I am trying to use a Western Digital NAS My Cloud EX4100 with Plex. The My Cloud EX4100 allows me to install the app directly, however it does not work with the app installed on my Amazon Fire Stick. The error message says I need to set up the server.
Both apps were installed directly from the device, however, they do not seem to work with each other.
Following the instructions for the NAS, it installs the Plex server on my computer (not what I want). Why are there no clear instructions to get this to work?
How do I get the Western Digital NAS My Cloud EX4100 and the Amazon Fire Stick to work with Plex?
What OS version is installed on that EX4100? -> OS2 or OS3?
did you complete the setup of the Plex Media Server – as in: is it linked to your Plex account and have you established some libraries?
general instruction on the installation and setup…
side note… not sure if you’ll have a lot of joy with the EX4100 – from what I can find it’ll have a hard time to play anything that cannot be streamed as-is by the client platform
The EX4100 version is 2.41.116. There is an update to version 5 available, however it seems to have fewer features.
I installed the Plex app on my windows 10 computer (laptop), however it wanted to create the server and libraries on the laptop. I could not find any options for running Plex from the EX4100. Since the laptop moves around, it is not useful as a media server.
I can stream the movies directly from the EX4100 using the app built into the Amazon Fire Stick, however the interface is very basic and it is difficult to find the movies. I wanted to use Plex since the interface is more user=friendly.
Is there any way to get Plex to run without having to keep a running computer in the middle?
If you upgrade your EX4100 to WD’s OS 3 or 5 you should be able to install the Plex Media Server on the NAS. However keep in mind the EX4100 will not be able to do any transcoding if your Fire Stick cannot handle a file’s original format!
I have update the firmware on the My Cloud EX4100 to version 5.
I have the Plex app installed on the Amazon Fire Stick.
I can play the movies on the My Cloud EX4100 using both Kodi, and the default app on the Amazon Fire Stick.
When I use Plex, and select local/library content, it gives me the website and asks me to install it on the computer.
Is it possible to use the My Cloud EX4100 (Plex app installed) with the Amazon Fire Stick (Plex app installed)?
For Plex to work you need both parts… the client app installed on the Fire TV and the Plex Media Server to run on your WD NAS (same as it’s currently installed on your PC). Plex is not designed to run media directly from a file server without a Plex server in between (even if it’s installed on the same device hosting your files).
I am a bit confused…
I have installed the Plex App on the MyCloud EX4100 NAS, using the Western Digital maintenance screen (built-in). I have also installed the Plex App on the Amazon fire stick using the Fire Stick’s built in menu to load the App.
Is there something else that needs to be installed? If so, where do I get it, and how do I install it?
I have tried the download from the Plex website, however it only seems to want to install the “Plex server” on my local hard drive. Since this is a laptop, it is not going to be available all the time. If a server is required on the NAS, I would expect there to be some instructions for installing it.
You need to complete the setup the Plex Media Server app.
After you enabled the app via WD’s maintenance screen and see it running, you need to open http://[EX4100 IP address]:32400/web in your browser.
This should bring up the Plex Web interface where you’ll be asked to name your server and link it to your Plex account. When you’re done with those steps you’re good to go … now should be able to see your new server from the Fire TV (or using the hosted version of the Plex Web app → http://app.plex.tv/desktop).
Keep in mind you need to tell Plex where to look for your media by defining libraries (e.g. movies, tv-shows…).
I am able to access the Plex Web interface, where there are several selections shown on the left-side menu bar. In the “Movies” portion, I can select “Library” and see the files located on the MyCloud EX4100 NAS.
So far, so good…
However, when I use the Amazon Fire Stick, it pulls up Plex, and shows many channels and movies, but it does not include the local files on the NAS.
The Fire Stick has a left-side menu item for “Your Media”. When selected, the message is: “Add your media to Plex” with a URL of “https://plex.tv/download”. Going to this site simply wants me to install the Plex server on my computer. This seems to be an endless loop.
Any ideas how to make the Fire Stick and NAS work together?
For both the Amazon Fire Stick and the NAS, I loaded the Plex App through the menu.
For the Fire Stick, the main menu, I browsed to all apps, found Plex, and downloaded it.
There does not seem to be any area to enter the network address of the NAS.
The Amazon Fire Stick is the new 4K version - about 3 months old.
This is what you do from a regular computer inside your home network
On your Amazon Fire Stick…
Open the Plex app you downloaded from the Fire TV’s app store…
If you already used it before… you should be able to find an option on the app’s home screen to reset the customizations.
Alternatively you should be able to find a More menu option in the main navigation… there you should find the newly added server and its libraries. Under the More menu you can also pin those new libraries so they’ll show in the main navigation (without the need to open More first).
It still did not work, so I uninstalled the App on the fire stick and re-installed it. Once I signed in again, the local files linked. Now I can access the NAS files.
