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Making OBS reachable for scene switching

For the relay server to switch to your break screen when the connection is poor, it must be able to reach your OBS. OBS includes a WebSocket server for this, which only needs to be enabled and made reachable. This is a one-time task of about ten minutes.

Step 1: Enable the WebSocket server in OBS

  1. In OBS, open the Tools menu and select WebSocket Server Settings.
  2. Check Enable WebSocket server.
  3. Leave the port at 4455.
  4. Check Enable Authentication and set a password. This is important. Without a password, anyone could switch your scenes.
  5. Write down the password. You will need it again shortly.

Step 2: Set up a fixed address

Your provider usually assigns your connection a new IP address each time it connects. For our server to find you anyway, you need a name that always points to the current address.

  • If you already have a dynamic name or a static IP address, you can skip this step.
  • Otherwise: Our DynDNS hosting provides such a name. Setup on the Fritz!Box is described in the corresponding guide. Other routers work in a very similar way.

Step 3: Forward the port in your router

  1. Log in to your router's user interface.
  2. Find the Port Forwarding section. On the Fritz!Box, it is located under Internet and Permit Access.
  3. Create a forwarding rule for the computer running OBS: port 4455, protocol TCP.
  4. Assign this computer a fixed internal address in the router. Otherwise, the forwarding rule may no longer point to this computer after a restart.
Why a password is really necessary: With the forwarding rule, the WebSocket server is reachable from the internet. The password is the only thing that keeps strangers from interfering with your stream. Use a long password that you do not use anywhere else.

Step 4: Enter the details in the customer portal

Under "OBS-WebSocket", enter the address, port and password, save, and click "Verbindung zu OBS prüfen" (Check connection to OBS). The result appears on the same page.

If port forwarding does not work

There is one case in which no port forwarding helps: when your provider no longer gives you a public IP address of your own and you share one with other customers instead. This is common with cable connections, on mobile networks and with some new fiber connections, and it is called CGNAT. You can recognize it if the address in the router begins with 100.64. to 100.127., if the router shows no IPv4 address at all (DS-Lite) or if it differs from the address that a site such as "What is my IP" shows you.

In that case, there are still two options:

  • Ask your provider. Some providers enable a public IPv4 address on request.
  • Run the switching on your side. The software for this is called NOALBS and can also run on your own computer alongside OBS. It then retrieves the metrics from our server instead of our server contacting your OBS. Write to us and we will clarify whether this works for your setup.
Questions? info@glowfish.de