Server Version#: 1.21.1.3830
Player Version#:
After 12 hours of trying to solve this for myself, I’m reaching out for help. So, my problem is that I can’t get my plex servers on either my mac (which was online for years) or my pc (which I just bought for this purpose) to be accessible remotely. Until I added the new plex server, the one on the mac (which is a different server) was working just fine with no configuration. I was planning to take the mac server offline to make it my personal server with no remote access. Doing that did not make the PC server work. Here is what happened:
I had a mac server and a qnap nas server running on the same network. They use different ports, so that was totally fine.
However, the NAS just isn’t good at 1080p transcodes, so I got a cheap Dell Inspiron 3880 to make a dedicated plex server for those outside my home network (my mac is great for one user’s needs, so I’ll use it for myself).
Anyway, there have been other issues with this plex server related to windows (e.g., network folders holding plex library suddenly weren’t available after windows update, so I had to redo my whole shared folders, after reconnecting the network drives and restarting). Plex also doesn’t load to the task bar on the bottom of the screen, for some reason, but it shows in task manager. Odd…
The problem started after I installed plex using the plex data files from my nas (to try not to reload all the metadata etc). Initially, it worked awesome. I think it was the library files (not the media, those are still housed on the nas) and meta-data files, but if it matters for help I can check. No issues with remote access at all, at first. Claimed the server and everything. Then, windows went to sleep, quit plex, and the server went offline. I fixed those settings in windows now, but for some reason after that the issue with not staying remotely accessible began.
But I digress… From my perspective, the first place I tried to solve the problem was on windows by removing all the anti-virus software and the firewalls, adding permissions for plex to use ports, updating all drivers and windows itself, uninstalling and re-installing plex, removing the plex info from the registry and re-installing, and so forth. This was HOURS of my life and nothing helped.
Then, I thought, given that this had also happened once before with an old macbook pro I tired to use as server (and learned it was weaker than the NAS, oops!), I thought the issue could be that both windows and mac servers use 32400 for TCP (although I had already taken my mac offline, but I was grasping at straws). Therefore, though I’d try port forwarding again (hadn’t worked before), tought being that the dell can just have all the incoming plex traffic (as it’s intended to have). I did it in my SMARTRG808ac router settings, and have had static IPs for all my devices (including the new Dell). I even got an account for dynDNS, although my external IPA seems stable. I even fiddled with passing the Dell’s IP address through (but I don’t have a clue what that even would do and it didn’t work).
Still, neither computer can maintain remote access. The NAS is doing fine, though! I think because it uses a totally different port for TCP, owing to running Linux.
What should I do? Do I delete my Mac server (even though it isn’t set to have remote access) and just use the Dell server for my viewing? Will that solve this? Is there somewhere to look to figure out what keeps bumping my plex offline? I have no more ideas and googling isn’t giving me new ideas.
Should also note I did try toggling UPNP on my router (turned it off when using port forwarding), as well as making sure windows network settings are private (even though I removed the firewalls). Quitting out of the mac PMS also didn’t help.
TIA!
