i've even tried
bitcoind -rpcuser=some -rpcpassword=else
and then
bitcoin-cli -rpcuser=some -rpcpassword=else getinfo
and it fails
You can try
bitcoind -rpcuser=some -rpcpassword=else -rpcallowip=MYIP
Replace MYIP with you ip or network address.
I did have rpallowip=127.0.0.1 wouldn't work. I changed it with the public IP and it worked! Damn me. Thanks.