Hi Guys, I know this has been brought up many times, and I’m not even suer where to post this question. I’ve tried searching through the forums and comments, and tried several of those “solutions,” but they don’t work for me.
Plex had been working fine for me for a while. I even loved it so much I upgraded to Plex Pass or whatever its called. But last few months have been experiencing issues… A lot of times I can’t connect to my server, and when it finally does connect, it ONLY will connect with an indirect server… Which loses quality on all my videos, to the point where I don’t even want to watch them anymore… I mean who wants to watch Transformers all pixelated where you can’t even tell what’s going on?! So frustrating! Its at 1080p quality also, looks fine on when I play it directly from my Plex server on my desktop, but awful on all my other devices.
I’ve updated my plex server, I’ve changed my DNS on my router to 8.8.8.8. and 8.8.4.4. and nothing helps. I’ve tried playing with the Secure Connections, Preferred, Disabled, Required… Nothing helps… Only thing I haven’t tried is the “DNS Rebinding” solution… I don’t see that in my router’s settings… But I also don’t know where to look or what I’m really looking for… I don’t see anything with that name on the LAN settings tab, which is where I changed the DNS ports to Google’s. I only see LAN IP Settings, DHCP Server Settings, DNS Override (which is where I enter the DNS Server IP), DNS Relay, NAT, & UPnP…
Any help is much appreciated! I am pretty computer savvy, but this networking stuff is just beyond me… If I get specific instructions I’m sure I can figure it out, with the help of you guys!
I’m using Plex mainly on my Apple TV 4, but the same issue happens with my iPhone 7 Plus also… Always an indirect connection… PLEASE HELP!!!
are you using a VPN by any chance? as I get that message whenever my VPN is live but as soon as I drop the VPN the message goes away and I’m back to a direct connection
See if remote access in your server settings reports an issue. If yes then check if UPNP in your router is enabled. UPNP lets devices automatically request portforwarding from the router. (You need portforwarding to tell your router which device to send the incoming plex traffic to)
If UPNP doesnt work, try manual port forwarding. Select manual port in plex server advanced settings under remote access. On your Router you then need to forward that port to the IP of your Plex server. You should only need TCP packages forwarded.
@pmason1234 said:
are you using a VPN by any chance? as I get that message whenever my VPN is live but as soon as I drop the VPN the message goes away and I’m back to a direct connection
I do use a VPN but I usually turn it off to stream from Plex. Its worked before and sometimes it doesn’t, but thats not the problem. I wish it was so simple!
@Fuechslein said:
See if remote access in your server settings reports an issue. If yes then check if UPNP in your router is enabled. UPNP lets devices automatically request portforwarding from the router. (You need portforwarding to tell your router which device to send the incoming plex traffic to)
If UPNP doesnt work, try manual port forwarding. Select manual port in plex server advanced settings under remote access. On your Router you then need to forward that port to the IP of your Plex server. You should only need TCP packages forwarded.
Thanks for the advice, seems a little bit more complicated so I will save this for one of the last solutions…
But I have no issues connecting Remotely if thats what you mean? Even on my iPhone in my house, same network as the Mac that has my Plex Server, or at least the Mac that contains all my content… And even sitting right next to my Mac both on same WiFi, I get the cannot connect or indirect connection only… When I turn off WiFi on my phone, it connects Remotely instantly…
@KPOFF said:
Only thing I haven’t tried is the “DNS Rebinding” solution… I don’t see that in my router’s settings…
Do this:
set ‘Secure Connections’ to ‘Disabled’ under Settings - Server - Network
shut down Plex Server (important!)
shut down your Plex clients
start Plex Server
wait 3 minutes
start your Plex client(s)
Is it now different?
I can try all this… But have a few questions…
I’ve already set Secure Connections to Disabled, Preferred, and Required… But nothing helped… I actually think when I had it as Disabled, I wasn’t able to connect at all…
Shut down the Plex Server… What do you mean by that? Shut down my iMac that has my Plex/movies/videos on? I get confused what people mean by the Plex Server or PMS… Sorry I’m new to this…
I’m assuming you mean not just close the apps from my phone or Apple TV, but actually turn OFF the Apple TVs & iPhones?
Just clarifying again, you mean to turn back on my iMac and open the Plex app on my computer? (I think where I’m getting confused is the difference between my Plex Server and my iMac that runs/has everything…)
If you can help clarify those, I would love to give this a try… I feel like I’ve done all of the above except restart my iMac… But I’ve closed the Plex app on my computer, rebooted apple tvs, and iPhones… But that might not be enough to help.
I cant seem to find the the wifi setting for your router, But… I had a similar issue with my assus router and it was because their was a wifi setting called “Set AP Isolated” which basically shunts all traffic straight to the internet and cuts all links to internal traffic. I’d check your wifi settings for something similar
I’ve already set Secure Connections to Disabled, Preferred, and Required… But nothing helped… I actually think when I had it as Disabled, I wasn’t able to connect at all…
That would indicate that 1. your network is indeed fractured and that 2. your router has the DNS rebinding issue
Search on the preferences of your router if it has a feature called
‘guest network’ or
‘AP isolation’ or
‘client isolation’ o
similarly worded things.
If theses are activated, disable them.
Then restart the router, and afterwards both your Plex Server and your Plex clients.
Shut down the Plex Server… What do you mean by that? Shut down my iMac that has my Plex/movies/videos on?
Plex Server is the software which you installed on your Mac.
You can end/quit/close it. That’s what I’m asking
I get confused what people mean by the Plex Server or PMS…
PMS = Plex Media Server. Same thing.
I’m assuming you mean not just close the apps from my phone or Apple TV, but actually turn OFF the Apple TVs & iPhones?
Closing apps should usually be enough. But to make sure I ask you to restart the device itself.
Just clarifying again, you mean to turn back on my iMac and open the Plex app on my computer? (I think where I’m getting confused is the difference between my Plex Server and my iMac that runs/has everything…)
I’ve already set Secure Connections to Disabled, Preferred, and Required… But nothing helped… I actually think when I had it as Disabled, I wasn’t able to connect at all…
That would indicate that 1. your network is indeed fractured and that 2. your router has the DNS rebinding issue
Search on the preferences of your router if it has a feature called
‘guest network’ or
‘AP isolation’ or
‘client isolation’ o
similarly worded things.
If theses are activated, disable them.
Then restart the router, and afterwards both your Plex Server and your Plex clients.
Sorry, but someone else said to type this in Terminal:
His modem/router is an xfinity modem/router. I’d walk you through any instructions you want to follow, but mine is fully bridged so it only functions as a modem. IIRC, this router does not have the ability to enable/disable AP Isolation, so you should be good on that front.
Do me a favor, open up a web browser and try hitting this address from your phone (or another computer than your iMac) while you’re connected to your network, where <ip address> is the ip address of your iMac:
http://<ip address>:32400/web/index.html
Are you able to access the server? While you’re in there, you may as well go to Settings / Server / Remote Access and let us know what it says. If you’re not able to access the URL, then your network is indeed fractured and your next stop is xfinity support, because this router should not do anything to prevent you from accessing the server within the network, and it’d be good for a restore to factory settings.
If you can’t access your iMac from another device on your network, then you certainly have an explanation for why your client connections are indirect; are your client devices and your iMac on the same subnet, and are you sure the iMac isn’t connected to a VPN?
In any case, if you want to enable UPNP, log into the router and go to Advanced / Device Discovery, but that shouldn’t be relevant for local connections.
My Netgear R7800 using stock firmware had exactly the same problem … drove me absolutely crazy … DDWRT (Kong) solved the issue Plex now works as it should!
I’ve already set Secure Connections to Disabled, Preferred, and Required… But nothing helped… I actually think when I had it as Disabled, I wasn’t able to connect at all…
That would indicate that 1. your network is indeed fractured and that 2. your router has the DNS rebinding issue
Search on the preferences of your router if it has a feature called
‘guest network’ or
‘AP isolation’ or
‘client isolation’ o
similarly worded things.
If theses are activated, disable them.
Then restart the router, and afterwards both your Plex Server and your Plex clients.
Shut down the Plex Server… What do you mean by that? Shut down my iMac that has my Plex/movies/videos on?
Plex Server is the software which you installed on your Mac.
You can end/quit/close it. That’s what I’m asking
I get confused what people mean by the Plex Server or PMS…
PMS = Plex Media Server. Same thing.
I’m assuming you mean not just close the apps from my phone or Apple TV, but actually turn OFF the Apple TVs & iPhones?
Closing apps should usually be enough. But to make sure I ask you to restart the device itself.
Just clarifying again, you mean to turn back on my iMac and open the Plex app on my computer? (I think where I’m getting confused is the difference between my Plex Server and my iMac that runs/has everything…)
I mean the Plex Media Server application.
Okay guys, I think we are making progress… I followed these steps, actually skipped step 1 because I had already changed the Secure Connections before… But I never did that and THEN followed the rest of the steps… So maybe that’s something else I should try?
Regardless, I followed steps 2-4 and I am now able to connect “Nearby” through my iPhone! Before I was only able to get “Indirect.” Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for my Apple TV… It is still connecting indirectly… Any other ideas why this might fix my iPhone Plex connection, but not the Apple TV Plex connection? (And yes, I did reboot the Apple TV)
Thanks everyone for your input, REALLY appreciate it and now especially because I think we’re on to something…
@SimonB79 said:
My Netgear R7800 using stock firmware had exactly the same problem … drove me absolutely crazy … DDWRT (Kong) solved the issue Plex now works as it should!
Hmmm… But it was working fine for me a couple months ago… And I was actually able to fix this problem today, but only for my iPhone. I need it for my Apple TVs… Those are still indirect, but I feel like with the help of everyone here we can get it working!
Plus, I don’t want to pay $75-$200 for a new router. My router is actually supplied by Spectrum so it is a Modem/Router combo. -_-
@fecaleagle said:
His modem/router is an xfinity modem/router. I’d walk you through any instructions you want to follow, but mine is fully bridged so it only functions as a modem. IIRC, this router does not have the ability to enable/disable AP Isolation, so you should be good on that front.
Do me a favor, open up a web browser and try hitting this address from your phone (or another computer than your iMac) while you’re connected to your network, where <ip address> is the ip address of your iMac:
http://<ip address>:32400/web/index.html
Are you able to access the server? While you’re in there, you may as well go to Settings / Server / Remote Access and let us know what it says. If you’re not able to access the URL, then your network is indeed fractured and your next stop is xfinity support, because this router should not do anything to prevent you from accessing the server within the network, and it’d be good for a restore to factory settings.
If you can’t access your iMac from another device on your network, then you certainly have an explanation for why your client connections are indirect; are your client devices and your iMac on the same subnet, and are you sure the iMac isn’t connected to a VPN?
In any case, if you want to enable UPNP, log into the router and go to Advanced / Device Discovery, but that shouldn’t be relevant for local connections.
Thanks, I tried going to that address on my laptop, my phone, and even my main iMac I use for my PMS. None of them loaded…
And yes, I have a VPN but it is disconnected.
I’m not sure what UPNP is or if I want to mess with it… I work from home online and play a lot of online games so I don’t want to mess anything up or I will die. lol
All I need to know now is… why before I would ONLY make an Indirect connection with both my iPhone and my Apple TVs… But I followed some of your tips, and now I can at least get a “Nearby” connection on my iPhone… But the main device I watch stuff on is my Apple TV. So why would those steps fix the connection with my phone, but not my apple tv?
