kichat: What We Need From You !!

Suitable for iChat 2.x and iChat 3



There are lots of things you can do to help the regular posters in this Discussion area help you.

First of all the current Discussions were designed on a One Person/Problem to one Thread basis. This was to try and stop several people jumping on what looked like a similar problem and the thread ending up with 5 or more different answers to what in fact were different problems.

Now linked to this is the need to have all the info you have in one go, up front, so that we can answer as succinctly and as quickly as we can without repeating questions over and over to get to a start point.

As a Start go here and enter your computer and OS details so they appear on every Post you make. (This does presume you have created a Apple Login ID to be able to make posts.)
After that you need to list these things:

1) Have you done the Quicktime Streaming setting ?

Go to System Preferences > Quicktime > Streaming tab. In the drop down set the speed to match your download or to a max of 1.5meg

2) Are you running your Mac with the Firewall On ?
If so have you set up ports for iChat ? (The ports from Apple Doc 93208)

3) Did you upgrade from Panther ?
Do any of these things effect you ? (list os known issues.)
If they did and you have done them please state so.

4) How are you connected to the internet ?
a) We need to know device make and Model ?
b) We need how you have opened the ports for iChat ?

* UPnP ?
* Port Forwarding
* Port Triggering
* DMZ

c) We need to know if you know if the device is in Bridge Mode ?
(sends your Public IP through to your computer or router).
d) Do you have a router as well ?

* Is it doing DHCP ?
* Is it an Airport device ?
* Have you opened the ports there ?
* By which method ? (see above list)

5) Do you have any iChat Add-Ons ?
List them if you have.
Also state if you downloaded them when you were running Panther and if you have updated them.

1. iChatUSBCam
2. iGlasses
3. Showmacster
4. ChatFX

6) Does anything in this FAQ effect you and the Add-ons in addition to 5) ?

7) Does it have anything to do with connecting to a PC ?
See Here and here

8) List your Connection speed

http://www.adslguide.org.uk/tools/speedtest.asphttp://www.adslguide.org.uk/tools/speedtest.asp
http://www.auditmypc.com/internet-speed-test.asphttp://www.auditmypc.com/internet-speed-test.asp
http://www.dslreports.com/stesthttp://www.dslreports.com/stest
http://www.bplspeedtest.com/broadband-speed-test.phphttp://www.bplspeedtest.com/broadband-speed-test.php

I hope you find this useful.









This is the 2nd version of this tip. It was submitted on 4/08/07 by Ralph Johns (UK).