Server Version#: 4.108.0
Player Version#:
I’ve done my best to enable Router port forwarding but can’t get Plex remote access the stay open on IP 192.168.90.250 (static).
My ISP Router is ZTE670L downstairs and the Plex Server is connected to an upstairs TP-Link RE450 Extender. which connects to the main router via WiFi.
Everything else in my LAN works except Plex remote access.
Is it because of the extender (192.168.90.2)? The only DHCP Server is the ISP Router which is 192.168.90.1
Help appreciated
There should be no issue if the 2nd router is in bridge mode and not establishing its own subnet.
Did you already have a look at the related troubleshooting support article?
https://support.plex.tv/articles/200931138-troubleshooting-remote-access/
There’s also a guide with some more details on how to troubleshoot remote access issues.
It’s not much help but here are others discussing a similar forwarding issue.
You might try a temporary hookup with a long ethernet cable and see if you can get it working that way first. Then, you will know for sure if the extender is an additional piece of the puzzle.
"There’s also a guide with some more details . . . "
Been there, done that, so came here: “… if you have trouble understanding things, please visit the Plex forums where staff and friendly community members can assist.”
As I pointed out in my OP, I’ve tried everything to no avail.
Another member has suggested bypassing the extender by connecting the Plex Server directly to the ISP Router with an ethernet cable. That’s a good idea in an attempt to go through a process of elimination and I’ll try it after I return from a weekend away from home.
In the meantime, maybe someone else has some ideas about what might be happening. It seems odd that everything else works fine in the extender environment,. Surely this has been considered and resolved elsewhere previously, so I’ll remain hopeful.
Remote access can be a tricky beast because there’s so many components to it… many of them outside your control. The troubleshooting offers some guideposts for the parts you can fix yourself. It’ll leave you with a number of questions to ask if that fails. The outcome of the individual steps/questions will help investigating this further.
So if you did „everything“… to what actual outcome did you get beyond „it’s not working“?
- Could you verify your main router has an actual routable public IPv4 address and there’s no double NAT, CGNAT or otherwise weird IP assignment? Also… Do the public/WAN IP listed on your main router, inside Plex and the one seen by a service like canyouseeme.org match?
- Did you create a manual port forward and are you able to see/access that port on your main router from outside your home network
So if you did „everything“… to what actual outcome did you get beyond „it’s not working“?
Not sure what your intent is here, but as per my OP, I’ve followed all the tips and leads, all to no avail.
To answer yourspecific questions:
- Could you verify your main router has an actual routable public IPv4 address and there’s no double NAT, CGNAT or otherwise weird IP assignment?
I assume that you mean do I have an internet connection and do I know the ISP assigned IP address, the answer is YES & YES… As for double NAT - No, there’s only 1 DHCP server on my LAN and that’s the ISP Router, which I’ve tried to configure as the port forwarding point. All the research I’ve done on that particular model (ZTE 670L) indicates that I have that config set correctly. All other devices on the LAN have either a static IP (such as the Plex Server, the TP-Link Extender, my main desktop and printer, etc). All other clients are assigned an IP address by the ZTE Router. I don’t know what CGNAT is, and, to the best of my knowledge, I believe my LAN has no weird IP assignments. - Did you create a manual port forward?
I have created (attempted to create) a manual port forward (see above) and, while the Port Checker utility is able to see my external IP address, it insists that port 32400 is closed.
I don’t know what else I can do, apart from gain the knowledge and experience of those who inhabit this Forum, or benefit from their generosity.
If the external port checker can see your router / public IP but not the specified port that implies that either the manual port forward isn’t done properly or your ISP might be blocking communication to that specific port.
I recommend you check results with a different public port, also using some more common or exotic ones (e.g. 80 or 8080 for common ones… something outside the common Plex ports in the range from 20000-50000 as „exotic ones“).
If that doesn’t work you might want to reach out to your ISP to check with them if they’re blocking anything and if they’re able/willing to change that…
Great info, thanks I’ll pursue that line. I’ll be out of town until Monday so won’t get to this until my return, but thanks for the suggestion. Will revert ASAP.
Thanks again for your helpful suggestions. I tried forwarding ports 80 & 8080 on my router to no avail.
Out of sheer frustration and with a devil may care attitude, I simply changed the router’s port forwarding protocol to TCP & UDP (was previously TCP only) and unchecked Plex setting to manually specify public port and, hey presto!
I’m now able to connect to Plex from my mobile phone outside the LAN.
I’ll be closely monitoring this for the next week or so to determine whether this is just an illusion, so if you don’t hear back from me thanks again for your input.
Cheers
From what you describe, you got UPnP to work (automatic port forwarding). The addition of UDP to the manual port forwarding won’t have any impact on this (Plex is only using TCP for remote communication)
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