First off, I fully accept that this is a silly and irrational thing to be complaining about. I’m fine with that.
I used to be able to access Plex Media Server without having to log into my Plex account. It’s no longer letting me do that. If I sign out and go to [ipaddress]:32400/web it only shows me the “sign in or sign up” screen. I only stream locally and I remember earlier versions allowing me to stream without signing into either the server or the Roku. Is this not possible anymore? Thanks.
I just noticed the same thing while setting up a test server. The way around this it to do the following:
Did they remove this functionality recently? The “what’s this” link is no longer present. Sucks if true, because Plex constantly phoning home is putting a dent in my meager bandwidth cap and I’d like to turn that feature off for local streaming.
I was wondering the same thing. I understand signing in and all, but it causes issues when internet is out, and I’d like to create a setup where anyone in the house can download a player and find the server without having to sign in. This is a really stupid deficiency in plex, might start looking at alternatives that can do what >I< want.
@DemonfangArun said:
I was wondering the same thing. I understand signing in and all, but it causes issues when internet is out, and I’d like to create a setup where anyone in the house can download a player and find the server without having to sign in. This is a really stupid deficiency in plex, might start looking at alternatives that can do what >I< want.
Same here, it’s gone … Plex is becoming quite frustrating to use.
I had an old plex app that did not require you to login. I miss that old app. I only upgraded because it was no longer playing big media files and couldn’t even recognize some of them.
Now I / we are stuck having to login. I do not like that option. What if the internet goes offline? Will this sill work? I haven’t tried it yet, but I will. I agree I think plex us taking a wrong turn here…
I found a better solution. I remove my plex from my server and install emby on a linux server. IT was an easier install than plex
im using this plex version, and, doesnt need to login to plex account
Plex-Media-Server-1.14.0.5470-9d51fdfaa
I just find that, both server and client(s) have to be signed in to see my content over the local network. Why? I don’t wan’t expose my stuff outside local network.
There are many other options.
So good bye plex!
I am uninstalling both server and clients.
It’s actually good they removed this, it’s a pretty big security issue if the work around is present, especially if you have one server for multiple uses, such as myself. Revoking access to this workaround prevents someone going to your public IP and performing the workaround. I’m new to this, so the information isn’t solid, but I know enough about networks & security to understand the loopholes, and that I’m glad this one was patched
Edit: It also prevents unauthorised user access on the internal network, too.
If you do not expose your Plex to the internet, nor have any one accessing it via any other means, then there is no reason to have this in place.
And I do security for a living …
Hey,
Thanks for the reply. Never said you didn’t do security for a living and I find it great you are doing so! However, Plex doesn’t know how many people are on your network, same as any other network app - furthest an app can go is detect how many devices there are connected, therefore; the loophole is classed as a security issue for unauthorised access to your library.
Maybe Plex wanted that to begin with but it seems to me they want to keep your devices secure, so the login function is pretty good in my opinion to tackle unauthorised access.
I do however agree on one part, if you aren’t allowing Remote Access the feature should be optional - at users own risk. I guess the login function just helps to tackle misuse of your Plex server, it’s the main reason I’m all for it.
Big reason that Plex should not require Internet access to work when the Internet goes out, and mine does frequently here in the Ozarks, you can’t even watch local channels that come in over your networked tuners.
I think that I am going to give Emby a try.
Set Server: ‘Preferred’ instead of ‘Required’ or 'Disabled.
Set Clients: Fall back to insecure on local network only.
When the door closes - the light stays on!
(Note: You will probably have to re-boot everything in the neighborhood after fiddling with security settings - would be my guess)
I’m actually just setting up a secondary plex server. I’m fine with signing in, but for whatever reason once I do, it’s showing only the original server! WTF?
I’m apparently talking to the secondary server that can’t see itself. 
Since this is a brand-new installation, I think the preferences.xml isn’t fully setup as I can’t find where to force this “Server: Preferred” setting. Any ideas?
Your server can be found in “More”
…then ‘The Pinning Process Begins’…
It doesn’t work like that for me. When the Internet goes out, I cannot watch local TV.
Your router is owned by your ISP?
If so, you’re at their mercy.
If not, it works fine at my house.
Did you reboot everything in the house?
Server, router/modem/devices/clients/dishwasher/etc.
What is this “More” you speak of?
I know that’s how it’s supposed to work, but it’s clearly not, and TBH I just want to set it up locally and then maybe link it to my account.
Why is this impossible?
