Audiobookshelf works in the browser but the iPhone app can't connect

When Audiobookshelf opens in the browser on the server but your iPhone app can’t connect, first try the same address in Safari on the iPhone. Then check the iPhone’s Local Network setting, the address you typed, and the firewall on the server computer.

Work through the checks below in order. Each one rules something out.

1. Does the address open in Safari on the phone?

1. Put the phone on the same Wi-Fi as the server.
2. Open Safari on the phone and type the exact address you gave the app, for example http://192.168.1.50:13378.
3. See what happens.

• The Audiobookshelf login page opens: the phone can reach the server. Go to step 2.
• It doesn’t load: the phone can’t reach the server at that address. Check the address and the server computer next, starting at step 3.

Opening Audiobookshelf on the server shows it’s running, but it doesn’t tell you whether your phone can reach it.

2. Is Local Network allowed for the app?

Since iOS 14, an app has to ask before it talks to devices on your home network. If you tapped Don’t Allow when iOS asked, the app can’t reach a home IP address, even though Safari can.

To check it:

1. Open the iPhone Settings app.
2. Tap Privacy & Security.
3. Tap Local Network.
4. Turn the switch on for your audiobook app.

This setting only covers devices on your home network, like a server at 192.168.1.50. Addresses that go out over the internet aren’t affected.

3. Is the Windows firewall blocking Audiobookshelf?

On a Windows server, the firewall is a likely cause. The browser on the server works because the firewall doesn’t block the computer from itself.

Allow Audiobookshelf through the firewall

1. Open Windows Security, then Firewall & network protection.
2. Select Allow an app through firewall.
3. Select Change settings.
4. Find Audiobookshelf and tick it, for Private networks. If it’s not listed, select Allow another app and browse to the Audiobookshelf program.

If Audiobookshelf runs in Docker Desktop, there’s no Audiobookshelf program in this list. Docker Desktop handles the connection, so make sure Docker Desktop’s backend (com.docker.backend.exe) is allowed instead.

If you already added a rule for port 13378 and it still fails, check the rule is on for the network profile you’re using (see below), and look in Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security for an inbound rule that blocks Audiobookshelf. A block rule wins over an allow rule. If you dismissed the Windows firewall prompt the first time Audiobookshelf ran, Windows may have made a block rule for it then. Delete that rule.

Check the network profile

Windows treats a network marked Public as untrusted and hides your PC from other devices on it. This setting can change by itself, for example after a new router.

1. Open Settings > Network & internet.
2. Select Wi-Fi and your network, or Ethernet.
3. Under Network profile type, choose Private network, if this is your own home network.

4. Is Docker Desktop only listening on the computer itself?

On Windows and Mac, Audiobookshelf often runs in Docker Desktop. Check the port mapping in your compose file or docker run command.

• 13378:80 makes the port available on every network connection the computer has, so other devices can reach it (if the firewall allows). This is what you want.
• 127.0.0.1:13378:80 publishes it only to the computer itself. The browser on that computer works, and every other device fails. Remove the 127.0.0.1: part and recreate the container.

Also check you’re not using the container’s own address. Docker gives each container an IP, often starting with 172., that only works inside the computer. Your phone needs the computer’s IP. What port does Audiobookshelf use? covers the mapping in more detail.

5. Did you type localhost?

localhost and 127.0.0.1 always mean “this device”. In the browser on the server, that’s the server. On your iPhone, it’s the phone, and there’s no Audiobookshelf on your phone.

Use the server computer’s local IP address instead. What to type as your server address shows how to find it on Windows, Mac, Linux and a NAS.

6. Does it work on Wi-Fi but not on mobile data, or the other way round?

Works on Wi-Fi, fails on mobile data: you’re probably using a home address like 192.168.1.50. That address only exists inside your home. Away from home you need Tailscale, a reverse proxy or a tunnel. See Remote access for Audiobookshelf.

Works on mobile data, fails on Wi-Fi: you’re probably using your public domain from inside your home. Some routers can’t send a request for your own public address back into your home network. This is called hairpin NAT (or NAT loopback), and many routers don’t support it. You have two ways out:

• Use your local address at home and the domain away. SoundLeaf can switch between the two for you, see Home and away server addresses.
• Set up split DNS, so your home network answers your domain name with the server’s local IP. Your router or a DNS server like Pi-hole does this.

If you use split DNS and the app still can’t connect at home, check the Local Network setting in step 2. Split DNS sends the app to a local IP, so iOS treats it as a home network connection.

7. Is a VPN on? Is the phone on a guest network?

A VPN app on the phone can send all your traffic out of the house, so your home IP address stops working. Turn the VPN off and try again. If that fixes it, look in the VPN app’s settings for an option to allow local network access.

If you use Tailscale on both the phone and the server, try the server’s Tailscale address instead of the home IP.

Guest Wi-Fi networks often keep devices apart from each other. Make sure the phone is on the same main network as the server.

Safari connects but the app still fails?

If Safari on the phone opens Audiobookshelf and the app still can’t connect, read the message the app shows for clues about what failed. SoundLeaf error messages explains SoundLeaf’s messages, starting with the connection ones.