Connection Issues

Troubleshooting network and connectivity problems with Hayase.

CGNAT and Peer Limits

What is CGNAT?

CGNAT stands for Carrier-Grade Network Address Translation. CGNAT is effectively a way for ISPs to cut costs by sharing IP addresses instead of providing each customer with their own public IP. This allows them to sell "high-speed gigabit" or "fibre internet" packages while saving money on IPv4 addresses.

Here's the problem: You're paying for faster download speeds, but with CGNAT, you often can't actually use that bandwidth for peer-to-peer applications. Your 1 Gbps connection becomes meaningless when you can only connect to 20-30% of available peers.

CGNAT is never a good thing for customers. It comes with severe limitations:

• Connection limits that cause dropouts when running multiple devices or apps
• Complete inability to port forward (breaks gaming, servers, remote access)
• Degraded P2P performance (torrents, VoIP, video calls)
• Speed means nothing if you're locked out of most connections

An ISP advertising "blazing fast fibre" without mentioning CGNAT is selling you hobbled internet. Your network can start cutting out long before you reach those speeds, simply because you're running too many devices or applications simultaneously on your network, CGNAT equipment has hard limits on concurrent connections per customer.

How it works:

ISP Public IP: 203.0.113.5
    ↓
Your connection: 10.x.x.x (private)
Neighbor's connection: 10.y.y.y (private)
Another neighbor: 10.z.z.z (private)

From the internet's perspective, you all have the same IP address.

How to Detect CGNAT

Method 1: Check your router's WAN IP

1. Log into your router admin panel
2. Look at the WAN/Internet IP address
3. Check if it's a private IP range:
   • 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255
   • 100.64.0.0 to 100.127.255.255 (CGNAT range)
   • 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255
   • 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255

If your WAN IP is in these ranges: You're behind CGNAT

Method 2: Compare router IP to "what is my IP"

1. Check router's WAN IP
2. Visit https://whatismyipaddress.com/
3. If they're different AND router shows private IP: CGNAT

Method 3: Try port forwarding

1. Set up port forwarding in router
2. Use a port checker (like canyouseeme.org)
3. If it fails despite correct forwarding: Likely CGNAT

Impact on Torrenting

CGNAT severely limits your BitTorrent connectivity and prevents port forwarding (your ISP controls the public IP).

Without CGNAT:

You ←→ Tracker ←→ All peers You can connect to: Anyone Anyone can connect to: You

Typical connections: 100-300 peers possible

With CGNAT:

You ←→ Tracker ←→ Only peers WITHOUT CGNAT You can connect to: Only peers with port forwarding Peers can connect to you: NEVER

Typical connections: 10-50 peers only

Real-world impact:

• Can only connect to ~20-30% of swarm
• Other peers can't connect to you
• Significantly slower speeds
• Dead torrents completely unavailable

Common CGNAT Situations

Mobile Networks (4G/5G):

• Almost always CGNAT
• Carriers have limited IPv4 addresses

Satellite Internet:

• Always CGNAT
• Additional latency makes it worse

Some ISPs:

• Growing number of residential ISPs use CGNAT
• Especially common in densely populated areas
• IPv4 exhaustion drives this

College/University Networks:

• Usually CGNAT
• Often block torrenting entirely

Public WiFi:

• Always CGNAT
• Often has additional restrictions

Solutions

1. Get a VPN (Recommended)

A VPN gives you a public IP and allows port forwarding:

You → VPN → Internet
     ↓
  Public IP (forwarded port)

How it helps:

• VPN provider gives you a routable public IP
• You can forward ports through VPN
• Peers can connect directly to you via VPN

Requirements:

• VPN must support port forwarding
• Not all VPNs do (check before subscribing)

Setup:

1. Subscribe to VPN with port forwarding
2. Connect to VPN
3. Enable port forwarding in VPN app
4. Note the assigned port number
5. Configure Hayase to use that port
6. Test connectivity

2. Request Public IP from ISP

Some ISPs will give you a public IP if you ask:

1. Contact ISP support
2. Ask for "non-CGNAT connection" or "public IP address"
3. May cost extra ($5-10/month typically)
4. May only be available on business plans

Worth trying if:

• You don't want to pay for VPN
• ISP offers it affordably

3. Use IPv6

If both you and peers have IPv6:

Your ISP → Gives you real IPv6 address Peers with IPv6 → Can connect directly

Bypasses CGNAT completely!

How to enable:

1. Check if ISP provides IPv6
2. Enable IPv6 in router
3. Test connectivity

Limitations:

• Both you and peer need IPv6
• Not all torrents have IPv6 peers
• Not a complete solution yet

4. Rely on Peers with Port Forwarding

Without solving CGNAT:

You can still connect to peers who have port forwarding Just can't accept incoming connections

Works okay if many seeders have port forwarding

Tips to maximize connections:

• Use popular torrents (more peers = more with port forwarding)
• Use DHT and PEX (helps find peers)
• Be patient (connections build up slowly)

5. Use NZB Extensions Instead

Usenet doesn't use peer connections:

You → Usenet Server
     ↓
  Downloads directly

No peers needed!

Advantages:

• CGNAT doesn't matter
• Consistently fast
• More reliable

Limitations:

• Usually paid service
• Not all torrents available

See NZB Extensions for details.

Port Forwarding Setup

Quick setup:

1. Choose port: for example 36881
2. Find your local IP: ipconfig (Windows) or ip addr (Linux)
3. Router admin → Port Forwarding
4. Forward port 36881 TCP+UDP to your local IP
5. Hayase Settings → Network → Port: 36881
6. Test at canyouseeme.org

Detailed guide: See Torrenting Issues - Port Forwarding

Dead Torrents

How to identify:

Torrent info shows:

• Seeders: 0
• Peers: 0-2
• Last seen: Months/years ago

What to do:

1. Wait 5-10 minutes (sometimes seeders appear)
2. Try different torrent of same content
3. Use NZB extension instead (can revive dead content)

Prevention:

• Check seeder count before downloading
• Prefer torrents with 10+ seeders
• Use recent uploads

App Won't Load

DNS/Network Blocking

Symptoms:

• Extensions show "offline"
• Can't load app interface
• Metadata won't fetch
• "Connection failed" errors

Cause: ISP blocks domains Hayase needs

Quick fix:

1. Settings → Client → Use DNS over HTTPS: Enable
2. Choose provider: Cloudflare
3. Restart Hayase

Complete guide: See Bypassing Blocks

Extension Loading Failures

Symptoms:

"Extension failed to load" "Extension error"

Causes:

1. Network blocking:

Can't download extension files Solution: Enable DoH or VPN

2. Extension incompatible:

Old extension, new Hayase Or vice versa Solution: Update both

3. Invalid extension URL

Extension source URL is wrong Solution: Check URL, make sure it points to a .json file

Nothing connects

Nuclear option: Reset:

1. Close Hayase completely
2. Delete cache folder: Windows: %APPDATA%/Hayase/ Linux: ~/.config/hayase/ macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Hayase/
3. Reinstall Hayase
4. Reconfigure settings

Preserve app but clear cache:

Settings → App → Reset EVERYTHING To Defaults Keeps app but clears all data and settings

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Related:

• Torrenting Issues
• Bypassing Blocks
• Extension Issues