Moonlight cannot connect to Gamestream without opening Geforce Experience

[BatJoe]

Describe the bug
Moonlight cannot connect to Gamestream without opening Geforce Experience. Test network in Moonlight will say everything looks fine. Wake PC does not work.

Steps to reproduce
Booting Windows, opening Moonlight will show no connection (offline) to PC. Must open GeForce Experience and navigate to Settings->Shield. After a short while, Moonlight will when then show connected. Previously this step was never needed and opening Moonlight would always automatically connect.

Other Moonlight clients
nVidia Shield on local network will not show connected until the steps above to reproduce are done.

**Client PC details

• OS: Windows 11 Pro 22H2
• Moonlight Version: Latest (as of 10-28-2022)
• GPU: RTX 4090

**Server PC details

• OS: Windows 11 Pro 22H2
• GeForce Experience version: Latest (as of 10-28-2022)
• Nvidia GPU driver: Latest (as of 10-28-2022)
• Antivirus and firewall software:Windows Defender and Windows Firewall

00:00:00 - SDL Info (0): Compiled with SDL 2.24.0
00:00:00 - SDL Info (0): Running with SDL 2.24.0
00:00:00 - Qt Info: No translation available for "en_CA"
00:00:00 - Qt Warning: qrc:/gui/main.qml:12:1: QML ApplicationWindow: ToolTip must be attached to an Item
00:00:00 - Qt Info: Found "gamecontrollerdb.txt" at "C:/Users/#/AppData/Local/Moonlight Game Streaming Project/Moonlight/cache/gamecontrollerdb.txt"
00:00:00 - SDL Info (0): Loaded 465 new gamepad mappings
00:00:00 - SDL Info (0): V-sync disabled
00:00:00 - SDL Info (0): Detected GPU 0: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 (10de:2684)
00:00:00 - Qt Info: Found "d3d11_vertex.fxc" at ":/data/d3d11_vertex.fxc"
00:00:00 - Qt Info: Found "d3d11_overlay_pixel.fxc" at ":/data/d3d11_overlay_pixel.fxc"
00:00:00 - Qt Info: Found "d3d11_genyuv_pixel.fxc" at ":/data/d3d11_genyuv_pixel.fxc"
00:00:00 - Qt Info: Found "d3d11_bt601lim_pixel.fxc" at ":/data/d3d11_bt601lim_pixel.fxc"
00:00:00 - Qt Info: Found "d3d11_bt2020lim_pixel.fxc" at ":/data/d3d11_bt2020lim_pixel.fxc"
00:00:00 - SDL Info (0): Using D3D11VA accelerated renderer
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] nal_unit_type: 32(VPS), nuh_layer_id: 0, temporal_id: 0
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] nal_unit_type: 33(SPS), nuh_layer_id: 0, temporal_id: 0
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] nal_unit_type: 34(PPS), nuh_layer_id: 0, temporal_id: 0
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] nal_unit_type: 21(CRA_NUT), nuh_layer_id: 0, temporal_id: 0
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] nal_unit_type: 21(CRA_NUT), nuh_layer_id: 0, temporal_id: 0
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] nal_unit_type: 21(CRA_NUT), nuh_layer_id: 0, temporal_id: 0
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] nal_unit_type: 21(CRA_NUT), nuh_layer_id: 0, temporal_id: 0
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] Decoding VPS
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] Main 10 profile bitstream
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] Decoding SPS
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] Main 10 profile bitstream
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] Decoding VUI
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] Decoding PPS
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] Format d3d11 chosen by get_format().
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] Format d3d11 requires hwaccel initialisation.
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] Decoder GUIDs reported as supported:
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {86695f12-340e-4f04-9fd3-9253dd327460} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {ee27417f-5e28-4e65-beea-1d26b508adc9} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {6f3ec719-3735-42cc-8063-65cc3cb36616} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {1b81bea4-a0c7-11d3-b984-00c04f2e73c5} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {1b81bea3-a0c7-11d3-b984-00c04f2e73c5} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {32fcfe3f-de46-4a49-861b-ac71110649d5} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {d79be8da-0cf1-4c81-b82a-69a4e236f43d} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {f9aaccbb-c2b6-4cfc-8779-5707b1760552} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {1b81be68-a0c7-11d3-b984-00c04f2e73c5} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {5b11d51b-2f4c-4452-bcc3-09f2a1160cc0} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {107af0e0-ef1a-4d19-aba8-67a163073d13} 104 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {20bb8b0a-97aa-4571-8e99-64e60606c1a6} 104 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {15df9b21-06c4-47f1-841e-a67c97d7f312} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {efd64d74-c9e8-41d7-a5e9-e9b0e39fa319} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {ed418a9f-010d-4eda-9ae3-9a65358d8d2e} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {9947ec6f-689b-11dc-a320-0019dbbc4184} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {33fcfe41-de46-4a49-861b-ac71110649d5} 103 106 107
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {463707f8-a1d0-4585-876d-83aa6d60b89e} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {a4c749ef-6ecf-48aa-8448-50a7a1165ff7} 104 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {dda19dc7-93b5-49f5-a9b3-2bda28a2ce6e} 104 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {b8be4ccb-cf53-46ba-8d59-d6b8a6da5d2a} 103 104 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {6affd11e-1d96-42b1-a215-93a31f09a53d} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {914c84a3-4078-4fa9-984c-e2f262cb5c9c} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] {8a1a1031-29bc-46d0-a007-e9b092ca6767} 103 106
00:00:00 - FFmpeg: [hevc @ 000002A43AA340C0] Output frame with POC 3.
00:00:00 - SDL Info (0): FFmpeg-based video decoder chosen
00:00:00 - Qt Info: Found "gamecontrollerdb.txt" at "C:/Users/#/AppData/Local/Moonlight Game Streaming Project/Moonlight/cache/gamecontrollerdb.txt"
00:00:00 - SDL Info (0): Loaded 465 new gamepad mappings
00:00:00 - Qt Debug: Current Moonlight version: "4.3.0"
00:00:00 - Qt Info: Gamepad mappings are up to date
00:00:00 - Qt Info: Latest supported GFE server: "99.99.99.99"
00:00:00 - Qt Info: Discovered mDNS host: "DESKTOP-2IVNSH0.local."
00:00:00 - Qt Debug: Found update manifest match for current platform
00:00:00 - Qt Debug: Latest version of Moonlight for this platform is: "4.3.0"
00:00:00 - Qt Debug: Update manifest version equal to current version
00:00:00 - Qt Info: Resolved "DESKTOP-2IVNSH0.local." to QHostAddress("192.168.137.170")
00:00:00 - Qt Info: Resolved "DESKTOP-2IVNSH0.local." to QHostAddress("fe80::6823:52b4:3af4:2bec")
00:00:00 - Qt Info: "DESKTOP-2IVNSH0" is now online at "192.168.137.170:47989"
00:00:01 - Qt Warning: Aborting timed out request for "https://192.168.137.170:47984/applist?uniqueid=0123456789ABCDEF&uuid=6a818a3a9b454bf1a78d95df4f74e05f"
00:00:01 - Qt Warning: "applist" request failed with error QNetworkReply::OperationCanceledError

[cgutman]

Moving this to nvidia-gamestream-issues, since it's a host-side issue.

[BatJoe]

I have also submitted feedback to nVidia about this.

[chinery]

I'm having this issue too, are there any workarounds? (Surely not everyone using Moonlight is opening GeForce Experience on the PC every time they stream...?)

[shorties]

I might be experiencing the same issue, but everything seems to work as soon as I connect to the server computer with chrome remote desktop, as soon as I do that all of a sudden it shows up on moonlight and everything works perfectly. If any of you who are having the same issue have chrome remote desktop and can see if that causes it to start working without having to open GFE then that might enlighten more of what is going on here. (As soon as moonlight sees it, I can close remote desktop and never have to touch it again) Otherwise the problem I am having is a different but similar issue.

[sykogee]

I found after the host is started/rebooted, restarting the NvContainerLocalSystem service on the host allows moonlight to connect
Ive now created a ps script to restart the service after the host auto logs in

[TheDigar]

I'm facing the same issue here, is there any news about this?

[chinery]

I'm facing the same issue here, is there any news about this?

For me the problem eventually went away on its own, not sure what changed. But since then, I've finally given up on the Nvidia solution and installed Sunshine. It's been working well for me so far, worth a try.

[TheDigar]

I'm facing the same issue here, is there any news about this?

For me the problem eventually went away on its own, not sure what changed. But since then, I've finally given up on the Nvidia solution and installed Sunshine. It's been working well for me so far, worth a try.

Thanks, that's what worked for me as well. Moved to Sunshine and it's been alright so far.