My question: Issue with my vpn set up SparkBox AI replied: I found the cause: Gluetun is rejecting the pinned Surfshark server value because it’s an IP/CIDR, not a valid Surfshark server hostname. That’s why the VPN keeps restarting and the media apps aren’t starting. Your WireGuard key is present. In Settings → VPN → server hostnames, remove the specific server pin so SparkBox can use your saved United States / Buffalo location. Don’t change your VPN credentials. After that, tell me and I’ll check whether the tunnel comes up. Current checks: Containers (gethealth) - sb-chaptarr: Created - sb-qbittorrent: Created - sb-sabnzbd: Created - sb-radarr: Created - sb-lidarr: Created - sb-sonarr: Created - sb-prowlarr: Created - sb-byparr: Created - sb-jellyfin-media: Up About an hour (healthy) - sb-bazarr: Up About an hour (healthy) - sb-seerr: Up About an hour (healthy) - sb-deunhealth: Up About an hour (healthy) - sb-gluetun: Restarting (1) 47 seconds ago - sb-filebrowser: Up 3 hours (healthy) - sb-dashboard: Up 3 hours (healthy) - sb-npm: Up 3 hours (healthy) - sb-portainer: Up 3 hours - sb-homepage: Up 3 hours (healthy) Download queue (getdownloads) Radarr: not reachable. Sonarr: not reachable. Media wiring (getmediawiring) Prowlarr: not reachable. Radarr: not reachable. Sonarr: not reachable. qBittorrent login: could not …(cut here — the full chat went to Tom) What I still need help with: (describe what didn't work or what's still broken)
5 replies
Chris wrote:
I'm sorry—the earlier reply stated that the server pin was definitely the cause and told you to remove it, but the checks shown don't establish that. The download apps are not starting because Gluetun is restart-looping; the reason for that is still unknown. Please tell me which platform SparkBox is installed on (Windows with WSL Docker Engine, Docker Desktop, NAS, or Linux) and your SparkBox version. I've corrected what our assistant knows so it won't repeat that unsupported diagnosis.
wiz8rd wrote:
Hi installed in linux ubuntu server
Chris wrote:
Thanks — Ubuntu Server confirms this is Linux, not WSL or Docker Desktop. I still need the SparkBox version before we can match this to a release. Please run sparkbox --version on the Ubuntu server and reply with just the version; don’t remove the VPN server selection or change credentials yet. Also, we measure every VPN provider’s app update history daily at https://vpnupdates.app/ and publish our method at https://vpnupdates.app/methodology; that is why Surfshark is recommended. The earlier specific-hostname diagnosis is still unverified, so we’ll identify the actual Gluetun failure before changing its settings.
wiz8rd wrote:
I will run later as i am accessing remotely but i do use surfshark vpn
Chris wrote:
Thanks, understood. No need to change any Surfshark settings now. The restart-loop check shows Gluetun is not passing its VPN health check, but it doesn’t identify why. When you’re back at the Ubuntu server, please reply with just the SparkBox version from the check above; that’s the one detail I still need before suggesting a safe next step.