Hey everyone,
It’s been almost a year since we first shared some important updates about the future of remote streaming on Plex, including the introduction of the Remote Watch Pass. Since then, we’ve been rolling these changes out platform by platform, starting with mobile and most recently on Roku.
Today, we’re writing to let you know that starting March 23, 2026, remote streaming of personal media will require a Plex Pass or Remote Watch Pass on Plex for Smart TV devices. This includes Plex running on supported TVs like Samsung, LG, Vizio, and more, as well as PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles.
What’s Changing
If you stream video from a personal Plex Media Server outside your home network (i.e., remotely), you or the server owner will need one of the following:
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Plex Pass: If the server owner has an active Plex Pass, all Plex accounts accessing that server can continue to stream remotely at no additional cost.
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Remote Watch Pass: If the server owner does not have a Plex Pass or you don’t need all the functionality available a Plex Pass offers, you can purchase a Remote Watch Pass instead. This lets an individual Plex account stream remotely from any server they have access to (but does not extend to other Plex accounts). If you are unsure, please ask the server administrator if they have a Plex Pass.
You can purchase a Plex Pass or Remote Watch Pass here: https://www.plex.tv/plans/
What’s Not Changing
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Local streaming remains completely free. If you’re on the same network as the Plex Media Server, nothing changes for you.
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Remote streaming from Music and Photo libraries are not affected.
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If you already have a Plex Pass, you don’t need to do anything — remote streaming will continue to work without interruption.
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This update will not include the new Plex experience on Smart TVs just yet. That will launch later this year.
We appreciate your understanding as we continue to roll out these changes across platforms. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask here in the forums.
Thanks,
The Plex Team
