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Client-Server connects while being on the same computer but not while being run on different ones

I'm trying to build a basic client-server application.
When I run both the server and the client on the same computer both manage to connect without a hitch but if I try to do so from different computers (desktop and laptop) the connection doesn't get though. The server isn't even aware that someone tried to connect to it while the client timeouts after a while. At first I assumed that it's a firewall problem but disabling the firewall completely on the server PC did not help. Tried changing ports and checked on multiple computers. Any ideas what could cause this?
I control both the server and the client and can change the code of both if necessary. The server always runs on the same PC and I'm connecting to it directly using hardcoded IP address.
This is the code of the client sending random int to the server.
public static void main(String[] args) {
Socket s = new Socket();
try {
s.connect(new InetSocketAddress("123.45.67.891", 8084), 5000);
s.getOutputStream().write(42);
s.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
return;
}
}
The server is slightly more complicated but considering the fact that they manage to connect while being run from the same PC I assume that the problem isn't with it.
edit: Server code (Thread per client. There shouldn't be too many of those)
public void run() {
try {
serverSocket = new ServerSocket(listenPort); //integer
} catch (IOException e) { ... }
while (shouldRun) {
try {
Socket clientSocket = serverSocket.accept(); // Blocked here while trying to connect from remote computer
//Never gets here
ConnectionHandler newConnection = connectionHandlerCreator.create(clientSocket);
connectionHandlers.add(newConnection);
newConnection.initialize();
new Thread(newConnection).start();
} catch (IOException e) { ... }
}
}
Initialize consists of the following (which latter used for I/O).
in = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(clientSocket.getInputStream()));
out = new PrintWriter(clientSocket.getOutputStream(), true);

The problem is probably on your server side though: you have to make it respond to all ip's not just local one, by using the constructor:
ServerSocket(int port)
it will default accepting connections on any addresses which is not the case if you specified an IP

Java serversocket not detecting lost connection

I have a socket client (on android phone) and server (on PC) both on a wifi network and the server successfully reads data from the client.
However, when I turn off the wifi on the phone the server read just hangs, whereas I was hoping some error would be thrown.
I do have setSoTimeout set on the server, but the read is not timing out.
On the PC netstat still shows an established connection
netstat -na | grep 6668
TCP 192.168.43.202:6668 192.168.43.26:43076 ESTABLISHED
Is there a way to tell if the client host has disappeared, or getting the read to time out?
Here is the server read
if (ss.isConnected()) {
try {
readData();
} catch (java.net.SocketTimeoutException ex) {
logger.warning(ex.toString());
} catch (InterruptedIOException ex) {
logger.warning(ex.toString());
} catch (IOException ex) {
logger.log(Level.WARNING, "Data communication lost will close streams - IOEx - socket status {0}", ss.socketStatus());
closeStreams();
} catch (Exception ex) {
logger.log(Level.WARNING, "Data communication lost will close streams - Ex - socket status {0}", ss.socketStatus());
closeStreams();
}
}
Where readData is,
public void readData() throws IOException {
for (int i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
data[i] = ss.readDouble();
}
}
ss.readDouble() is,
public double readDouble() throws IOException {
return in.readDouble();
}
And the server connection,
public void connect() throws IOException {
if (serverSocket == null || serverSocket.isClosed()) {
init();
}
logger.log(Level.INFO, "Wait on " + serverSocket.getLocalPort());
server = serverSocket.accept();
serverSocket.close();
logger.log(Level.INFO, "Connected to {0}", server.getRemoteSocketAddress());
out = new DataOutputStream(server.getOutputStream());
in = new DataInputStream(server.getInputStream());
}

Make a timeout, so let's say no data has been sent for 10 minutes, close it in 60 seconds!
Setting a timeout for socket operations
The answer for this question may help you.

This is nature of TCP connection, not java sockets per se. If the remote peer disconects with broken connection, how should your server know that the peer simply has no data to send?
Writting on closed socket will cause exception, read will simply block if client doesnt end tcp connection properly, for the reason above.
If you go through socket API, you will find option to set timeout ( before proceeding with blocking operation).
You could also consider TCP KEEP Alive, which is also exposed by the Socket API.
// Edit: additional information as per the OP comment
When your client connects to server, you create a client socket to communicate with the peer. Your server socket is the one at which you are listening for new client connections. It is the client socket at which you specify keep alive or read timeout because this is the socket from which you read/write.
// your server is actually reference to ClientSocket
server = serverSocket.accept();
// keep alive duh
server.setKeepAlive(true);
serverSocket.close();

Java Sockets: One Server and Multiple Clients

So I created a basic client-server program in java. It starts out like this:
Client connects to Server
Server asks for Client's name
Client responds with name
Server greets Client
After this, Client speaks and the Server repeats the words back
I got this to work without too much trouble using this tutorial. The problem comes whenever I try to introduce multiple clients. I thought that it would work because I'm using multiple threads, however, the second clients just hangs until the first client quits and then it starts it work (the server does accept input from the second client, but it doesn't respond with anything until the first client quits).
Here is the code I'm using:
import java.net.*;
import java.io.*;
public class Server extends Thread {
private ServerSocket listener;
public Server(int port) throws IOException {
listener = new ServerSocket(port);
}
public void run() {
while(true) {
try {
Socket server = listener.accept();
DataOutputStream out = new DataOutputStream(server.getOutputStream());
out.writeUTF("What is your name?");
DataInputStream in = new DataInputStream(server.getInputStream());
String user_name = in.readUTF();
out.writeUTF("Hello "+user_name);
while(true) {
String client_message = in.readUTF();
out.writeUTF(client_message);
}
}
catch(IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
int port = 6006;
try {
Thread t = new Server(port);
t.start();
} catch(IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
Can someone explain what I'm doing wrong?
I have looked at the using Runnable instead of Extends Thread, but I ran into even more problems there, so I want to try and work with this first.

Incoming connections are only handled by the line listener.accept();. But after you got a client connected, you're stuck in the while loop. You need to create a new Thread (or Runnable executed on an ExecutorService if you expect high load), and start it, then immediately accept the next connection.

In a nutshell, this is what is going wrong.
You are using exactly ONE thread as the server.
Blocking this thread when you call listener.accept()
This is what you need to do:
Create two classes
1: Server - Similar to what you have now, but instead of doing the actual work of acting as an echo server, it just spawns a new Thread which starts listening on a NEW PORT (which you can select randomly), and sends the client the address for this new port. The client will then get the new port number and would try to connect to the server on the new port.
2: The Echo thread - This starts a new listener on the port passed, and does the job of echoing to whoever is listening.
OR:
You start a UDP server rather than a TCP server, and all this will not matter then, but that is out of the purview of this specific question.

BluetoothServerSocket doesn't return from accept()

I'm trying to build a little Bluetooth-Android-App for a project in school.
I'm quite new to Android (got my phone since 2 days). I'm experimenting since 2 weeks with android programming on my laptop. Installed a VirtualBox with Android x86 (eeepc) so I can use the BluetoothAdapter of the laptop. Emulator doesn't support Bluetooth and is quite slow. That's about the project...
The problem/question:
A Bluetoothconnection has 2 devices - a connecting and a listening one. The listening device has a BluetoothServerSocket, that loops accept() method until accept() returns a BluetoothSocket.
In my case the accept() method doesn't return so I get stuck and the app freezes with blackscreen asking mit to stop the app or just to wait. When I pass a timeout to accept() --> accept(10000) I get an IOException after the timeout.
listening device:
private class AcceptThread extends Thread {
private BluetoothSocket tSocket;
private BluetoothServerSocket bss = null;
public void run() {
try {
Log.d(TAG, "erzeuge ServerSocket");
bss = BluetoothAdapter.getDefaultAdapter().listenUsingInsecureRfcommWithServiceRecord("BluetoothChatInsecure", MainActivity.BT_UUID);
Log.d(TAG, "ServerSocket OK");
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
Log.e(TAG, "Fehler Serversocket");
}
while (true) {
Log.d(TAG, "Versuche zu akzeptieren");
try {
Log.d(TAG, "Akzeptieren Anfang");
tSocket = bss.accept(10000);
//this line is never reached
Log.d(TAG, "Akzeptieren Ende");
if (tSocket != null){
//Hier wollen wir hin!
Log.d(TAG, "Verbindung akzeptiert");
ConnectedThread conThread = new ConnectedThread(tSocket);
conThread.run();
bss.close();
break;
} else {
Log.e(TAG, "Fehler, keine Verbindung");
}
} catch (IOException e) {
Log.e(TAG, "IOException währent accept-loop");
//this exception is triggered every 10 sec, when the accept(10000) times out
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
Log.i(TAG, "Acceptthread hat fertig");
}
}
connecting device:
try {
socket = device.createInsecureRfcommSocketToServiceRecord(MainActivity.BT_UUID);
outstr = socket.getOutputStream();
instr = socket.getInputStream();
ois = new ObjectInputStream(instr);
oos = new ObjectOutputStream(outstr);
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
I've read a lot of threads on stackoverflow and some other forums about this topic, but I didn't got a solution for the problem.
Sorry about my English, but I am not a native speaker.
Thanks for any help!
EDIT:
I forgot to write, that I test the app with 2 devices. My laptop does accept-loop, while I use my phone and try to connect.

This is just the normal behavior: accept() will "wait" (block) until a connection has been made from another device. Then it returns the socket representing that connection for further data transfer.
As you have seen, the timeout is signalled via an IOException. The contract of accept() is that it never returns null but always a valid socket, or fails with an exception thrown.
Therefore, thejh is right in saying that you should have a dedicated thread which waits for connections in accept().
When accept() returns a new socket, you may want to spawn another thread to handle further communication over that socket, while the accept() thread loops to wait for the next connection.
N.b.: You cannot shut down a thread blocked in IO (as in accept()) via Thread.interrupt(), but you have to close the ServerSocket from another thread to cause an IOException to 'wake up' the blocked thread.

I've been facing this problem for a couple of days. Finally, I realized why:
I was creating the Thread that accepts incoming connections in the server twice. Thus, the ServerSocket was being created to times, although only the second time the accept() method was called.
This leads to server not accepting any connection!!

It seems that you didn't call socket.connect() from client side in the shown codes.

Today I continued work on project. I got IOException after failing connect() from connecting device.
Now I managed the devices to have a socket, after pairing them before running the app.
EDIT: accept() returns a socket now, but it isn't connected when asking with isConnected().
Socket of the connecting device is connected.

My server stops working when reading .accept(), using Sockets

please excuse my writing errors...
I'm using NetBeans to run a homemade server and a client, and it all works fine. As I said before, I'm using "Socket" on my client, and "ServerSocket" on my sv. I'm also using JDBC Mysql in the server.
The problem starts when I generate both java files in their distributable folders and use them. The client sends information to the server (it starts with .getOutputStream() and .getInputStream(), then .flush() ), but the server doesn't receive any message. I tried seeing where it stops and it's in
clients[i] = new Client (server.accept(), i);
The crazy thing happens when I try executing my server from NetBeans and the client from my desktop... It works! So the server must be the problem. I'm also using an opened UDP port, and i'm looking for the IP of the server on 192.168.0.10 (which is my computer, in LAN).
I hope someone can help me, thanks in advance!
Here I paste my code, i'm sorry some variables are in spanish:
public ServidorMultiCliente() {
super("Servidor MultiCliente");
initComponents();
try{
servidor = new ServerSocket( 500, maxNumberClients);
}catch(IOException excepcion){
excepcion.printStackTrace();
System.exit(1);
}
serverWriteBox.append("Server iniciated, waiting for connections..."); }
I run these, from the Server:
public void ejecutar(){
clientsAcceptor.start();
messagesListener.start(); }
Where clientsAcceptor is:
private class aceptadorClientes extends Thread{
public void run(){
for( int i = 1; i < maxNumberClients; i++ ){
try{
clientes[i] = new Cliente (servidor.accept(), i); // **Here it stops**
// It never reaches here... (without using NetBeans)
clientes[i].start();
clientes[i].aceptado = true;
}catch(IOException excepcion){
excepcion.printStackTrace();
}
}
That's how I accept clients in different threads. I make the same thing with messageListener, which is a new thread for every new client. It's in a loop, always listening. And here I paste my executable Client, which is different from the Cliente class I was using in ServidorMultiCliente:
public Cliente(){
}
public Cliente(String host){
this.host = host;
this.executeConnection();
}
public void executeConnection(){
int connect = 0;
try {
cliente = new Socket(InetAddress.getByName(host), 500);
conectar = 1;
} catch (IOException ex) {
conectar = 0;
this.ejecutarConexion();
}
if(conectar == 1){
obtainFlows();
}
}
private void obtainFlows(){
try{
output= new ObjectOutputStream( cliente.getOutputStream());
output.flush(); // Here I should be "connected"
input = new ObjectInputStream(cliente.getInputStream());
} catch(IOException ex){
this.initiateDisconnection();
}
sendFlows("I'm connected!");
new messageListener().start(); // This is a thread
}

ServerSocket#accept is a blocking call. It listens to a port and returns a Socket when a client connects. You don't show very much of your server logic but it seems you put clients in an array so you obviously want to support more than one client. You don't show if your Client class starts a thread and returns immediatly.
You should have a server loop that just listens to a server socket and creates clients after it retrieved a client socket. Even if you do this in your Client constructor (I can't tell without the code) it is not a very good place for this and seriously hinders debugging.
If you don't start threads for your clients this would explain a server that "stops" (if "stops" means "blocks" and not "crashes"). See "Writing the Server Side of a Socket" in the Java Tutorial for a detailed explanation.
I can't think of why it behaves different when started via Netbeans. A little bit more of code context is needed.