Connection Issues

If your encoder cannot connect to WAVE, or your stream keeps dropping, this guide will help you identify and fix the problem. Connection failures typically fall into one of four categories: network/firewall issues, DNS resolution problems, protocol handshake failures, or encoder misconfiguration.

Quick diagnosis

Start by answering these questions to narrow down the cause:

1. Can you reach wave.online in your browser? If not, you have a general network or DNS issue.
2. Does the WAVE connection test pass? Run it at app.wave.online/tools/connection-test .
3. Does the error occur immediately or after streaming for a while? Immediate failures point to configuration issues; delayed failures suggest network instability.
4. Are you on a corporate or restricted network? Many enterprise firewalls block the ports required for streaming protocols.

Network and firewall issues

Streaming protocols use specific ports and transport layers. If your firewall blocks these, the connection will fail.

Required ports by protocol

Protocol	Transport	Ports	Direction
RTMP	TCP	1935, 443 (RTMPS)	Outbound
SRT	UDP	9000 (default, configurable)	Outbound
WebRTC	UDP	10000-60000 (ICE), 3478 (STUN), 5349 (TURNS)	Outbound
WebRTC fallback	TCP	443 (TURN over TLS)	Outbound

{% callout type=“warning” title=“Corporate firewalls” %} Many corporate networks use deep packet inspection (DPI) that blocks non-HTTP traffic on port 443. If RTMPS or TURN-over-TLS connections fail despite port 443 being “open,” ask your network administrator to allowlist *.wave.online at the application layer. {% /callout %}

Testing connectivity

{% platform os=“macos” %} Open Terminal and run:

nc -vz ingest.wave.online 1935
nc -vzu ingest.wave.online 9000

If the TCP test succeeds but UDP fails, your firewall is likely blocking UDP. {% /platform %}

{% platform os=“windows” %} Open PowerShell and run:

Test-NetConnection -ComputerName ingest.wave.online -Port 1935

For UDP testing on Windows, use a tool such as nmap or the WAVE connection test in your browser. {% /platform %}

{% platform os=“linux” %} Open a terminal and run:

nc -vz ingest.wave.online 1935
nc -vzu ingest.wave.online 9000

You can also use mtr for a detailed network path analysis: mtr -u ingest.wave.online {% /platform %}

DNS resolution problems

If your encoder shows “host not found” or “DNS resolution failed,” the domain ingest.wave.online is not resolving on your network.

{% stepper %} {% step title=“Check DNS resolution” %} Run nslookup ingest.wave.online or dig ingest.wave.online from your machine. You should see one or more IP addresses in the response. {% /step %}

{% step title=“Try alternative DNS” %} If resolution fails with your default DNS, try Google DNS (8.8.8.8) or Cloudflare DNS (1.1.1.1). Your local DNS server may be blocking or not propagating the records. {% /step %}

{% step title=“Check for DNS hijacking” %} Some enterprise networks redirect DNS queries to internal resolvers. If ingest.wave.online resolves to an internal IP (10.x.x.x, 192.168.x.x, or 172.16-31.x.x), your network is hijacking the resolution. Contact your IT department. {% /step %} {% /stepper %}

Protocol-specific handshake failures

RTMP connection refused

If your encoder reports “connection refused” for RTMP:

1. Verify the ingest URL is exactly as shown in your WAVE dashboard. The URL should start with rtmp:// or rtmps://.
2. Confirm the stream key is correct. Stream keys are case-sensitive and include no trailing whitespace.
3. Check that your stream is not already connected from another encoder. WAVE allows only one active ingest connection per stream by default.

SRT handshake timeout

{% troubleshooter issue=“srt-handshake-timeout” /%}

WebRTC ICE failure

{% troubleshooter issue=“webrtc-connection-failed” /%}

Encoder misconfiguration

Common encoder settings that cause connection failures:

• Wrong stream key — Copy the key directly from the WAVE dashboard. Do not manually type it.
• Incorrect URL format — RTMP URLs must include the application path (e.g. rtmp://ingest.wave.online/live). SRT URLs must include the port (e.g. srt://ingest.wave.online:9000).
• Mismatched encryption — If your WAVE stream has SRT encryption enabled, the encoder passphrase must match exactly. If encryption is disabled on WAVE, the encoder must also have encryption disabled.
• Keyframe interval too high — WAVE requires a keyframe interval of 4 seconds or less. Many encoders default to 10 seconds, which causes connection timeouts during stream negotiation.

{% callout type=“tip” title=“Reset and retry” %} When in doubt, delete the stream in the WAVE dashboard, create a new one, and copy the fresh credentials into your encoder. This rules out any stale configuration. {% /callout %}

{% contact-support category=“technical” /%}

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