Database Develop

[Q] proxy ssh tunnel

Hi guys,
Have a question for you...
I'm outside of US... I have private hosting on US soil... I've used it like ssh tunnel proxy on my Win7-PC (Socks5+Putty)
No the question. How can I run this proxy on Nexus One of mine. I want it for "App Market" (to see/buy not-free apps)

Much simpler - root your Nexus and use Market Access.

david2tm said:
Hi guys,
Have a question for you...
I'm outside of US... I have private hosting on US soil... I've used it like ssh tunnel proxy on my Win7-PC (Socks5+Putty)
No the question. How can I run this proxy on Nexus One of mine. I want it for "App Market" (to see/buy not-free apps)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In case there are other motives, you can still do it, but you need a rooted phone.
I know I have a proxy section in the networks and wireless, but it's possible its just a cyanogenmod app. That's where you'll want it though, you'll need to open an ssh tunnel using ssh -D (never done this, but this is how you do it on traditional linux) and then localport:remotehost:remoteport. After that you log in, and your tunnel is made!
So a command for opening up a local proxy on port 8118 to myproxy.org on port 22 (ssh) would look like
Code:
ssh -D 8118:myproxy.org:22
You then set your local proxy to 127.0.0.1 on port 8118 and all your traffic goes through your established ssh tunnel.

Jack_R1 said:
Much simpler - root your Nexus and use Market Access.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I want market to think that I'm in US too. For updated version of Maps app - for example

Acidictadpole said:
In case there are other motives, you can still do it, but you need a rooted phone.
I know I have a proxy section in the networks and wireless, but it's possible its just a cyanogenmod app. That's where you'll want it though, you'll need to open an ssh tunnel using ssh -D (never done this, but this is how you do it on traditional linux) and then localport:remotehost:remoteport. After that you log in, and your tunnel is made!
So a command for opening up a local proxy on port 8118 to myproxy.org on port 22 (ssh) would look like
Code:
ssh -D 8118:myproxy.org:22
You then set your local proxy to 127.0.0.1 on port 8118 and all your traffic goes through your established ssh tunnel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've rooted stock froyo. And there's no proxy option in my Wireless & Network.
1. How can I get this app (?) w/o cyanogenmod?
2. where do I type ssh commands? [I'm not a Linux guy]
*. I wish my wireless router had the option to share "proxyfied" connection....

david2tm said:
Well, I want market to think that I'm in US too. For updated version of Maps app - for example
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly what you get, I guess you never tried. Market recognizes provider's MCC and MNC, and SSH tunneling won't help you even a little bit. On the other hand, Market Enabler / Market Access allow faking MCC and MNC to match any supported provider for paid markets.

Jack_R1 said:
I guess you never tried
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try it right now

HBO GO chromecast falis to connect; black screen only

Hi there.
First and foremost, I am outside the USA. Since I've got my chromecast I have been using it to acess Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora et all using a firewall rule that I learned here at XDA Dev Forums.
This one: iptables -I PREROUTING -t nat -p udp -s (chromecast IP) --dport 53 -j DNAT --to-destination (your DNS)
With that being said, this morning I noticed that there was an update on Android and iOS adding DIAL support (Chromecast) to HBO GO.
I installed on both OSes and to my great surprise it didn't work on neither.
Here is the situation right now.
On android (s4 mini running 4.2) it fails to connect and asks me to try it later on. On the TV I only got a black screen.
On iOS running the latest iOS 7 it seems to connect, but there is only a black screen on my TV. If I try to play something, nothing happens, the TV continuous to have a black screen and on the ipad the title choosed to play never starts actually playing and stays there forever. If I hit disconnect on the ipad the chromecast returns to its home screen.
Is there anyone else experience this behaviour on Chromecast using the HBO GO app just released?
Please, let me know if this is a known bug or it is something else.
Best Regards

Is there anyone else experience this behaviour on Chromecast using the HBO GO app just released?
Please, let me know if this is a known bug or it is something else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in the USA and HBO Go is working fine on my ' unrooted ' Chromecast. Have not tried it on my rooted one yet but in another post (KyoCast Post, Page 14) a user was reporting problems with his rooted Chromecast if I read things correctly.

Thanks for replying.
This just add to my suspicion that indeed the HBO GO app behaves differently than the previous one.
The thing is I dont have the resources to search throughly and neither the knowledge to discover why this is happening. I dont even own a Desktop PC anymore.
HBO GO works as it should be on my iPad, Android, Apple TV and Roku.
The issue is when it starts to casting. I only got a black screen.
This is not a rooted device. I've been using to bypass geo-blocking iptables rules only.
My hope is that later on someone else discover what exactly this HBO GO app is doing differently than all the others.
Of course it can be a sort of bug. I already contacted google to let them aware os this possible issue.

I had the same problem when I attempted to launch a movie without first starting it on my device. If I start playing on my device and then switch to the Chromecast it works fine. Before that it would seem like it wanted to load but did nothing or I got a communication error.
Edit...I have a rooted device but I don't think that should matter.

third son said:
I had the same problem when I attempted to launch a movie without first starting it on my device. If I start playing on my device and then switch to the Chromecast it works fine. Before that it would seem like it wanted to load but did nothing or I got a communication error.
Edit...I have a rooted device but I don't think that should matter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already tried that on my ipad. It doesn't work. If I fast-forward a title to an example 5 min in when a hit the cast button, my TV screen ends black and on the HBO GO app, the time of the title playing goes back to the start and stays there.
On the android side I cant do this attempt. When I hit the cast button, it keeps trying to connect for one minute or so until it pops up a message saying: Failed to connect to Chromecast. Please try again later.

Your discussion reminded me that I should actually be able to use HBO Go. Thanks! Will try it when I get home...

bhiga said:
Your discussion reminded me that I should actually be able to use HBO Go. Thanks! Will try it when I get home...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please, would you be kind to confirm (perhaps with a picture) if the HBO GO app has a Welcome/Home screen like the other apps do?
I already contacted google on this but it will took a while to get "there". Perhaps my serial is blocked or something. The workaround with iptables should have been enough to circunvent geo-blocking. With the exception of HBO GO all other apps do.
BTW, my Chromecast was one of the earliest to be bought and shipped, my serial number starts with 362
I am convinced that somehow my Chromecast isnt talking with the HBO GO app.

No, mine does the same. I am in Canada as well. This whole Chromecast thing is starting to make me think its time to mothball it for a while. I'll just stick with my 2 Apple TV that don't require so many hoops.
Kryspy

HbbS said:
Please, would you be kind to confirm (perhaps with a picture) if the HBO GO app has a Welcome/Home screen like the other apps do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the delay, I took a nap...
Yes, HBO Go appears to have a "home" screen that displays when the app is connected but idle.
It's a black screen with just the HBO Go logo in the center.
Sorry for the poor picture, was trying to avoid excessive glare.

Kryspy said:
No, mine does the same. I am in Canada as well. This whole Chromecast thing is starting to make me think its time to mothball it for a while. I'll just stick with my 2 Apple TV that don't require so many hoops.
Kryspy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been there...
There is hope. I bet that someone with the proper knowledge to investigate this, will find a workaround. I didn't heard back from Google about the possibility of this be a bug.
But with your post it is getting clear that this is in fact a geo-ip block of sorts happening on the HBO GO app side.
Maybe a possible workaround will be to redirect the exactly IP or IPs the HBO GO app is using to independtly check for geo-block.
I dont have the exactly knowledge to do just that but I looked into the traffic in my network while using HBO GO in cast mode and there is some HBO GO IPs in action and then the traffic stops completely with the HBO GO side.
Could anyone here with more knowledge have a look into it?

bhiga said:
Sorry for the delay, I took a nap...
Yes, HBO Go appears to have a "home" screen that displays when the app is connected but idle.
It's a black screen with just the HBO Go logo in the center.
Sorry for the poor picture, was trying to avoid excessive glare.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you bhiga.
It is getting clear by the minute that this is a geo-block in action.
I know that this could seems a minor issue right now, because HBO GO (US) subscriptions, outside the USA is something restrict, but the thing is the possibility of this reinforcement policy on the application side to be used as a norm for future apps or even updated versions of the ones already working is troublesome for everyone.

I think you're redirecting your Chromecast's DNS requests through your ISP, rather than Google's DNS,
But I'm running PwnedCast which lets my Chromecast use my DHCP-supplied DNS, so DNS-wise both our Chromecasts are using ISP-supplied DNS.
HBO Go works for me, and doesn't for you.
At least that means HBO Go isn't reliant on the Google DNS specifically...
Then again, I'm also running KyoCast which bypasses the Google app gateway...
Will have to wait to hear from someone outside of the US with a rooted Chromecast to report in, but my current guess is that the Google app gateway is detecting where you're coming from. If that's the case, then this definitely could be extended to future applications, essentially applying a Geo-IP block at the application level, rather than just the DNS level.

This is my iptable script (I have 2 chromecasts), Static IP for both, running DD-WRT. Unotelly DNS servers are setup as my default DNS in my router.
iptables -I PREROUTING -t nat -p udp -s 192.168.1.125 -d 8.8.4.4 --dport 53 -j DNAT --to-destination 192.168.1.1
iptables -I PREROUTING -t nat -p udp -s 192.168.1.125 -d 8.8.8.8 --dport 53 -j DNAT --to-destination 192.168.1.1
iptables -I PREROUTING -t nat -p udp -s 192.168.1.130 -d 8.8.4.4 --dport 53 -j DNAT --to-destination 192.168.1.1
iptables -I PREROUTING -t nat -p udp -s 192.168.1.130 -d 8.8.8.8 --dport 53 -j DNAT --to-destination 192.168.1.1
I too just get the blackscreen on HBO Go. I am in Canada. Hulu Plus, Netflix US and Pandroa all work fine.
Kryspy

Kryspy said:
This is my iptable script (I have 2 chromecasts), Static IP for both, running DD-WRT. Unotelly DNS servers are setup as my default DNS in my router.
iptables -I PREROUTING -t nat -p udp -s 192.168.1.125 -d 8.8.4.4 --dport 53 -j DNAT --to-destination 192.168.1.1
iptables -I PREROUTING -t nat -p udp -s 192.168.1.125 -d 8.8.8.8 --dport 53 -j DNAT --to-destination 192.168.1.1
iptables -I PREROUTING -t nat -p udp -s 192.168.1.130 -d 8.8.4.4 --dport 53 -j DNAT --to-destination 192.168.1.1
iptables -I PREROUTING -t nat -p udp -s 192.168.1.130 -d 8.8.8.8 --dport 53 -j DNAT --to-destination 192.168.1.1
I too just get the blackscreen on HBO Go. I am in Canada. Hulu Plus, Netflix US and Pandroa all work fine.
Kryspy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My iptables setup is almost identical. Except for two chromecasts. I do also use Unotelly.
I am " kind of glad" to see someone else having this issue. We need to research a way to bypass this. It must be a way.
It is certainly done by IP. We need to redirect these IPs to our DNS of choice.
Your Cromecasts are rooted or do you use kyocast?
My firmware is already the latest one, but I remember reading somewhere that some chromecasts with old serial numbers can be rooted.
My serial number starts with 326.
I never attempted to root it. In fact I dont even own a PC/notebook anymore.
For me this issue is a real pain. Of all apps HBO GO was the one I eager the most.

Neither of my Chromecasts are rooted. Just having the same problem as you are with HBO GO. Luckily I never got rid of my Apple TVs. Both of them are back in service and I even got PlexConnect set up on them once more.
The Apple TV are proving to be far more useful to me at the moment.
I think the answer may lie in the hardcoded Google DNS. The app refuses any stream originating from anywhere else other than the Google DNS.
Kryspy

@HbbS since your Chromecast is already on the latest firmware it's no longer root-able, though it probably was fresh out of the box, sorry.
@Kryspy my Chromecasts are using my ISP's DNS thanks to PwnedCast, and my HBO Go works, but I'm in the US.
So I think there's regional split somewhere else on the path. Maybe there's a secondary lookup or call back somewhere.

bhiga said:
@HbbS since your Chromecast is already on the latest firmware it's no longer root-able, though it probably was fresh out of the box, sorry.
@Kryspy my Chromecasts are using my ISP's DNS thanks to PwnedCast, and my HBO Go works, but I'm in the US.
So I think there's regional split somewhere else on the path. Maybe there's a secondary lookup or call back somewhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bhiga,
Good point about them working with your ISP DNS. Must be something else then.
Kryspy

I've finally heard back from Google. But I doubt it will come to any help.
Here it is: Thank you for contacting Google! There is an ongoing issue with that router. Your IGMP proxy needs to be disabled in your router settings and you would need to contact Verizon for further assistance.
Well, obviously I am not a Verizon client myself. There is little help here, at least I think. Or could I be wrong?

Kryspy, bhiga and to everyone else that participated
That is it!
A couple of days ago I decided to take a shot and wrote to Unotelly explaining what I thought was happening about this situation with HBO GO on Chromecast.
They really took the time to read my long email and decided to research it.
Today they asked me to make another try and it is indeed working. It needs a little bit of speed improvement using the Chromecast. But maybe it is a software issue. I remember when the Hulu Plus support was added it was a little slower.
So, here it is. Finally it is working!
I wish to make an acknowledgment to Unotelly Customer Support, they really surprised me this time.
As a customer the thing I value the most it is to be taken seriously. Congrats.

Alright!! Great to see you found a solution.
I wonder if Unlocator and other DNS-abstraction services will need to make similar changes to allow HBO Go.

[Q] Any method to stream Netflix / Hulu outside US? :(

I'm from Egypt and I got a chromecast for 30$ on amazon while I was in the US... It's not rootable also.
So I cannot stream Netflix or Hulu on it :crying::crying:
I tried this method and it doesn't work http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2435579 .. any help please?

LegendJo said:
I'm from Egypt and I got a chromecast for 30$ on amazon while I was in the US... It's not rootable also.
So I cannot stream Netflix or Hulu on it :crying::crying:
I tried this method and it doesn't work http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2435579 .. any help please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since your Chromecast is not rootable, if you cannot get one of the below to work
Use iptables to redirect Google DNS requests
Force Chromecast to use DHCP-supplied DNS by blocking its Google DNS requests
Force Chromecast to use DHCP-supplied DNS by rerouting its Google DNS requests
Have router forcibly handle external DNS requests
Have router log into VPN and route client traffic through VPN
Then you will only be able to access the services available in your (ISP's) country.

If your Chromecast isn't rooted, it all depends on your router.
There are 3 main methods:
The most widely-supported method is to get the Chromecast to fall back to DHCP by using the static-route-to-nowhere method, since almost all routers support setting up static routes. You can read about that method in the thread you referenced above.
A few routers let you block the Google DNS addresses specifically to make the Chromecast fall back to DHCP. That works just as well. But unfortunately most routers that follow the Linksys model of access restrictions can't block a specific IP address, even though it looks like it should be possible the way the interface is set up.
If you have a router running DD-WRT or other advanced Linux-based firmware, you can use the iptables command to redirect the Google DNS addresses to the DNS addresses of your choice, as in the link you referenced.

Has Netflix's ChromeCast region checking changed, or is my setup broken?

TL;DR
My ChromeCast was happily using Unblock US for Netflix for months. It stopped working on Friday. Is it a general problem, or is it just with my setup?
The long version:
I got my ChromeCast before Christmas, and I've been happily using it with multiple Netflix regions using Unblock US. On Friday I started getting the "We're having trouble playing this title" error on some titles, and it looks like my ChromeCast can no longer access non-UK titles.
It worries me that this coincides (sortof) with the official availability of ChromeCast in the UK, and I'm wondering if they've released a new build or service which prevents the use of services like Unblock US.
My ChromeCast is using build 16278 (with a worrying 'Country code GB' that I never noticed before). I'm intercepting access to Google's DNS on my router using the following iptables commands:
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -d 8.8.8.8 -j DNAT --to-destination 208.122.23.22
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -d 8.8.4.4 -j DNAT --to-destination 208.122.23.23
And as I said, these have been working fine for months. I'm also fairly confident that they're still OK, because I've set my tablet to use 8.8.8.8 as the DNS and it can access Netflix US content just fine.
So, my questions:
1. Is there anyone else in the UK using Unblock US to access Netflix using official ChromeCast build 16278? Is it still working for you? (If you want a particular title to try, Supernatural season 6 episode 13 is the one that I first noticed the problem with, although many titles refuse to play.)
2. If it's not working for you either, do you know why?
3. If it is working for you, what should I try next? (I've already done a factory reset, and that didn't make a difference.)
I've been happy with Unblock US but I'm equally happy to move to a different provider if there's a better one.
(I hope this is the right forum - it's where ChromeCast region settings and use of iptables have been discussed in the past. I'm a bit worried that the forum says I'm breaking the rules by asking a question, so if there's a better place for this post please don't be offended by my ignorance and please do let me know!)
Many thanks.

Uh oh. You say you have build 16278? That's new. My U.S. Netflix access still works, but I'm still on build 16041.
Maybe there's no cause for concern yet. The new Country Code was there in build 16041, and in any case I would think it's the Netflix app that would have to change to cause a problem rather than the Chromecast build. But obviously there should be some re-testing with build 16278 as it rolls out. Netflix could have already changed their app, but made it dependent on build 16278 or higher since everyone is going to get that sooner or later.
Regardless of the current situation, long term this Country Code is clearly going to be a problem. It can probably be solved by the DNS proxy services eventually, but until then I wouldn't be buying a Chromecast to use from outside the U.S..

DJames1 said:
Uh oh. You say you have build 16278? That's new. My U.S. Netflix access still works, but I'm still on build 16041.
Maybe there's no cause for concern yet. The new Country Code was there in build 16041, and in any case I would think it's the Netflix app that would have to change to cause a problem rather than the Chromecast build. But obviously there should be some re-testing with build 16278 as it rolls out. Netflix could have already changed their app, but made it dependent on build 16278 or higher since everyone is going to get that sooner or later.
Regardless of the current situation, long term this Country Code is clearly going to be a problem. It can probably be solved by the DNS proxy services eventually, but until then I wouldn't be buying a Chromecast to use from outside the U.S..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I expect we had better get used to this breakage with things like Netflix due to the fact that Google does a tiered rollout of updates and the Apps must also be updated to work with those new updates from time to time.
Netflix I think may be particularly susceptible because I suspect the Netflix Player app may actually be embedded in the device. It's the only app that does not have a LINK in the App list CCast uses to retrieve players.
Perhaps someone from Team Eureka can comment and confirm if that is true or not.
But what seems to be a pattern is Google releases an update, Something breaks and then you see a flood of CCast compat app updates a week or so later. Hopefully once the CCast OS is more mature this breakage will happen less frequently.

Just wanted to point out, sometimes if you change settings on your router or the connection is disrupted randomly, the iptables may get reset and stop intercepting Chromecast DNS requests. Rebooting the router to start the script again helps.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Asphyx said:
Netflix I think may be particularly susceptible because I suspect the Netflix Player app may actually be embedded in the device. It's the only app that does not have a LINK in the App list CCast uses to retrieve players.
Perhaps someone from Team Eureka can comment and confirm if that is true or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One of them said that Netflix was a separate binary and the only exception to running in a Chrome sandbox, so seems that is the case. It could still be cleverly coded so it wouldn't require a full update unless there was a low level or architecture change.
Asphyx said:
But what seems to be a pattern is Google releases an update, Something breaks and then you see a flood of CCast compat app updates a week or so later. Hopefully once the CCast OS is more mature this breakage will happen less frequently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup... even with the forced updates there's still a period of time when there are units on both old and new versions, DNS caches haven't been updated, etc.

RandomUser6 said:
TL;DR
1. Is there anyone else in the UK using Unblock US to access Netflix using official ChromeCast build 16278? Is it still working for you? (If you want a particular title to try, Supernatural season 6 episode 13 is the one that I first noticed the problem with, although many titles refuse to play.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes - though my CC still says country code US.Tried the Supernatural episode as well and that worked too.
RandomUser6 said:
3. If it is working for you, what should I try next? (I've already done a factory reset, and that didn't make a difference.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure you probably already done this but have you checked your current external IP Address is active on the unblock-us website?

Some updates
Hi all,
Many thanks for all your responses. Some updates:
I checked the external IP address was active on Unblock US, and it was.
I restarted the router, the ChromeCast and the tablet. It made no difference.
I did another factory reset on the ChromeCast. It made no difference.
I managed to change the Country Code to US. It made no difference.
So I still have the problem and I’m not sure what the differences between my setup and Pully’s are.
The Country Code change is worth a bit more explanation. You all may already know this, or know how this mechanism works, but I didn’t.
* After a factory reset, I couldn’t see the ChromeCast on my tablet to set it up. I could see it with my phone. (My tablet is set to use Google’s DNS - intercepted and redirected to Unblock US’s DNS - rather than my ISP’s, location services are off, and ChromeCast has access to location services turned off in App Ops. My phone just uses regular DNS and has location services turned on.)
* I set the ChromeCast up using my phone, and it set the location (automatically) to GB. I’m not certain of this but I’ve no recollection of choosing the location at this point.
* I couldn’t get things to work and posted here. (Just so you know the timeline.)
* I did a factory reset again, and tried to set ChromeCast up using the tablet again. It still couldn’t see the reset ChromeCast. Then I changed App Ops on the tablet to allow access to location services, and it could suddenly see the ChromeCast to set it up. Location services were still turned off on the tablet, but it seems turning it off in App Ops interfered with it seeing the reset ChromeCast.
* When I tried to set it up with the tablet - now that it could see it - as part of the setup process it gave me a drop down to choose the location. I chose US. (I’ve also set it to EST/New York time and language to English (United States).
So the upshot is: I believe you can set the Country Code in build 16278 if you set it up using a device that has location services turned off, but not blocked by App Ops.
Unfortunately I’m still no further on with my Netflix problem and I’m running out of things to try.

How long does the US Country Code stick? Does it reset to GB when you power-cycle the Chromecast?
Maybe it's time to broaden your experiments to identify where the problem lies.
Instead of relying on the iptables commands you could try the static-route-to-nowhere method to block Google DNS and put the DNS addresses in your router fields for the moment. See if that makes a difference.
For an alternative DNS you could sign up for a 1-week trial with one of the others like Unotelly, or else try the free DNS services currently offered by SmartDNSProxy or Tunnelto.us. I have confirmed that they work with Netflix on the Chromecast.
If neither of those things work, at least you have eliminated some possibilities.

Right now tunnelto.us is working for me, whereas unlocater broke some time ago. SmartDNSProxy also not working for me.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

It works now!
Hi folks,
I have it working now (thanks!) and have a bit more information. Some of this is just my supposition of what’s going on.
First of all, Country Code sticks between power-cycles without any problems. Time zone and language don’t seem to have any impact either. Also, I honestly have no idea whether Country Code has any effect at the minute. It might still be a red herring, or a problem for the future.
The fix was related to an idea DJames1 had. I changed my iptables to use tunnelto.us and it didn’t work either. So I tried setting the router to use Unblock US as the main DNS as well as in iptables, and it worked.
As I said before, this worked fine for months up until Friday. I don’t know if it’s the new build or something else, but I believe that something is now verifying(?) DNS using the DHCP-supplied DNS as well as Google’s hard-coded DNS.
I don’t want all machines on my home network using Unblock US’s DNS, so I updated my router config to supply Unblock US DNS entries via DHCP just to the ChromeCast. This works fine. If you want to do the same, and you’re using DD-WRT, just add this to your Additional DNSMasq Options:
dhcp-option=altdns,6,208.122.23.23,208.122.23.22
dhcp-host=#ChromeCast MAC Address#,net:altdns
Obviously you need to change #ChromeCast MAC Address# to the MAC address of your own ChromeCast. And if you want to use other DNS entries instead of Unblock US, just change the two IP addresses in the first line.
I’m sure there are other ways of achieving the same ends, but this worked for me. And the easiest option is just to use Unblock US as the DNS for your router/DHCP as well as the iptables entries.
I hope this helps anyone else who has the same problem. Many thanks for your help and advice.

RandomUser6 said:
I hope this helps anyone else who has the same problem. Many thanks for your help and advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there any chance that the CC is now using the DHCP given DNS addresses and is NOT hardcoding to 8.8.8.8 any more?

generationgav said:
Is there any chance that the CC is now using the DHCP given DNS addresses and is NOT hardcoding to 8.8.8.8 any more?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't say but it would make some sense that the DNS used will change depending on the Country Code of the device.
So a CCast in the UK might use a hardcoded DNS for GoogleUK server as opposed to a US server....

You're right!
generationgav said:
Is there any chance that the CC is now using the DHCP given DNS addresses and is NOT hardcoding to 8.8.8.8 any more?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well now that's an incredibly good question! I'm embarrassed that that didn't occur to me and I didn't check it.
So, I deleted my iptables setup, set my tablet to use Unblock US DNS's directly (instead of using 8.8.8.8 and having that translated), and it still works.
It seems you're right. My router is providing Unblock US DNS to the ChromeCast via DHCP, and (I think) that's it. That's the only non-standard bit.
So, yes, it looks to me like it's now just taking the DHCP DNS and using that instead of Google's hardcoded DNS.
Thanks for figuring this out! (I'm still a bit embarrassed I didn't notice it.)

RandomUser6 said:
Well now that's an incredibly good question! I'm embarrassed that that didn't occur to me and I didn't check it.
So, I deleted my iptables setup, set my tablet to use Unblock US DNS's directly (instead of using 8.8.8.8 and having that translated), and it still works.
It seems you're right. My router is providing Unblock US DNS to the ChromeCast via DHCP, and (I think) that's it. That's the only non-standard bit.
So, yes, it looks to me like it's now just taking the DHCP DNS and using that instead of Google's hardcoded DNS.
Thanks for figuring this out! (I'm still a bit embarrassed I didn't notice it.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. My Chromecast in Canada definitely is still using Google's hard coded DNS, but the firmware version still isn't the newer one you've reported.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

RandomUser6 said:
So, yes, it looks to me like it's now just taking the DHCP DNS and using that instead of Google's hardcoded DNS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That’s not the case with my chromecast (spanish, not imported, with up-to-date firmware, 16041 IIRC) :
Code:
[email protected]:~# tcpdump -nli br-lan host 10.12.30.1 and port 53
tcpdump: verbose output suppressed, use -v or -vv for full protocol decode
listening on br-lan, link-type EN10MB (Ethernet), capture size 65535 bytes
18:01:05.016228 IP 10.12.30.1.37745 > 8.8.8.8.53: 35107+ A? lh3.googleusercontent.com. (43)
18:01:05.061083 IP 8.8.8.8.53 > 10.12.30.1.37745: 35107 4/0/0 CNAME googlehosted.l.googleusercontent.com., A 173.194.34.235, A 173.194.34.236, A 173.194.34.234 (120)
18:02:12.584606 IP 10.12.30.1.42801 > 8.8.8.8.53: 49188+ A? clients3.google.com. (37)
18:02:12.626840 IP 8.8.8.8.53 > 10.12.30.1.42801: 49188 12/0/0 CNAME clients.l.google.com., A 173.194.41.9, A 173.194.41.0, A 173.194.41.5, A 173.194.41.1, A 173.194.41.4, A 173.194.41.6, A 173.194.41.7, A 173.194.41.2, A 173.194.41.14, A 173.194.41.8, A 173.194.41.3 (237)
18:03:06.852570 IP 10.12.30.1.54056 > 8.8.8.8.53: 18326+ A? lh4.googleusercontent.com. (43)
18:03:06.898487 IP 8.8.8.8.53 > 10.12.30.1.54056: 18326 4/0/0 CNAME googlehosted.l.googleusercontent.com., A 173.194.41.10, A 173.194.41.11, A 173.194.41.12 (120)
18:05:09.640580 IP 10.12.30.1.53769 > 8.8.8.8.53: 61549+ A? clients3.google.com. (37)
18:05:09.687719 IP 8.8.8.8.53 > 10.12.30.1.53769: 61549 12/0/0 CNAME clients.l.google.com., A 173.194.41.224, A 173.194.41.233, A 173.194.41.230, A 173.194.41.229, A 173.194.41.228, A 173.194.41.227, A 173.194.41.238, A 173.194.41.231, A 173.194.41.232, A 173.194.41.225, A 173.194.41.226 (237)
18:05:09.913235 IP 10.12.30.1.43963 > 8.8.8.8.53: 14131+ A? lh5.googleusercontent.com. (43)
18:05:09.954725 IP 8.8.8.8.53 > 10.12.30.1.43963: 14131 4/0/0 CNAME googlehosted.l.googleusercontent.com., A 173.194.41.10, A 173.194.41.12, A 173.194.41.11 (120)
My router’s dhcp server tells the clients on my network (including my chromecast) that they should use 10.12.0.1 as their dns server.
As you can see in tcpdump output above, the chromecast (10.12.30.1) is ignoring that and using 8.8.8.8.

New build?
kpiris said:
That’s not the case with my chromecast (spanish, not imported, with up-to-date firmware, 16041 IIRC) :
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. My problems started last Friday, and mine is reporting (stock) build 16278.

Make sure you reboot router and Chromecast at the start of each test for clean results as DNS queries can be cached.

It seems that firmware 16278 has only been reported in the UK. Anyone seeing that outside of the UK?

Restart, restart, restart...
bhiga said:
Make sure you reboot router and Chromecast at the start of each test for clean results as DNS queries can be cached.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, today was a bit of a restart frenzy for me. Both the router and the ChromeCast have been powered off and back on again since the config changes and they continue to work.

cmstlist said:
It seems that firmware 16278 has only been reported in the UK. Anyone seeing that outside of the UK?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes here in Denmark, my cc has 16278

What does 'dns robustness' mean on build 16664?

Hi,
So, since Chromecast updated to 16664 i have been unable to use it in conjunction with Unblock-Us VPN service. This is only the case when attempting to play through chromecast, all other devices work as expected. I have tried routing my primary AP router to Unblock-Us DNS servers and i have also set up a dd-wrt router as a repeater and applied all necessary measures to preroute chromecast dns requests or simply block its dns requests. None od this has worked unfortunately.
The build update for 16664 stated 'dns robustness' which i figure is why this has happened. Does anyone know what this mean? Perhaps, if we knew this info we could figure out a work around.

Usually robustness would mean some sort of protection for it... Like perhaps routing the DNS requests over some sort of secure tunnel/connection so they're invisible to any local DNS caching or rewriting... Someone with Wireshark should be able to see exactly what is (or isn't) happening quite easily though.

I know this won't be very helpful at all, but I got my Chromecast today and it works just fine with my unblock-us account. I have the unblock-us dns servers set in my router (using Tomato rather than dd-wrt) and I was able to switch regions seamlessly.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium HD app

I checked this latest build to see if it is still necessary to block or redirect Google DNS lookups to use another DNS, and it is. No change there, at least from Canada (UK/Europe firmware may be different).

netflix was not working with build 16664, hulu plus is fine. i had to redirect google DNS to a non existent IP address to get netflix to work. now both are running fine. i'm using adfreetime DNS on my Linksys router.