and try to solve this.

A question to those who have tried audio/video chat with iChat - did you try to audio/video chat with another user in the UAE or outside the UAE?

Has anyone successfully done audio/video chat with iChat to someone on a Mac inside/outside the UAE? What equipment (router/modem) did you use? Settings in iChat?

[Magnus]

After some Googling and other searching on the net here are some things it seems that other people suggest checking. Overall it seems Apple have built a rather sensitive piece of software in iChat. It seems very tricky to get it right. For some it just works, for others it doesn't work at all. Anyway, here goes ;-)

Check firewall on routers

These ports should be open on NAT routers (and you can open the same on your Mac):
5060, 5190, 5220, 5222, 5298, 5353, 5678, and 16384 through 16403.

You can also put your Mac on the router's DMZ or try to connect your Mac straight to the modem.

Here's some more explanation about ports:

iChat AV uses a range of ports for different purposes. When conferencing, ports 16384 to 16403 are used to send, receive, and optimize AV streams. For a single conference, 4 ports from that range of 20 are utilized to send and receive audio and video. Additionally, port 5060 is used for signaling and initiation of AV chat invitations, and 5678 is used for SNATMAP, for a total of 22 ports open. Ports used for other purposes, such as Bonjour (formerly "Rendezvous") and file transfer, are listed in the next two sections.

Tip: Traffic that goes through ports may be subdivided into different types, including TCP and UDP. iChat uses both of these, but mainly UDP. Advanced users can find more information on this in the Notes section below.

Ports to open for Mac OS X firewall
When using the built-in Mac OS X firewall, you only need to open these ports: 5060, 5190, 5297, 5298, 5678, 16384 through 16403.

Quicktime settings
Go to System Preferences > Quicktime > Streaming tab
Set the drop down to your Connection speed download speed or to a max of 1.5Mbps

In iChat

In iChat > Preferences > Video section > Bandwidth Limit se the drop down to NONE.
Change iChat port to it to 443 or at least anything but the standard 5190.

Rebooting Mac

Some users say rebooting the Mac right before trying to iChat and not running any other applications at the same time as iChat can help.

Delete preferences

Go to /Users/(your account)/Library/Preferernces and delete com.apple.ichat.AIM.plist

More information

In Apple's discussion groups there are some threads with suggestions that may help: here, here, here, and here.

Do a speed test

You can do a test of the speed of your connection. I'm on 2Mbps AlShamil ADSL and I got 2057kbps down and 353kbps up. I think I read somewhere among the pages linked to above that you need 100kbps to do a/v chat with iChat.

[DXB Law]

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.

[daisydoo22]

Hi all...I just joined up today and am hoping that you can help me!
I have been trying to get connected to my father in the UK using ichat for weeks now with no success...until today when i came accross this site! Im so frustrated its crazy!!!

I have changed the setting number from 5190 to 443 as suggested...then when i get to step 2 (as below) i cannot seem to find Firewall option in System Preferences, its only available in Security. Am i being stupid or!!?

2) Go to System Preferences>Sharing>Firewall to see if your Mac's built-in firewall is turned on. If yes, you need to open certain ports to allow iChat to connect through the firewall. Click the button marked "New" and you should get a dialog box with a pull-down menu for port name marked "CVS". Click on that and choose the option "other" all the way at the bottom. Then you will get three white boxes. Enter the following information:

In the first box (marked TCP Port Numbers) enter the number 5190.
In the second box (marked UDP Port Numbers) enter (you can copy and paste) the following information: 554, 5060, 5190, 5297, 5298, 5678, 16384-16403
In the third box (marked Description) type iChat AV and then click OK.
Look at the list of services in the big white box and make sure that the new service you created (iChat AV) has a check-mark in the box.

Hope you can help me!
Thanks...Daisydoo22