No Image in IOS Push Notifications

V

VladGur

n3wb
Jul 27, 2018
25
3
San Francisco Bay Area
Hi Folks!
I have finally got around to fully configure BI build 5.3.2.7 and tried to make Motion notifications work well with IOS mobile app.
The problems i will describe existed with the previous version (1.63.10) and they still exist with latest version which just got released: 2.00.11
I cannot for the life of me get images to show up in push notifications on IOS 13.xx(latest) on an iPhone 11.

I configured my camera(s) to "Capture an alert list image":

frontdoor.png

I tried every setting under "Send rich push (3D) notification, including Alert image, 10-second Gif and Camera Image:

push_settings.png

On other hand, i configured SMS/MMS notifications for testing purpose as follows:

sms_settings.jpg

I added both SMS and PUSH actions and while i am getting images in my SMS notification. I am NOT getting images in my PUSH notifications:

sms+push.jpeg

Note:
i am testing it while being connected to my local wifi. I have not exposed BI to the world and only connect to it via VPN when im away from my local wifi.
Local IP in the below "Web server" tab is obviously different from the Remote Access IP, but that is irrelevant because im not exposing BI to the world anyways

webserver.jpg

Looking fo any troubleshooting advice
 
I'm pretty sure that push notification images use a URL to the image to embed so it is likely some issue when it tries to load the alert image from the webserver. Out of curiosity, if you set your WAN address to your LAN address, does it work?
 
I tried that, same result. If the push notification has to refer back to a local image location, then I would have to not only set the WAN address correctly, i would have to expose BI to the world by doing port forwarding which is precisely what im trying to avoid and rely on VPN instead.
So im curious, has anyone been able to get images in their notification while restricting access to their BI to VPN only
 
Looks like i'm on 5.3.2.2...maybe i'll put it on your version and see if that fixes it.
 
VladGur said:
P.S. updated my BI build to latest stable: 5.3.2.8 and updated my ios app to latest 2.0.0.12.
Same issues
Click to expand...
wait...i don't see any version available that is 5.3.2.8. why would mine be greyed out?

edit: ah my support ended a couple days ago :)
bi.png
 
VladGur said:
Hmm I stand corrected: started getting images soon after I changed the WAN ip
So does that this is the notification on my phone trying to download the image in order to display it?
View attachment 70588
Click to expand...

Yeah, your phone will try to download the image when the notification comes in. If you only connect via VPN, I don't think you need the WAN to be a public IP so leaving that as your local IP should work.
 
VladGur said:
Hmm I stand corrected: started getting images soon after I changed the WAN ip
So does that this is the notification on my phone trying to download the image in order to display it?
Click to expand...

Can you tell me how you fixed this? I'm having the same issue. Notification images don't come though when away from home. Do I have to connect to the VPN every time I leave my house?
 
justin_144 said:
Can you tell me how you fixed this? I'm having the same issue. Notification images don't come though when away from home. Do I have to connect to the VPN every time I leave my house?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately this is how Blue Iris seems to be designed: it’s notifications need a direct accessible URI to an image.
without a VPN you have to expose your BI server to the internet(which is a big NO-NO).
Cloud-based services probably generate a one-use expiring URL that points to an image and thus avoid the need to expose a Windows PC to the entire world.
Blue Iris unfortunately does not have that feature.
 
VladGur said:
Hmm I stand corrected: started getting images soon after I changed the WAN ip
So does that this is the notification on my phone trying to download the image in order to display it?
View attachment 70588
Click to expand...
Ok so I’m a little behind and just now saw this post. I am currently having the same issue. Whenever there is an event, the push notification does not contain an image like it did when I was port forwarding. Now that I eliminated that practice and use vpn, no image.
When you talk about changing the wan address, are you talking about inside the mobile app? I have done that but still no image. I am currently on version 5.3.5.1.
 
srvfan said:
Ok so I’m a little behind and just now saw this post. I am currently having the same issue. Whenever there is an event, the push notification does not contain an image like it did when I was port forwarding. Now that I eliminated that practice and use vpn, no image.
When you talk about changing the wan address, are you talking about inside the mobile app? I have done that but still no image. I am currently on version 5.3.5.1.
Click to expand...

The only way I could get it to work is if the phone has direct access to Blue Iris without a VPN. I really wish this wasn’t the case, and I’m not totally sure why that is necessary.
 
justin_144 said:
The only way I could get it to work is if the phone has direct access to Blue Iris without a VPN. I really wish this wasn’t the case, and I’m not totally sure why that is necessary.
Click to expand...
I must be lost. I’ve tried following the thread but I guess I don’t understand how to allow the phone to have direct access toBI. I’m assuming that is port forwarding? If so, I guess I’m better off not having the image. :D
 
If you have open VPN installed, or any VPN for that matter, if you leave the VPN running at all times in the background, you'll get the notification picture just like you are at home on your own network. Without the VPN running no you won't get the notification picture.
 
looney2ns said:
If you have open VPN installed, or any VPN for that matter, if you leave the VPN running at all times in the background, you'll get the notification picture just like you are at home on your own network. Without the VPN running no you won't get the notification picture.
Click to expand...
Ok, I did try that option. I left the VPN engaged on my phone and walked outside. I got a speedy alert, but still, no picture. I came in and checked all the settings on the camera as well as Settings>Mobile on the main screen to ensure everything was accurate. I’ve even changed multiple selections to include the Camera Image and Alert Image settings.
I do remember getting images before but that was when I was port forwarding. No way I’m going to do that again. Anyway, at least the alerts are fast and I can just check the phone and play real quick.
 
looney2ns said:
If you have open VPN installed, or any VPN for that matter, if you leave the VPN running at all times in the background, you'll get the notification picture just like you are at home on your own network. Without the VPN running no you won't get the notification picture.
Click to expand...

Right if you leave it connected 24/7, it should work. But is this what people typically do? I don’t know that I really want all my internet usage going through my home network
 
So, if you're using a VPN, are these the only two options to get images with your alerts?
1) use Push Notifications and activate the VPN on your phone every time you leave your house, or
2) turn off Push Notifications and use SMS or Email.
 
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