Can't connect to the MC server

For some inexplicable reason, my wi-fi modem router has decided that the Mandolin Cafe is forbidden and refuses to allow me to even look at the site. I can sometimes sneak in via Google, but after a couple of pages it can't find or won't connect to the server. This is coming from my ipad through the connection at an organisation I do a bit of volunteer work for as the only way I can work out to log in. It started after my desktop Apple MacMini updated the OS, but I have the same problem with my ipad, so I suspect it may be the router, but why. This is the only web site that it won't connect to so it might be something in the Mandolin Cafe server settings that my modem can't deal with but that it totally out of my control and I can't expect Scott and Dan to spend time sorting it out just for my benefit. I have emptied caches and restarted the modem and done everything I can find suggestions for, but it is frustrating. Any suggestions welcomed.

Try using the site IP address. 169.63.40.121. If that works, it could be a dns issue. Been a while since I was troubleshooting this kind of stuff.

Tried that, Bill. No joy.

Do you know the exact time it happened, Graham?

A couple of days ago I found that I couldn’t directly access the vids on Song a Week Social group in the Forum section via my Youtube app on iPhone/iPad.
The links do go straight to YouTube BUT they open via my http browser, Safari. This means I can’t view the vid externally, and be able to check the poster’s other recent vids on YouTube. I’m basically in a MandolinCafe quarantine! :)

-the only change I can see is that I’ve been accessing the Internet via the UK rather than France...

Hello Graham- sent you a chat on FB messenger.

Short version- We do block some regions where spam/scams are rife. Over the years we've fine-tuned it pretty well though every so often we find a place where we're being too aggressive!

I have sent a question to my ISP's forum pages. The ISP is TPG which is one of the larger internet/phone providers, so they might have some clues about delving into the settings of the modem, though I approach that with some trepidation fearing I will click on something important and nothing will ever work again.

a big shoutout to Dan for his help on this ❤️

Using my phone data as a hotspot to log in!

Some one at the ISP has done some magic and I now have access again, which is better than having to use my phone as a hot spot.

Cheers

They may have picked up some bad DNS information and propagated that across their system. It just seems like magic :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Graham McDonald

I now have access again, which is better than having to use my phone as a hot spot.

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Having the phone hot spot as an option has helped me many, many times, from extricating myself from a bad infrastructure setup and deal to being able to find information in the hinterlands - our equivalent of the outback. It may be slower or have underwhelming bandwidth, but it is far better than nothing. I use it a lot on road trips, perhaps most often to access gasbuddy.com to find the best prices on petrol in unfamiliar territory. But the best application was when I took a trip by train, and the last leg of the trip encountered a delay of a few hours. That meant I would miss my final connection, from the Miami station to the public buses which would get me back to Key West. They stop running fairly early in the evening, and that meant I'd have to secure lodging for the night. Thanks to the hot spot and laptop, I was able to manage this from where we were, out in cattle country, finding a $30 bed in a hostel in ritzy South Beach, plus which buses to take in and out, so that when we finally made it to the station, I was all set.

That's an extreme example, but the hot spot has been one of the most useful capabilities of my phone, something I'd never thought would prove so helpful when I added it.