iPad v7.29 app is unusable but older app is perfect

Plex Players Mobile Devices
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Server Version#: Latest (1.28.0.5973)
Player Version#: iPad 7.29

I refer to the following post:

While reading the post above, I noticed that support personnel indicated that they would like to see these problems in action as a lot of iPads seem to be working as required

I enclose three videos to illustrate the appalling performance of this Plex iPad app.

The first two videos were recorded using iPad’s recording tool (in the control panel). Keep in mind when watching these two videos that:

-When you see long pauses, the iPad app has frozen.

-Sometimes the app just crashes (exits unnaturally to the iPad’s main screen). This “looks the same” as when the Home button on the iPad has been pressed.

-Sometimes you cannot get the app to work at all unless you turn off (and then turn on) WiFi.

-The second video was recorded after I (1) Closed all apps on the iPad and rebooted the iPad and (2) Rebooted the server daemon on Big Sur. I have also deleted and reinstalled the app on a number of occasions.

The third video was recorded on an old iPad (circa 2012 I believe). The Plex app version is 3.5.3 and is running on iOS 9.3.6. There is no recording tool on this version of iOS; the was recorded manually therefore and the video is a little shaky as a result . I kept going in and out of different screens to try and get it to slow down - the performance on this older iPad app is just excellent however.

*** This Plex app (version 3.5.3) is accessing the same Plex Server on the same iMac via the same router. ***

The problem cannot be my Plex Server or my router therefore. It must be a software issue on version 7.29 of the app or a handshaking issue between the iPad app and the Plex server.

Video 1 : Dropbox - RPReplay_Final1658421191.mp4 - Simplify your life

Video 2 : Dropbox - RPReplay_Final1658529632.mp4 - Simplify your life

Video 3 : Dropbox - IMG_0198.MOV - Simplify your life

Logs : Dropbox - PlexDebugInfo-johnhamill7-7.29-2010 (2022-07-23 02.22.12 +0100).zip - Simplify your life

I inadvertently updated to this version of the iPad app (v7.29). It is not possible for me know the previous iPad version that I had. The previous version of the app did NOT have the new “download” features however - the rest of the app was very similar.

Now, with the changes in Big Sur it is impossible to restore a single iOS app without restoring the WHOLE of the software and the data on the iPad. So… now I am stuck with this awful version of your app.

I am hoping that you can locate what is a definite software problem.

Regards.

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UPDATE:

After I posted the above, I had a thought.

One of the main differences between the old iPad and the new iPad is that the older iPad is confined to a 2.4Ghz wireless signal. I downgraded my Wi-Fi to 2.4GHz, reset my network settings on my iPad and… would you believe it, the Plex app (v 7.29) now operates at a much higher performance.

The problem of course now is that everything else on my network suffers at 2.4GHz. I have no idea if it is possible (with my router) to create two subnets one that operates at 2.4GHz and another at 5GHz, let alone how to do it.

Another note: When operating my network at 5GHz, the Plex “new download” function would not work - downloads would not complete. The download would start and the “download circle graphic” would circle around 360 degrees. Right at the end of the download, an exclamation mark would appear indicating that the download had failed. This “new download function” has never worked on this version of the Plex app… until now… when the network is operating at 2.4Ghz.

Does this information offer any illumination? A handshaking issue, I assume at 5Ghz.

Hopefully you can provide some answers.

Thank you for your assistance.

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I take it all those old iPads of yours are running on iOS 12 or older? That explains why your version of Plex is stuck on version 7.29 which was released in Jan/Feb…

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To tom80H:
I do not wish to be disrespectful, but I am not sure how to take that. Not everybody can afford a new iPad every year or so.

And I am not sure how that post adds to the conversation. However, everyone deserves at least one pass, so if you have any technical solutions …

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All I’m saying is your iPads are on a version of iOS that’s no longer supported by Apple (except maybe for an occasional security hotfix)… I didn’t judge if that’s by your personal choice (e.g. because you dislike features in iOS 13, 14, 15 or 16) or because your iPad doesn’t qualify for the updates. Long story short… while Plex keeps updating and improving their client for iOS, they no longer provide those updates for iOS 12.

That doesn’t mean you need to buy new hardware… just trying to manage expectations as there’s most likely going to be no more updates to your Plex app on those iPads.

Aside of your performance problems… keep in mind this could also cause some compatibility issues if you update your PMS to a version that will only work with „Plex for iOS“ 8 or newer.

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Be got an iPad Retina that is stuck on iOS 10.5 and it works great with Plex (the last version us could update to)

It also works just fine with the latest version of PMS.

I have it running as a kids device so locked down.

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tom80H: Last word on this. This is more Apple’s fault, I believe.

My philosophy is if you have a stable system (combination hardware & software: iPad, iOS version, Plex app version, PMS, OSx version) and you are not interested in more “bell and whistles”, then stick with that system. Why upgrade if you don’t need to? Not to everyone’s taste I’m sure, but it works for me.

Plex on my iPad Air has worked superbly for me for the past five years. Somehow (as I explained in my post), one aspect of “my system” (the Plex iOS app) got upgraded (against my wishes - how it happened, I do not know). The upgraded Plex app looks exactly the same excepting the download section.

In a “non Apple” world, you would just restore the single Plex iOS app and “you’re good”. Cannot be done, though. You must restore the whole iPad and anyway, an iPad backup overwrites the previous iPad backup. A serious flaw in Apple’s software architecture (they are getting more and more like Microsoft in the 90s, but that is another conversation).

I only upgraded to the latest PMS to see if that might fix the problem caused by the upgraded Plex iOS app. I would not have upgraded the PMS otherwise.

The reason for my post was to explain that it was indeed the Plex iOS app (and NOT any other part of “my system”) that caused the performance decline.

Someone might know of a solution and… this might help other users narrow down their own performance issues.

Anyhow, thanks for the interesting conversation.

Regards.

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Off topic but:

In a “non Apple” world, you would just restore the single Plex iOS app and “you’re good”. Cannot be done, though. You must restore the whole iPad and anyway, an iPad backup overwrites the previous iPad backup. A serious flaw in Apple’s software architecture (they are getting more and more like Microsoft in the 90s, but that is another conversation).

It may be complicated, but for future reference it can be done using both iTunes and other non-Apple products to make backups of all installed ipa packages. Provided you store these (or a copy) outside of the structured Apple folder environment it is fairly trivial to restore a previously functioning app to an older version if something gets broken.

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I have looked at this. The iMobie OSx application specifically. All my attempts / tests failed. Perhaps, there are problems with Big Sur backup folder structure. Anyway, I have spent too much time on it now.

Should I get a stable “system” again, I might pursue this avenue. I’ll leave for now however.

Thank you for your suggestion anyway.

Regards.

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UPDATE:
I have just upgraded my PMS to version 1.29. And it has fixed the problem. No performance issues with the iPad app at all. As I thought, it was a server buffering problem

A big “shout-out” to the Plex Server development team.

Thanks to all for their input / comments.

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