Server Version#: 1.16.1.1291
Player Version#: Safari (Web)
I removed a user in February, and they have recently started accessing my server again. This user does not show anywhere in my Home Users, nor Sharing. I have not been able to add the user to then remove them, as Plex is stating that “You are already sharing this server with user_name. Please edit your existing share.” , but this is a lie. This is my only server, so there’s no mismatch on users. I believe the only way to get this problem solved may be to contact Plex directly, however there seems to be no way to contact you directly that I can find, thus opening this forum post.
From searching around on the forums here, and Google, I have found that the only way to get this problem rectified is for someone from Plex to help me and remove them from my username’s authentication hosted on your server.
Did you check authorized devices? You could start by changing your Plex password and then remove all authorized devices. This would force re-authentication.
I see users that I have since removed access to my server, and yet I am unable to remove their account/names from the user drop down menu under the Top Played stats. I feel like this is a bug with the database, but there’s no way for me to fix this from the Plex control panel.
Play History isn’t the issue here. It is Top Played is where the bug is. The user appears in Top Played even though they never played anything. When I did invite this user, it was when I was running my Plex server from my Nvidia Shield TV. I have since ditched that and moved to a Linux install via Docker.
all users, regardless if past (and removed) and current, are kept in the history.
you cannot remove old users from history (or history lists) without manually going in and mucking with the database directly.
in other words, just like real life, you cannot change the past.
edit-
It would be nice if plex had a maintenance option for ‘cleaning old (no longer authorized) users’, like it does for ‘empty trash’, ‘clean bundles’, etc.
Well the thing is I have users that I have removed in the past and they don’t show up under Top Played, so this is a bug for sure. And in this case, this user never logged in and/or played anything so there is no reason why the user should show up.
And, I should mention that the user does not appear at all in the Play History section right above the Top Played section.
So again — this is a bug.
Having to repeat myself in this thread is like screaming into the wind.
It could be said that this is not really a bug per say because the database is working as it should be. The issue is that we are seeing data that we do not expect to see. In that case, it would be great to have a feature like you mentioned in your previous post:
I suspect, part of the problem is the users are stored both in the database, and in your plex web account.
I don’t know how plex sync’s the users between the server DB and the cloud, or if it even does.
It might go something like >
add user to plex web (but not server db)
when that user logs in to plex (but not even necessarily your server), your server authenticates that user via plex web, then adds that user to the user table.
if/when that user plays something, a history entry is created and linked to that user.
that means there are at least 3 different states for a current authorized user
added in plexweb
added in db user table
added to db play history table
when a user is removed, it is removed from plex web, but still may or may not be in the user table and play history table
I think (I know careful my brain don’t explode), that play history tracking and/or behavior may have changed at some point before/during the dashboard implementation.
I think tautulli kept a separate history tracking, was because plex history was not as detailed as it may be now.
So that might explain why very old users are not showing up in the dashboard history. IE they were pre-dashboard users.
I would venture to say that the new database switch over was sometime in September 2018. That’s as far back as my history goes at the root account level.
P.S. - I am glad your brain didn’t explode. #cleanuponaislethree
