Guest account

General Discussions
1

I have purchase a Plex Pass LifeTime in order to activate Guest account and add some librairies. This to allow my guest to discover/see/use and connect to my home server. while in my home only. Tough luck!!

1- Web player is forcing navigation to PLEX.tv (I do not want that) and forcing registration (This is exactly what I must avoid)
2- iOS player is fording registration, I guess it is OK as the player is not free, they can see the server but cannot access with guest account

What am I doing wrong?

2

Walk me through how you would like your guest account to function. Will this be for family members and friends that will be sitting in your living room and watching things from your couch?

3

I want my family member and friends to use my selected Plex library while they are in my house and no longer have access to it when leaving. I want them to use their own laptop/iOS/iPad without having to register on Plex and certainly not creating an account for each of them or a shared account. As for the family rooms, they are already equipped and configured with AppleTV’s.

The idea is, BYOD connect and watch. When you leave you no longer have access. With nothing to manage on the server site or from the visitor. Players will be their responsibility to unlock but I should not be managing any account.

Back in time with earlier (years) Plex version, the server what auto discovered and could be used.

Like mentioned above, the guest account is enabled but do not seem to be usable.

It is understood that the streaming will be limited by the server processing power and configuration as well as the quality of media compression. - this I can manage already.

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4

If you want to do BYOD you will need to go down the path of sharing with friends., Have your BYOD users register for plex and pay for the App and share with them as you want. You will need to deal with inviting users to your Plex.

You can setup a Plex Home however this is not meant for BYOD as each client needs to be signed in by your account for the 1st time or linked with a PIN.

5

@nokdim, correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve never had a friend that had to pay for the app. I barely recall this coming up when one friend installed, but we were drunk, and somehow clicked around it. He didn’t have to pay.

@yveslanglais, you can accomplish your goal, but there is a serious downside.
As @nokdim mentions, you’ll have to have each one of them go to Plex.tv and establish their own accounts first.
Next, send them an invite from your account using the email address they used to sign up. Here you can enable and disable libraries as you see fit.
Then, have them go and download the client app and sign in. They should then have access to your stuff and view at their pleasure.
The downside to keeping it all in home? You’ll need to fully disable remote access for everyone. That would guarantee they need to be on your home network to watch your stuff.

Only way I can think of.

6

You could also leave remote access available, and manually enable/disable the libraries as they come and go. That would work too.

7

So Plex ** is so not the solution I am looking for**… too bad.
Previous version before the big move to 1.0 where player use to discover and connect connect to the server with no registration within the same network. I miss those days. A lot! If I recall it was at version 0.5.3 of the server… YRS ago.

@nokdim , the player is not free, it can be unlocked by either paying 4.99$ or registering a PlexPass. Otherwise it is on a demo mode.

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8

@AmazingRando24 , Many thanks for the suggestions.

9

I’m confused.
You have Plex pass. Enable GUEST in your home. You do NOT create a new account but click this.

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Now a GUEST account will be added to your home system. You can now edit it to select what libraries and filters are applied to it just like any other home user.

You want a PIN on your ADMIN account for sure and maybe on other user accounts just to keep your guests out of them.

Now the users should be able to access and use this guest account from any device in your house.

Depending on your setup you may need another couple of adjustments to your setup such as /settings/server/network/LAN Networks.

If your Plex server name was :Plex" then in any browser you should be able to enter “http://plex:32400”
Same with PMP2 or the android apps for tablets, etc

You may need to play a bit to figure it out but we can help you. Just tell us what is/isn’t working and we’ll help you out. But this GUEST account is there to do EXACTLY what you are looking for.

Perfect for family sleepovers, baby sitters or anyone else you want to give access to when they are in your home but not remote.

Carlo

10

What Carlo said… Ditto

11

I had no idea that option even existed that is a great feature!!!

12

This feature so fare isn’t working at all. I’ll give it an other trial. Thanks @cayars . I’ll let you know then end result

13

I checked with the server team and this GUEST account doesn’t work the way it might appear to some of us at first glance.

This guest account works in the home environment and remote. It’s not IP restricted in any way.
It also requires the device/program to login as a normal user with authentication before you can select the GUEST account. So basically it’s designed for devices you have already setup in your environment like your Xbox, Roku, ShieldTV, etc…

It’s not going to work for BYOD devices. However, in a group think with some other devs and Ninja’s I’ll suggest the following.

  1. setup an email account you can tie directly to a new plex account OR if using gmail see 1b)
    1b) if using gmail and your normal gmail account is johndoe@gmail.com you can use a + sign and create an account on Plex using the email address of johndoe+plexkids@gmail.com. You could also create another Plex account using the email address of johndoe+plexadult@gmail.com

Gmail allows you to create “virtual” email address using the + sign. Anything after the plus sign is ignored but you still receive all email at johndoe address (in this example). So in this example from 1b we created two new Plex.tv accounts. One for KIDS and one for ADULTS.

  1. Now add these two new users to your Plex server as NORMAL users not part of your home. Add them like any other user.
  2. Setup proper filters if needed for the kids account (e.g. G, PG films and shows) and ADULT account if needed.
  3. Share only the libraries you want them to have access to.

At this point you can now install apps on your friends/family phones, tablets etc or even give them the login name/password for web use. Obviously the password isn’t one you normally use! Better to LINK if possible.

When you connect these devices (link) you would use the johndoe+plexkid@gmail.com account for kids phones/tablet and would link to johndoe+plexadult@gmail.com for older family. :slight_smile:

This allows BYOD (bring your own device) while they are visiting. They can of course also use the GUEST account setup earlier on your ROKU, ShieldTV, Xbox, etc. (we are not worried about watched status at all).

When family leaves after that long week of vacation with you visit https://app.plex.tv/desktop#!/account
Scroll down a you will see all linked accounts. REMOVE THEM.

If you gave the password to anyone on this same page you can change the password to something new and make sure to check the option box labeled “Sign out connected devices after password change”
All devices associated with johndoe+plexkid@gmail.com are now deactived and will require linking again to use.

Besides the initial setup of the two accounts you need to keep in mind that these devices can work both local and remote as long as they are active. Hopefully that won’t be a big deal. Most tablets aren’t going to have access without WIFI anyway and it’s only for the duration they will be staying with you.

This solution should work OK for visitors staying with you but wouldn’t work for frequent visitors you want to only have access while using your WIFI. Think babysitter or drinking buddy. :slight_smile:

Again there is no easy way to setup a BYOD device to only work in your intranet at this time and this is the closest way I can think of that will work in some situations.

Carlo

14

@cayars, that seems overly complicated. The Web interface suggestion you posed seemed easier.
As you’ve outlined above, the same could be accomplished under current feature set by having the guest sign up for a Plex account and allowing/revoking access to libraries as necessary. Same amount of work for the host with no additional development necessary.

If you’re going to throw development at it, what about adding an “On local network only” checkbox to authorized accounts? Super simple ease of use for the host.

15

Yes you could do that for sure.

The ONE advantage to my way is that only YOU control the plex.tv account(s).
This allows you to fine tune the shares for kids, teen age or even adults and setup up ratings and know they work correctly. Anytime you need to give access to a kid/child you know the setup is correct as it’s pre-tested.

Basically it’s only complicated the first time you set it up. Any time you use it after that it’s simpler and pre-tested.

You could add several people to accounts quickly instead of hand holding them checking email, setting up a plex account etc.

It also makes it quick and easy to kill all the devices easily as well without having to find them in the device list on your server which can be confusing OR having to unshare with each person’s account you just created.

Since the person didn’t signup for a plex account you also saved them from getting emails they don’t need. :slight_smile:

Just 2 different ways to accomplish the same thing.
Carlo

16

Thanks all the suggestions but still, allowing auto discover and connect when on the same network will be ideal.
@cayars I get the point but this is very much over complicated - I recall very old version where no sign in and no setup would have done the job.

17

I agree completely and had a long discussion with some devs because of this thread. I don’t understand the reasoning/logic but it’s like this:

  1. GUEST account will work inside your intranet and remote (everywhere) but requires login or a device link authentication. Essentially it’s useless as you could create any account like this as a managed user yourself.

  2. There is an option for local authentication IF your server isn’t logged in. That makes this useless if using the HOME PP feature as it requires the server to be logged in.

  3. Plex will not allow a device or web login if connecting to a home (regardless of IP range set in preference) system due to security. This applies with the GUEST account and with the IP range set up in preferences for your local IP range.

  4. Plex allows DLNA in your local intranet without authentication.

Go figure. I don’t get the logic as many of these “features” contradict each other. There is no combination that will work for you or anyone wanting to allow simple BYOD use in your house while using the HOME feature.

So there is no way to allow a baby sitter for example to use her phone, tablet or computer to access your system only in your house.

Sorry I tried,
Carlo

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