Help getting Freewire working

Problems and solutions for Freewire TV

• The video is slow and jerky
• None of the channels seem to be broadcasting
• I've got a router and Freewire doesn't work
• I've lost my activation email and don't know my Freewire PIN number
• I've got a dual display and want to watch TV on the other screen
• Freewire is blocked by my firewall software
• More questions

The video is slow and jerky

Freewire needs quite a fast computer (2.4GHz processor and 1024MB of RAM). It should run fine on any brand new computer but some older computers won't be able to keep up. If your computer is struggling try Freewire Lite instead. This version runs smoothly on many more computers (but it won't work with the premium channels).

If the picture is still jerky when using Freewire Lite please contact the Help Desk.

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None of the channels seem to be broadcasting

You may get a message saying: "There appears to be a technical problem with this channel" or all channels appear to be off air.

1. First check if Freewire is available in your residence
2. Then check that you have turned on the signal to your room using My ResNet
3. Have you installed a router to share your ResNet connection between more than one computer? Freewire often fails to work with routers. See the question below for advice.
4. Your personal firewall software (e.g. the firewall in Windows or a third-party firewall such as Zone Alarm) may be blocking Freewire. See Freewire is blocked by my firewall.

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I've got a router and Freewire doesn't work

• If you have a router to share your ResNet connection between more than one computer it is likely that you will have problems with Freewire. First try just using one computer directly connected to your ResNet socket and see if that works. You may need to first reset your socket to work with a new computer using My ResNet. If this works then you know that the cause is definitely the router.

• Freewire Extra (premium channels) does not work with routers and there is no way to fix it.

• Freewire standard (the 25 free channels) will work with some routers but not with most. It is likely that your router does not know how to handle the multicast traffic Freewire uses. Upgrade the firmware on your router to the latest version available from the manufacturer's website. If that still doesn't work, contact the manufacturer and ask how to get multicast working on your router.

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I've lost my activation email and don't know my Freewire PIN number

See Lost your Activation Email?

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I have a dual display setup and want to watch TV on the other screen

This is tricky - the answer might vary depending on the particular graphics card you have. Freewire will normally display on the primary screen.

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Freewire is blocked by my firewall software

Follow these instructions if you have Windows XP or Windows Vista with the built-in Windows Firewall

1. Exit Freewire Television.
2. Click Start, Control Panel, Windows Firewall.
3. Click Exceptions. Look for Freewire Television or Igloo in the list. There should be a tick next to it. If there isn't, add one.
4. If Freewire Television doesn't even appear in the list.
   • Click Add programs, Browse. Select C:\Program Files\Freewire\Freewire Television\FreewireTelevision.exe. Click Open, OK.
5. Click OK to close the Windows Firewall control panel.

You only need to do this once.

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More questions

If you are still having problems please contact the University IT Service Desk or the Freewire Help Desk.

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