I thought I must have got something wrong, but reading the comments I see it is not that simple to download, that really is bad news… Would be great if we could get some clearer error messages or a function that works! Thanks, Peter
How do you “add a manual DNS entry to resolve that to the internal IP” if you’re just on regular ol’ Windows 10 with the built-in Windows Defender Firewall? This sounds like the solution I’m looking for but I can’t figure out how to implement it!
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Typically this is done on your router rather than on your Windows 10 machine since it will help all devices on your network rather. Check your router’s guide/manual to see if/how it can be done.
Alternatively, to add a static DNS mapping in Windows use steps similar to what you see here: How to Add a Local DNS Lookup to Hosts File.
Basically edit your hosts file to add the IP address and corresponding name you want to resolve.
e.g.
192.168.1.123 192-168-1-123.l7atsfg2hj.plex.app
Same issue here. Just tried downloading for a flight. Original quality ended up working, some of the time. I tried testing an older Android version with sync, that worked much better, and was able to transcode to other bitrates too. The “Downloads” thing is really not end-user ready.
I was having this same issue but for me what was causing the problem was my router blocking the connection as a “possible DNS-rebind attack”.
I use Tomato (similar to DDWRT) and was able to add this to my dnsmasq configuration “rebind-domain-ok=/plex.direct/”
Otherwise, you can disable “Prevent DNS-rebind attacks”
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Same issue here. Again a long term user now getting problems.
My Plusnet router doesn’t have many adjustments or whitelists, so all I could do was turn off the Firewall altogether. This seems to fix the issue, but I really don’t understand why downloading something from my server in my house to my iPad also in my house needs to access the internet at all! This can’t be the right solution to the problem! Can anyone recommend a good router that has the ability to sort the DNS-rebind thing?
Or better Plex - Can you please sort this out so that routers don’t think this simple download is some form of hack!
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I’ve had the same issue for months on my Pixel 5a. Here is how I was able to work around the issue. I found that I was able to download successfully on cell data, so it has to be something with in-network wifi. I found several other threads that seem to indicate DNS-related issues.
After trying several things, here are 3 options (pick one) that all worked for me:
- Set a static IP for my home wifi on my phone using Googles DNS servers (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4). No decrease in speed. This is the solution I ended up choosing, but the next two work as well
- Use the (free) 1.1.1.1 app which can route traffic over a VPN profile for DNS resolution. The ‘Warp’ setting and the ‘DNS only’ setting both worked. I suspect any VPN would work. BUT there was probably a 25% decrease in speed over wifi using the tunnel. But it’s easy to enable and disable as needed. It’s also an easy way to test if DNS is your issue.
- Start the download using cell data, then enable wifi. Downloads still proceeded.
I wish we didn’t need to do this, but the above solutions all worked for me. I think ultimately the issue seems to be inside your network DNS related.
Changing my network’s DHCP DNS servers to Google’s did NOT work (at least in my testing). I didn’t have the ability to disable DNS-rebind protection on my router.
Hopefully, this helps someone.
Edit Using Google as my primary (8.8.8.8) (and secondary (8.8.4.4)) DNS seems to have largely resolved the issues. However, the downloads are cripplingly slow and downloads don’t track (notification stuck showing "Initializing Downloads…"
Edit 2 - Playlists and artists over approx. 40 songs still hangs on "Initialising Download"
Adding to the woes.
Downloads don’t work at all ( Plex Android 9.0.6.31998, Android 10/11; Server (on Unraid) 1.25.9.5721). Internal / external storage. Files of all sizes and formats
Various suggestions including setting every quality setting to Original does nothing
Server is throwing no errors (during download attempts, logs below)
Doesn’t work on Wi-Fi or 4G/ LTE/ 3G
App is being left in the fore on “Downloads - Items” which, contrary to Plex documentation, doesn’t stop the screen timeout
Downloads work on Plex for Windows 1.43.4.2971-aa2133cc - however does transcode despite download quality being set to “Original” for both Music and Video
For music - Downloads always show “There was an error downloading this file” but the notification continues to count up the number of tracks as if they are downloading. Once it completes, the notification becomes “Some items could not be downloaded” and none are available.
For videos (TV and Films) - Downloads always shows “There was an error downloading this file” with no notification showing otherwise
Android log.txt (4.1 MB)
Android log (directly after reinstall).txt (136.3 KB)
Further logs post Edit 2.
Logs show downloads being refreshed via pulling down the window and a new playlist (“1960’s”) being added to “Downloads”.
Further issues - the “Downloads” tab periodically shows "No downloaded content in “Items” and images for downloads in “Items” are either non-existent or wrong. The image for, say, playlist A will be used for numerous items
Androd logs RE Edit 2.txt (216.6 KB)
Plex Media Server Logs RE Edit 2.zip (5.1 MB)
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I cannot confirm that adding the google dns helps.
Is there any PLEX support out there to take care about this?
Its is quite unbeleivable that such a major issue is unresolved for such a long time.
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I think this is related to my recent issues. Download and Sync simply doesn’t work on Android.
I could never get the Plex new downloads to work (iOS, iPadOS)
Streaming in fine for me, but if I really need to d/l a move I just use VLC
How do I know if I have a DNS Rebound problem? Every Plex player device on my network connects locally to my server. I’m kinda about to give up on plex, honestly. Sync was the biggest reason why I started using Plex, but Downloads simply don’t work for me. I have no ideia why.
What logs should I upload? I don’t want anyone porn-shaming me 
How do I get the phone log?
UPDATE: I can’t download either locally or remotely.
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On Android on remote network maybe close the app and restart it.
I already restarted the phone, the server it run on… Also reinstalled the app on the phone. Even software update for both server and phone were pushed. I actually never got to use Download since it was enforced by the Plex team.
Android 10 works for me only remote wifi or data.
I don’t have Android 11.
iPhone SE with iOS 15.4.1 works also on local wifi.
I’ll try on another phone, maybe it’s something on my OnePlus 5… But here’s the thing, isn’t Download supposed to be an upgrade to improve Sync? Well, Sync worked easy and flawlessly for me on this same phone, with the same Android Version.
To get phone logs got to Settings > Help & Support > Debugging > Select “Network Logging”
It’ll show an address to go to the find the logs.
As to how to tell if it’s a DNS Rebind issue, I, unfortunately, have no idea. I thought it, setting the DNS, worth a punt and it worked for me.
If you want to try, look for a setting on your router saying something like “Prevent DNS-rebind attacks” and disable it. And/or look for DHCP setting to manually assign your DNS. I, and others in the thread, have used Google 8.8.8.8 primary and 8.8.4.4 secondary. Either of these settings are likely to be “Advanced”
Unfortunately I can’t explain any further as, to be honest, it’s a little beyond me. I also can’t comment on other implications of changing these settings, so if you’re unsure - wait for someone smarter than I to help
I don’t see why we should modify router settings when Download works on iOS and also worked on earlier Versions of plex-mobile-android… 
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Completely agree; this is totally absurd
Thank you. The router part is ok for me, I actually think it’s already set with Google or Cloudflare, I never use my ISP DNS, just because.
I tried on a Samsung S8 and it worked, at first, with the default Download options (original quality for video and audio), once I changed it, it didn’t work anymore.
So I assumed whatever the problem is, it’s happening during transcode. I ran again on my OnePlus 5 using the same options, Original video and audio, and it freak’n worked!
For now, I’ll assume it’s server side… I’ll play around with the transcode options. I don’t want to play 4K HDR 30.000 bitrate content on a 5" probably 720p screen.
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