How best to "invite" family as "limited" users . . . and to help them get set up?

General Discussions
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Thanks to Jason Nalley, I am now fully set up on my PLEX system to allow remote users. I am in the process of inviting three siblings (all remote) to share my PLEX media. I am not clear on how best to do this. Perhaps there are some clear instructions among the articles, but I have not yet found them.

I want to invite them to share in the libraries that I select for them, but I do not want them to have any ability whatsoever to tinker with my PLEX Media Server settings, or the media content.

Two of my siblings will be using the TV interface with their Roku Streaming Sticks. It will be easy enough for them to install the PLEX app, on their Roku, but I am not sure how they get linked to my PMS as “invited” users. The other sibling will be accessing my media files on his notebook PC. I am not clear at all how this works, or what information he is provided in the invitation to guide him in setup.

I have two children whom I have set up on their TVs, but I think I just gave them full access to my account. Neither are really using PLEX much, so I think there is no risk of them tinkering with my PMS. I could, if appropriate, delete their access, and send a “invitation.” But I am not sure I want, or need, to do this.

As for my siblings, I want them to have access, but not full access (I am not sure about the correct terminology). So, the one who will be accessing my media files on his PC has received his invitation, and I believe he has installed the PLEX Player for Windows, but he said he could not get the files to work. I think he was clicking on what might be a mere listing of the libraries I am permitting him to access. He is a total PLEX newbie and is struggling to understand how the player works. Since he lives far away, I cannot look over his shoulder.

I have not yet sent invitations to the two siblings who will be using Roku PLEX Players on their TV.

I just want to make this easy for them, and avoid making any mistakes on my end that I will later regret. Where do you recommend I go for useful IC on this?

Thanks for your help.

JA Motter

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I would suggest they first go to Plex.tv and create an account.
When they tell you their user name - you add them as Guests and share libraries you select with them. Do make SURE the email address they use is current, working, and good to go for a LONG time.

There could be a little fiddling required in there somewhere, and possible invite error, but it should be relatively painless.

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Sharing your server to other users

The best method to grant access to members of your own household (particularly if there are some client devices which may get used by several different users) is to add them into your Plex Home.
But this is only available with a Plex Pass, so if you don’t want these users to have access to the server settings, then ‘shared users’, as described in the above link, is the only way.

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Otto. Thanks for your reply. I do not yet have PLEX Pass, so I will use the procedure in the box to set up my siblings. I do have a question . . .

When they go to Plex.tv to create an account, do they do this through a PC, or can you do it through a PLEX TV Player (Roku app)?

If through a PC, then they just have a simple process (I think) to connect to their PLEX account in the PLEX TV Player, am I right?

And then my “invitation” for them to access my Plex account will be easy to find and enable, am I right?

I have never before connected anyone to my PLEX account for library sharing, so this is a bit of a mystery to me as to how it will work on their end.

Thanks for your counsel.

JA Motter

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They should use a web browser. It should be possible to use a web browser on a mobile phone as well.
Each plex.tv account needs a unique email address. Google or Facebok accounts can be used as well.
If you want to do it for them, make sure to use a web browser with activated ‘incognito’ mode, so your own plex account doesn’t get mangled in the process.

This is also described in the above link. Again use a web browser, log in to https://app.plex.tv/desktop#!/settings/users-sharing with their plex credentials and confirm the invitation.

Each plex client has a button to sign out of the current plex account. And then back into a different one.

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