@KPOFF said:
So why would those steps fix the connection with my phone, but not my apple tv?
Unfortunately I don’t know this device.
Either it is connected differently to your home network than your iPhone
(any PowerLan segments inbetween? or a second router maybe? )
or it hasn’t been restarted completely Turn Apple TV on or off - Apple Support
@KPOFF said:
All I need to know now is… why before I would ONLY make an Indirect connection with both my iPhone and my Apple TVs… But I followed some of your tips, and now I can at least get a “Nearby” connection on my iPhone… But the main device I watch stuff on is my Apple TV. So why would those steps fix the connection with my phone, but not my apple tv?
The fact that you can’t connect to your Plex server from any other devices on your local network is actually good news, since it indicates where the problem lies. This, along with your nslookup result indicates that the problem is probably isolated to your local network or your iMac…
Any chance you have your firewall on and you’re just blocking incoming connections to the Plex server without realizing it? I’m not a Mac guy, but I’d be curious to see what your Firewall configuration on the iMac looks like.
I’d be curious to see what happens if you go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall > Firewall Options and first, check whether your firewall is enabled, then temporarily disable it to see if that allows a direct connection.
In the event that the firewall is already disabled, try simply pinging your iMac from another device, since a ping should get through the firewall (or lack-thereof) unless the network is fragmented.
The goal of this approach is to try to isolate whether the issue is on the network or on the server (your iMac).
The fact that you can’t connect to your Plex server from any other devices on your local network is actually good news, since it indicates where the problem lies. This, along with your nslookup result indicates that the problem is probably isolated to your local network or your iMac…
Any chance you have your firewall on and you’re just blocking incoming connections to the Plex server without realizing it? I’m not a Mac guy, but I’d be curious to see what your Firewall configuration on the iMac looks like.
I’d be curious to see what happens if you go to
System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall > Firewall Optionsand first, check whether your firewall is enabled, then temporarily disable it to see if that allows a direct connection.In the event that the firewall is already disabled, try simply pinging your iMac from another device, since a ping should get through the firewall (or lack-thereof) unless the network is fragmented.
The goal of this approach is to try to isolate whether the issue is on the network or on the server (your iMac).
Thanks man, I really appreciate all your time and effort to help me (and my family) get this up and running properly. I checked and the Firewall was already turned off. It’s just strange to me that I can connect with my iPhone on the same exact network as my Apple TV, but my Apple TV only permits an indirect connection. I even checked the DNS settings inside my Apple TV and they are set correctly to the Google Public DNS 8.8.8.8. & 8.8.4.4…
I can try to “ping” my iMac from another device, I’m just not sure how to do that or what you mean really… I can control my iTunes on my iMac from my iPhone… But I don’t think that’s the kind of ping you’re referring to. I just know my iMac should allow direct access (or nearby) but it is not yet.
I’m sure the answer is so simple and just a setting somewhere I need to change… I just wish as a paying Plex customer they should have SOME sort of customer support… But I guess that’s where you come in 
And don’t forget, 6 months ago this was working fine… It almost seems to have happened shortly after I became a paying customer… When it was free everything worked great. 1080 movies actually looked HD… Not like they’re made in the early 90s…
Please reboot your server, try to access both with ATV and iPhone, and post your logs here. I’ve seen one case where a wrong netmask can cause this, logs will tell what are the IPs (PMS, ATV, iPhone) and if PMS is considering them WAN or LAN.
