Direct connection on LAN, Remote Access not working

[haloeight]

Server Version#: 1.32.1.6999
Player Version#: 7.1.1.8323-1967c5acb-Plex

Recently I’ve not been able to access my media server via direct connection on my GbE LAN from my Roku Ultra. I’ve noticed Plex startup has gotten slower recently. When Plex does actually load, it shows that files are only available in Relay mode as a direct connection is not available.

Checking on the server, I see Remote Access has flaky connectivity - sometimes it will show green and then switch to red. I’ve tried both with manual port forwarding and automatic handling, neither seems to make a difference. I’ve followed the troubleshooting steps in https://support.plex.tv/articles/200931138-troubleshooting-remote-access/, https://support.plex.tv/articles/200289506-remote-access/, The Basics of Remote Access Troubleshooting.

I’ve looked at router settings and turned off anything that might affect outcomes but cannot find a solution to this. It seems to have happened randomly so not sure what is going on.

Any advice would be appreciated as I cannot play my files at correct quality locally and external users are not able to access my library so the whole setup is basically out of action.

Thank you

[mcury]

Check your firewall settings, sometimes some updates can mess with the OS firewall rules.

If its Windows, check Windows Defender firewall, if it is Linux, check iptables, ufw, opensnitch and etc…

[haloeight]

Unbelievable. I just checked Windows Defender firewall settings and for some reason on private networks Plex Media Server had been unchecked. I didn’t change anything but like you said this might have randomly happened during some update. Turning it back on and everything works again - Plex on Roku loads faster, no need for relay, Remote Access Works again.

Thank you. Maybe something about this should be put into the referenced support links to specifically check as you indicated.