External subtitles (.srt) troubleshooting checklist

[deus_ex_felis]

I just spent the past six hours trying to get Plex to recognize my external SRT files and had started to write up a forum post detailing everything I’d tried, when, lo and behold, I finally found a solution.

I decided to post my findings anyway in the hope that it could save someone some time in the future.

This was my problem:

My search took me through dozens of forum posts on both these forums and Reddit. The troubleshooting checklist below is ordered roughly from most effective to least effective (based on popular opinion in the posts I found). I added an item only if at least two people claimed that it worked for them.

The list presumes that you’re the server owner, you have full access rights, and that you’re running the latest version of Plex (Settings → General) in the official Plex desktop app or browser app.

—Plex Subtitles Troubleshooting Checklist—
0. In your Plex library, choose a test movie or episode where the subtitles should be showing up but aren’t, and click “Analyze” and “Refresh Metadata” every time you try one of the changes below (you want “None” next to Subtitles to turn into a yellow drop-down where you can select your SRT External)

1. Move the video file and .srt into their own folder within the main library folder (<-MY PERSONAL SALVATION. (Thanks PlayerH!) Plex apparently has trouble matching up your videos with their SRTs if you have a large library of files all in one folder.)
   
   
2. Double-check that the movie file and subtitle file name match exactly, the only difference being that the subtitle file name ends in .[your two-character language code].srt (e.g. for English subtitles, it’s .en.srt)
3. In Settings → Agents, confirm that Local Media Assets (LMA) is checked for every tab (Personal Media, Plex Movie, The Movie Database, etc.) of both Movies and Shows. [NOTE: there is contention around whether LMA should be at the top or bottom of the stack of agents; while many users claim that LMA functions best at the bottom - particularly for mp4 files - the official Plex recommendation is that LMA should be at the top. In my case, LMA was at the top when my subs started working, but I’m inclined to agree with JuiceWSA’s argument farther down in this thread that bottom is actually best. YMMV.]
4. Try unchecking and rechecking LMA in each tab
5. In Settings → Languages, check “Automatically select audio and subtitle tracks”, Prefer audio tracks in: [your mother tongue], Subitle mode: Shown with foreign audio, Prefer subtitles in: [your mother tongue] (also enter these in the Global App Settings of your user profile on plextv)
6. Try to unmatch and rematch by selecting the file in Plex, clicking the three dots, and selecting Fix Match…
7. In Settings → Manage → Libraries, click “Analyze” and “Refresh all Metadata” for the whole library (this can take a while; you can monitor the status in Settings → Alerts)
8. Upload a subtitle file using the Plex iOS or Android app (can search Plex support for “import or delete a subtitle file” for the full help article) - I couldn’t find a way to do this via the desktop/browser app but maybe someone knows?
9. Download Subtitle Edit, use it to open the SRT, and confirm that the encoding is Unicode: UTF-8 (upper right corner)
10. Perform the “Plex Dance” on the file
11. In Subtitle Edit, do Tools → “Fix common errors…” on the file
12. If you have your files on an NAS, double-check via your NAS’s control panel that you have access rights for your library folder (e.g. for my Asustor 1002T v2, I login at 10.0.0.100:8000, open File Explorer → Right-click my library folder → Properties → Permission tab → Check RW (read-write) for Owner and Group → Apply)
13. Try changing the srt extension to .eng.srt
14. Try changing the srt extension to .eng.forced.srt
15. Try changing the srt extension to .txt (best to save a copy of the original somewhere before you do this)
16. Try opening the SRT in a text editor (e.g. Notepad) and adding these three lines to the beginning:

0
00:00:00,000 → 00:00:00,000
asdf

17. Move the video and .srt file out of the home folder to somewhere Plex can’t see it, then move it back in
18. Move the entire library of files to another folder that Plex can’t see, delete the library via the Plex app, then put your files back where they were and recreate the library in Plex
19. Try having Plex auto-download the subtitles by going to Settings → Agents and checking OpenSubtitles .org in each tab. NOTE - this only works for files where Plex lists the audio track as a specific language; if Audio is unknown (e.g. “Unknown (AAC Stereo)”), Plex won’t know what language to pull subtitles for and will do nothing. Sometimes it doesn’t auto-download even if a langauge is listed; it’s worth a try though. If your Audio is unknown, you can add the Audio XML tag by downloading MKVToolNix (for .mkv files) or MP4tools (for .mp4 files), setting the language tags, and remuxing it

If you’ve made it this far, it’s probably time to throw yourself at the mercy of the Plex Ninjas on the forums. Prepare a Plex XML log and a Mediainfo output for the video file, post them along with what you’ve tried so far, and hope for the best.

Good luck everyone! I’m sure this list is far from comprehensive, so would love to hear any other solutions that have worked for you guys.

[JuiceWSA]

Subs (certainly externals) won’t work without Local Media Assets.
LMA must be enabled, but it should be at the bottom of the stack of active agents.
Here’s why:

When it’s at the top Plex reads that bogus Title Field in your MP4/M4V file and gives it tip-top priority - even over a good file name - making your life miserable.

When LMA is enabled, but at the bottom of the stack, it no longer has priority and disregards embedded Titles in MP4/M4V files looking instead at your good file names - like a miracle, right?

I suspect LMA had you up against the wall going through your pockets for spare change, preferred the embedded title, that didn’t match your sub file name.

I could be wrong.
Lower LMA to the bottom of the stack of active agents under ALL tabs in Shows and Movies - enabled, but demoted - and forget about it.

Things won’t misbehave - we hope.

As for how you get them - if it’s working for ya - good on ya.
May help others.
I have seen some threads about the process breaking down, so good news is always welcome.

[deus_ex_felis]

@JuiceWSA

Subs (certainly externals) won’t work without Local Media Assets.
LMA must be enabled, but it should be at the bottom of the stack of active agents.
Here’s why:

When it’s at the top Plex reads that bogus Title Field in your MP4/M4V file and gives it tip-top priority - even over a good file name - making your life miserable.

When LMA is enabled, but at the bottom of the stack, it no longer has priority and disregards embedded Titles in MP4/M4V files looking instead at your good file names - like a miracle, right?

I suspect LMA had you up against the wall going through your pockets for spare change, preferred the embedded title, that didn’t match your sub file name.

I could be wrong.
Lower LMA to the bottom of the stack of active agents under ALL tabs in Shows and Movies - enabled, but demoted - and forget about it.

Things won’t misbehave - we hope.

As for how you get them - if it’s working for ya - good on ya.
May help others.
I have seen some threads about the process breaking down, so good news is always welcome.

That’s really interesting - I was going off this knowledge base article and some anecdotal mentions that seemed to indicate that putting LMAs first was dogma, but from a quick forum search it looks like this is a contested issue. I’ll add a note that people may want to try putting LMAs last. Thanks for the input!

[JuiceWSA]

@deus_ex_felis

seemed to indicate that putting LMAs first was dogma, but from a quick forum search it looks like this is a contested issue.

It’s more like:
The Hatfields and McCoys.

Plex is convinced LMA needs to be at the top - 'cause that’s where it’s been out of the box since 1943.

Users, particularly users of MP4/M4V files, find this thought process madness.

Looks like we’ll be doing the LMA Hack for some time to come as Plex has made no move to start listening to users on this matter…lol

Video File Naming

With LMA in priority, Embedded Titles within MP4/M4V files are preferred - even over a perfect file name. Local Media Assets should - AT ALL TIMES - remain enabled (unless specifically instructed to turn it off). Local Media Assets should be ‘Demoted’, to the bottom of the stack of active agents under ALL tabs in Shows and Movies, but should NOT be disabled. Local Media Assets is needed for many things - it doesn’t need to be given Tip-Top-Priority (as Plex has so hatefully placed it as it’s …

There you go - bookmark that one.

Then bookmark this one:

The Plex Dance ™

The purpose of this is to remove all cached metadata and xml data for an item that Plex usually keeps. This helps when you want to “start from scratch” for particular item move all files for the media item out of the directory your Library is looking at, so Plex will not “see” it anymore scan the library library (to detect changes) empty trash clean bundles (in menu next to server name, when accessed under ‘More’) double check naming schema and move files back scan the library Support articl…

You’ll need that when ‘Refresh Metadata’ does nothing…

… and there are two long running annoyances that you, ARE, eventually going to have to deal with.

[mattyb12001]

Oh my goodness, THANK YOU Sir!
Plex and any sort of definitive and meaningful support for subtitles has been the source of so much frustration in our house. (Certainly over the journey I’ve tried many times the remedies suggested by Plex themselves, all to no avail. Insert cursing and throwing of devices.)
I can’t wait to try these solutions and let you know how it goes.

[deus_ex_felis]

No worries, glad my struggle can be of service!