Lighthouse Support
We have compiled some useful help resources for our Lighthouse application on this page.
Please note that Lighthouse also has an extensive help file built right into it, you can access this help file in the main Lighthouse menu.
- Where can I download the latest firmware upgrades for my router?
- My router is plugged into a DSL/Cable modem and Lighthouse’s port forwardings don’t seem to work. What can I do?
- Lighthouse’s port forwardings don’t show up in my router’s configuration panel!
- What about the the built-in MacOS X firewall?
- Lighthouse won’t associate with my router when the OS X firewall is on!
- I have an Airport Extreme (802.11n). How do I configure it for Lighthouse?
- Lighthouse won’t work with my Airport Extreme base station (802.11n).
- I have a Linksys router and Lighthouse refuses to associate with it. What can I do?
- Is Lighthouse available for Windows, too?
- I got a new router and want another trial period to test Lighthouse again!
This depends on the type of router you are using. We’ve compiled a list of links for the most common router manufacturers. If your router manufacturer is not in this list, your best bet will probably be a Google search. If you have a router from a manufacturer that you think should appear in this list, feel free to email us.
| Apple | Apple Airport support page |
| D-Link | D-Link support page |
| Linksys | Linksys downloads page |
| Netgear | Netgear downloads page |
It is possible that your DSL/Cable modem is also acting as a NAT router. This is especially likely if your DSL/Cable modem has multiple physical network connectors. However, since Lighthouse can only talk to the first router in a chain of routers because of limitations in the protocols it uses, your port forwardings will only get installed in the first router in a chain.
To remedy this problem, you have to log into the administration panel of your DSL/Cable modem (*not* into your router!) and disable the “NAT” functionality there. Usually, there should be a checkbox or a button available to do this. Save your changes. Also, in case you have any other devices than your router plugged into the DSL/Cable modem, plug them into your router now instead.
If your DSL/Cable modem does not allow you to switch off NAT or doesn’t have such an option, look for an option labeled “Default Host at” instead and enter the IP address of your router there. In this case, you can get the IP address by looking at the Lighthouse menu (It shows up in the menu as “External IP address”).
back to topThis depends on where you are looking for them to show up. For example, if you are using an Apple Airport base station (Extreme or Express), Lighthouse’s port forwardings won’t show up in the “Port Mapping” pane of “Airport Admin Utility”: Only static port mappings are shown there, but Lighthouse uses dynamic port mappings that don’t show up at all in “Airport Admin Utility”. This is perfectly normal. If Lighthouse reports that the port forwarding was started successfully, then it is active.
Conversely, many third-party routers have a specific pane where dynamic port forwardings show up, such as “UPnP Port Forwardings” or similar. Please note that like with the Airport base stations, Lighthouse’s port forwardings may not show up in the same place where static port mappings are displayed. Please refer to the router’s manual to see if there is a page that shows dynamic UPnP-based port forwardings that are currently active.
As a rule of thumb, if Lighthouse does not report an error, the port forwardings have been started successfully.
back to top
Lighthouse only install port forwardings, but does not punch holes into the MacOS X firewall if you have it enabled. Thus, ports may still appear as closed from outside your network, but not because your router does not forward the packets correctly, but because your built-in firewall may drop them.
If you have the built-in firewall enabled, you can either disable it (which is completely safe if you are behind a NAT router and trust the other users on your local (home) network) or you can manually add the ports you want to be accessible (i.e. the ports that show up in the Lighthouse profile you want to use) to the list of open ports in the System Preferences > Sharing > Firewall tab on your Mac.
back to topMake sure that UDP traffic is unrestricted on port 1900. Also, all TCP connections from your Mac to your router should be allowed. Otherwise, the built-in OS X firewall will block UPnP traffic. Especially make sure that the “Block all UDP traffic” option is not checked.
back to top
Apple has greatly revamped the Airport Admin Utility for the Airport Extreme basestations with 802.11n support. However, just as with the previous models, NAT/PMP has to be enabled for Lighthouse to work.
In order to make sure that NAT/PMP is enabled in your Airport Extreme basestation, open Airport Admin Utility (you can find it in the “Utilities” sub-folder of your “Applications” folder) and make sure that the “Enable NAT Port Mapping Protocol” option is checked, as shown in the screenshot. You can click the screenshot to see a bigger version.
If you have an earlier Airport Extreme basestation and need assistance in configuring it for use with Lighthouse, please open Lighthouse’s built-in help file and search for “Airport”.
back to topPlease open “AirPort Utility” (it’s in the “Utilities” subfolder of your “Applications” folder) and check wether you are running firmware versions 7.2 or 7.2.1. If this is the case, please be aware that Apple has introduced a bug in these firmware versions that sometimes prevents Lighthouse from working correctly. More information can be found here and here.
If you are affected by this issue, please check if you are using the latest version of Apple’s firmware and the latest version of Lighthouse. Next, reboot your router by unplugging and replugging the power chord. Lighthouse should work now. Again, please make sure that you are running the latest version of both Apple’s Airport Extreme firmware (you can check in “AirPort Utility” and Lighthouse (You can click the “Check for Updates” item in the main menu).
If you cannot find a newer version of the router firmware than 7.2.1 and continue to have issues with Lighthouse, you can downgrade to an earlier firmware that does not exhibit the bug. Information on how to downgrade your Airport Extreme can be found at the bottom of this post.
back to topSome Linksys routers have a defunct implementation of UPnP even in the latest firmware revision. However, there’s a free, open-source firmware named DD-WRT available that has working UPnP support and is compatible with many Linksys routers.
Please make sure that DD-WRT is compatible with your particular router model and give it a try. Many users have reported great success with Lighthouse and this firmware.
For information on how to upgrade your router firmware, please refer to the manual that came with your router and the DD-WRT website.
back to topNo, Lighthouse is a Mac-exclusive. We do not have any plans to port it to Windows.
Unfortunately, we are also not aware of a Windows software by another manufacturer that provides for functionality comparable to Lighthouse.
back to topSure, we understand that especially in the case where you’ve ditched an unsupported router for a new one, you might like to evaluate Lighthouse again. Sometimes, I also just start a piece of shareware to have a quick look at it, then forget about it, only to come back to it after a few months to find out that my trial period has expired. D’oh!
However, we’re happy to issue you a temporary registration key that will be valid for 2 more weeks of full-featured testing. Just drop us an email to support@codelaide.com and we’ll send you your temporary registration key.
back to top
