Can No Longer Connect to Plex via 1st Party apps using Tailscale

Plex Media Server Remote Access
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1

Server Version#: 1.43.0.10492
Player Version#: Plex for iOS 2026.0.1 (1523)

I just moved and tried setting up my Plex server on my new network (new ISP). Watching Plex within my network works fine. On my old network, you can only access Plex remotely if you connected via Tailscale. On my new network, I can’t connect to the Plex server remotely when using Plex for iOS, Plex for AppleTV or Infuse for either.

I don’t believe the problem is with Tailscale. The reason is because on the same iPhone where remotely connecting via Tailscale and Plex for iOS doesn’t work. I can open my browser and access the Plex server via http://tailscalemagicdns:PORT

I confirmed that that address is still populated under Settings > Network > Custom server access URLs.

Confirmed in Settings that Remote Access is still disabled. Confirmed that the Tailscale IP addresses haven’t changed and are also a way to access the Plex server directly from browser.

Server:

  • Plex Media Server installed via macos installer
  • Tailscale installed via homebrew

Old Network: ATT Fiber with ISP provided router

New Network: Verizon FiOS with Unifi Cloud Gateway Fiber

Been working on this for a few days and cannot figure out what specifically broke and where.

2

Waiting at the car dealership for my car to get serviced and it seems like Infuse is working now. However https://app.plex.tv and the 1st party Plex apps still can’t see my server.

3

I’ll report back if anything changes but this is what fixed the issue for me:
I added 2 customer server URLs, the tailscale serverip:port and the magicdns:port

Go to your Plex server’s network settings and set “Custom server access URLs” as https://[YOUR TAILSCALE SERVER IP]:[YOUR SERVER PORT] , without the brackets of course. This way the app SHOULD be able to find it.

4

This is the answer! I had an even weirder problem, where my iPhone could connect via tailscale normally (probably bcz of remote play on plex pass), but my plex home members couldn’t connect via tailscale for some reason. (this is needed so that they can download).

6

FYI, this doesn’t seem to work anymore. It does work for third-party apps, like Prologue or Infuse, but it’s not working for Plex or Plexamp, which is just infuriating. It does work for Plexdash.