# Can't claim server **URL:** \ **Category:** Plex Media Server\ **Tags:** server-mac\ **Created:** [October 9, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/cant-claim-server/814312 "2022-10-09T21:14:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Philos07](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@Philos07](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Philos07)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/cant-claim-server/814312/1 "2022-10-09T21:14:04Z")
Having the same issue. Have tried to do the steps here: [https://support.plex.tv/articles/204281528-why-am-i-locked-out-of-server-settings-and-how-do-i-get-in/](https://support.plex.tv/articles/204281528-why-am-i-locked-out-of-server-settings-and-how-do-i-get-in/) but without any sucess I can see that the server does not have any of the defaults value on com.plexapp.plexmediaserver regarding PlexOnline values. I can see that It’s unclaimed. But I cannot for the life of me to get it to access the server settings, either logging in locally on an anonymous window or other. something’s off… ---
**Author:** ![Philos07](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@Philos07](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Philos07)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 3:27pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/cant-claim-server/814312/3 "2022-10-10T15:27:26Z")
My bad, I seem to reply to this on a windows thread. I’m actually using a Mac to run plex server. ---
**Author:** ![nibbles](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/nibbles/32/150497_2.png) [@nibbles](https://forums.plex.tv/u/nibbles)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 11:11pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/cant-claim-server/814312/4 "2022-10-10T23:11:12Z")
You’re at the **Load the Local Version of Plex Web App** section of that page for your Mac. You should tell us the versions of macOS you’re running and the Mac hardware. You said you used both regular and incognito mode. You’re obviously trying. What I do is 1. In Safari Menu History → Clear history → All history 2. Quit out of Safari 3. Start Safari 4. Open the bundled web app as directed in that article being sure to use Incognito mode, and `http` `http://localhost:32400/web` would be one way. 5. It should ask you to sign in and let you claim the server. 6. If it doesn’t, then sit down at another modern Mac and use Safai there, starting at Step 1. Let us know how it goes. ---
**Author:** ![Philos07](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@Philos07](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Philos07)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 10:13am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/cant-claim-server/814312/5 "2022-10-13T10:13:54Z")
no luck. I can login in incognito and claim the server. However the settings are still unavailable and the server is functionally non existent. in fact, if i repeat the process on a new incognito tab, i still get to go though the same steps, regardless of how many times I’ve claimed it already. ---
**Author:** ![Philos07](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@Philos07](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Philos07)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 10:19am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/cant-claim-server/814312/6 "2022-10-13T10:19:38Z")
despite doing this procedure a couple of times, the plex.server.plist still doesn’t have my id&config: ```auto defaults read com.plexapp.plexmediaserver PlexOnlineHome defaults read com.plexapp.plexmediaserver PlexOnlineMail defaults read com.plexapp.plexmediaserver PlexOnlineToken defaults read com.plexapp.plexmediaserver PlexOnlineUsername ``` ```auto 2022-10-13 11:18:24.198 defaults[41411:1840211] The domain/default pair of (com.plexapp.plexmediaserver, PlexOnlineHome) does not exist 2022-10-13 11:18:24.410 defaults[41412:1840218] The domain/default pair of (com.plexapp.plexmediaserver, PlexOnlineMail) does not exist 2022-10-13 11:18:24.584 defaults[41413:1840222] The domain/default pair of (com.plexapp.plexmediaserver, PlexOnlineToken) does not exist 2022-10-13 11:18:24.759 defaults[41414:1840226] The domain/default pair of (com.plexapp.plexmediaserver, PlexOnlineUsername) does not exist ``` ---
**Author:** ![nibbles](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/nibbles/32/150497_2.png) [@nibbles](https://forums.plex.tv/u/nibbles)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/cant-claim-server/814312/7 "2022-10-13T16:15:50Z")
> [@Philos07](#): > > no luck. I can login in incognito and claim the server. However the settings are still unavailable and the server is functionally non existent. > > in fact, if i repeat the process on a new incognito tab, i still get to go though the same steps, regardless of how many times I’ve claimed it already. We’ll get it figured out. Just to double check, are you an administrator on that Mac? I don’t know the exact point at which it’s supposed to write the data to your plist, but I’ll figure it out on a Mac Mini today. Thoughts - Claiming is done _insecurely_, but all admin has to be done _securely_. So at the end of setup when it’s claimed, you should be redirected to either: - the secure bundled page `https://localhost:32400/web` - or the secure [hosted web app](https://app.plex.tv/) page. Sometimes the redirect fails. At least try going to one of those manually _in the same tab_ after using the claim button (unless dane22 comes along and hollers at us) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Philos07](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@Philos07](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Philos07)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 12:33am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/cant-claim-server/814312/8 "2022-10-22T00:33:34Z")
Hi Nibbles I think it’s a plex bug actually See topic: [External Access not visible & Server settings are unavailable - #2 by pbirke](https://forums.plex.tv/t/external-access-not-visible-server-settings-are-unavailable/815572/2) There’s another couple of topics along the same line as well. I have a plex pass so may have been ‘blessed’ with early access to bugs and unresponsive server. Sometimes Plex Pass does not feel like a privilege. I’ve tried all the solutions you gave me and can’t go anywhere. Couldn’t even update the server app. Apparently what I need to do is downgrade… Where can I get old versions of the plex server app please? many thanks ---
**Author:** ![nibbles](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/nibbles/32/150497_2.png) [@nibbles](https://forums.plex.tv/u/nibbles)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 12:40am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/cant-claim-server/814312/9 "2022-10-22T00:40:53Z")
What Mac is the server and what operating system version? There are several of us who can’t get PMS to install on 10.14.6 including the fellow you linked above. You would make at least the fourth. Frustrating I know. Where to get old versions. I can tell you the exact filenames and hashes, then you can google it (there’s a forum post how to safely find old versions and downgrade) ```auto $ shasum PlexMediaServer-1.28.2.6151-914ddd2b3-universal.zip 2cf82b505fe43a888164eb0d3bd1f33a8f546a4c PlexMediaServer-1.28.2.6151-914ddd2b3-universal.zip ``` ---
**Author:** ![Philos07](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@Philos07](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Philos07)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 12:47am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/cant-claim-server/814312/10 "2022-10-22T00:47:10Z")
Mac OS Mojave 10.14.6. so maybe it is a mojave incompatibility thing? @dane22 you mind want to check this thread and the other one linked. I’ve also went back to a time machine and got a 3’ish month old plex server app from there. Suprise surprise, instantly managed to get access to the Plex server settings and claim it. something went wrong in the code regarding MacOS Mojave ---
**Author:** ![pbirke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/34f0e0/32.png) [@pbirke](https://forums.plex.tv/u/pbirke)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 3:30pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/cant-claim-server/814312/11 "2022-10-24T15:30:01Z")
The PMS download link for the latest version says for “OS X 10.9 Mavericks or newer” But then the linked support article ([https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200375666](https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200375666)) specifies “Plex Media Server supports macOS 10.11 El Capitan or newer.” Regardless of this discrepancy, MacOS 10.13.x or 10.14.x is newer. So, not sure what is officially supported here and why many people are experiencing the “server settings unavailable” issue. ---
**Author:** ![Mac-mini-TV](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Mac-mini-TV](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Mac-mini-TV)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2022, 11:07am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/cant-claim-server/814312/12 "2022-11-11T11:07:04Z")
Another victim here on MacOS Mojave (10.14) I had a few circumstances which complicated matters, but I have attempted to reclaim my server only to be faced with Server Settings Unavailable. I have used both terminal and P-List Editor to alter the preferences file. I have checked the file permissions (to the best of my knowledge) and nothing has changed. I updated to the latest server app when trying to refresh my library, and logged out of the Apple TV client. I then used the same browser instance as the local server to enter the 4-digit code required to log in to the Apple TV app (but via a VPN, unfortunately. Usually I make sure the VPN is not active to update.) This was followed by the server settings disappearing (I suspect related, can’t be 100% sure) and I found a support note which suggested that I had authorised the server web instance with a non-admin client. Interestingly, the latest Plex Server app bundle has a Date Created of 1970 on my computer, so I suspected a corrupt install or a permissions issue. But this thread makes me certain there’s an edge case with Mojave caused by the latest public Mac build. ---
**Author:** ![nibbles](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/nibbles/32/150497_2.png) [@nibbles](https://forums.plex.tv/u/nibbles)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2022, 11:27pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/cant-claim-server/814312/13 "2022-11-11T23:27:46Z")
> [@Mac-mini-TV](#): > > I had a few circumstances which complicated matters, but I have attempted to reclaim my server only to be faced with Server Settings Unavailable. I have used both terminal and P-List Editor to alter the preferences file. I have checked the file permissions (to the best of my knowledge) and nothing has changed. > > I updated to the latest server app @Mac-mini-TV I wrote up [How To Sign Out PMS on a MAC, Downgrade, and Reclaim](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-settings-are-unavailable-after-last-update-macos/815975/50) in another thread. Let me know how you get on. Due to increased security and a couple of unresolved issues facing older Macs, that guide works. Let us know how it goes. ---
**Author:** ![Mac-mini-TV](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Mac-mini-TV](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Mac-mini-TV)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 3:21am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/cant-claim-server/814312/15 "2022-11-12T03:21:11Z")
> [@nibbles](#): > > I wrote up [How To Sign Out PMS on a MAC, Downgrade, and Reclaim](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-settings-are-unavailable-after-last-update-macos/815975/50) in another thread. Let me know how you get on. Due to increased security and a couple of unresolved issues facing older Macs, that guide works. Let us know how it goes. Thanks @nibbles This worked for me on Mojave as per your instructions and downgrading to 1.29.0.6244 Thanks to @ChuckPa and anyone else who helped figure this out. ---
**Author:** ![ChuckPa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/chuckpa/32/79710_2.png) [@ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChuckPa)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 4:12am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/cant-claim-server/814312/16 "2022-11-12T04:12:21Z")
To all following here Do you think there is a need / significant benefit if I were to be able to support MacOS in the UserCredentialReset utility ? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2023, 4:12am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/cant-claim-server/814312/17 "2023-02-10T04:12:46Z")
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