I can't connect to my Slingbox when I am at home

Did you hook up your Slingbox only to discover that Slingbox.com can't find it? Read on for details and tips.

It's normal for the lights on the front of your Slingbox to blink for as long as 30-60 seconds immediately after plugging in the Slingbox. During this time, your Slingbox is getting an IP address from your router and is securely communicating with our servers.

If the network light continues to blink slowly (meaning about 1 time per second), your Slingbox is having problems. Here are a few things to look at if the lights continue to blink:

1) Check your Internet access

If you're reading this article, it's probably working! But just in case, try to visit your favorite website (Slingbox.com). If it doesn't come up, you need to restore your Internet access. Beyond that, check the next step.

2) Restart your stuff

The next thing to try is restarting both your Slingbox and your home router. Here's how:

Unplug your Slingbox from the power outlet.
Unplug your router from the power outlet.
Wait about 5 seconds.
Plug the router back in.
Wait 30 seconds.
Plug the Slingbox back in.

If this doesn't work, move on to step 3.

3) Check your firewall or security software

Are you using firewall software, such as the firewall that's built into Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X? Or are you using other Internet security software such as ZoneAlarm or Little Snitch? If so, make sure that they are not blocking traffic to and from your Slingbox. If you're not sure how to check, refer to the documentation that came with the firewall or security software. Also take a look at the article below.

4) Reset your Slingbox

If everything above is good to go, the final step is to reset the Slingbox. Resetting the Slingbox restores it back to its original factory settings. You will need to reconfigure your Slingbox via Setup on Slingbox.com, but it should start working again.

To reset your Slingbox, hold down the Reset button on the back of the Slingbox for 5 seconds. For more information, see the article below.

5) Check the Slingbox support site

It could be possible that you're seeing this issue because we're currently performing maintenance on the Slingbox Locator service. If it is unavailable for some reason, the network light starts blinking.

Stop by support.slingbox.com and see if there is a system status alert or notification. If there is, just wait until the maintenance is over.

Related Information

How to reset your Slingbox to factory settings
How to zap your Slingbox back to its "out-of-the-box" settings. You may have to do this if you have forgotten the Administrator password, or if you get a new network router.

Some Internet security and personal firewall software may interfere with your Slingbox setup or SlingPlayer
When setting up your Slingbox via Slingbox.com, your computer may have difficulty locating your Slingbox due to the potential impact of 3rd-party Internet security, firewall software, or browser plug-ins.