Server Version: 1.42.1.10060 (Docker, Linuxserver.io build)
Player Version: Plex for iOS 2000 25.22.0 (1195)
I’ve run into a really strange problem with the Plex iOS app.
Whenever I play a movie on my iPhone and lower the quality (for example, to 720p @ 4 Mbps), Plex doesn’t shrink the stream. Instead, it starts transcoding but blasts my phone with 200–400 Mb/s of data — and the Plex Dashboard confirms these spikes. The result is totally pixelated video and constant buffering.
The crazy part? If I play the same movie in Safari (Plex Web) on the same iPhone, it works perfectly. The Dashboard shows the transcode at the expected 15–20 Mb/s, smooth playback, no issues. On desktop Plex Web, everything works fine as well. See my configuration below.
Setup (summary):
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Server: Dell R630, Ubuntu host, Plex running in Docker
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Media stored on NAS (SMB mount)
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SSD mapped for
/transcode(confirmed working) -
Remote Access enabled and functioning
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Issue occurs only in Plex iOS app
Tests:
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iOS App: 4K → 720p (Dashboard shows 200–400 Mb/s, pixelated, unwatchable)
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iOS App: 1080p → 720p (same issue, 200–300 Mb/s)
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iOS Web (Safari): 4K → 720p (Dashboard ~15–20 Mb/s, smooth playback)
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Desktop Plex Web: all good
Expected: When I pick 720p @ 4 Mbps, Plex should send ~4–8 Mb/s stream.
Actual: Plex iOS app seems to over-request, causing extreme bandwidth usage and pixelation.
Question:
Has anyone else run into this on iOS? Is this a known bug with the current iOS player? Any workarounds besides using Plex Web (Safari) or creating optimized versions?
