I moved by plex instance to a new server

Server Version#: 1.13.6.5339
Player Version#: -

Hello guys,

I was wondering if you could help me figure out an issue I have stumbled across after installing my instance of plex onto a new server. The old server instance is shut down but still installed.

I followed the guide here:

Move an install to another system

My previous server OS was CentOS & the new one is Fedora which should be interchangable in this regard. So, to the issue:

Since I moved it 2 weeks ago, everyday at some point the server list (which includes News and Podcasts) reverts to the old servername: domain.tld instead the name of the new instance: subdomain.domain.tld, and states that there are no available servers.

My solution, which I don’t fully understand myself is to create a SSH-tunnel and visit the server at localhost:8888/web at which point the old domain disappears from the menu choice of servers and is once again replaced by the new server-domain. Sometimes this is enough, sometimes I have to manually check that the port is open to the outside world.

  • Which logs would be interesting for me to look at?

  • Is this even an issue with my setup? Could it be the plex account that is to blame in some way?

The old account should have been removed as I understand it when I logged out my plex account from the old server and logged in at the new?

  • Could there be some metadata in the copied directory ~/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/ that should be removed?

Do you have the old server instance still running? Even if it is just for a few seconds?
If this is the case, then you should either:

  • deinstall the old server
  • prevent it from running
  • give it a new machine ID (which causes it to lose all sharings)

The last is achieved by deleting several values from the Preferences.xml (the server must be shut down when doing this)
https://support.plex.tv/articles/201105343-advanced-hidden-server-settings/

  • AnonymousMachineIdentifier
  • MachineIdentifier
  • ProcessedMachineIdentifier
  • PlexOnlineToken

Hello Otto,

I posted this a few days ago over at reddit/r/plex.
I thought the issue was solved and closed the thread over there. This issue started again after that.

I must have had a brain decease in the meantime since the systemctl-service was started when I checked it just now because of your reply.

Wierdly the uptime of the server was 14 days and the systemctl-service was started five days ago so I have done it manually???

Either way the service is now disabled and stopped.

Conserning your third point - I have copied the Preferences.xml in the transfer, could that cause an issue that the machine ID remains the same?

Either way, I think five days roughly translated to when the issue started to reemerge. Let me get back to you tomorrow if this solved the issue or not.

Precisely.

It seems to work now. Thanks!

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