LG TV Connecting Remotely to Local Network Server

[Griff]

Server Version#: Win7 x64 - 1.31.2.6810
Player Version#: LG WebOS 05.70.30 - Plex App 5.1.2

G’day,

Whenever I play something using my LG TV Plex App it connects remotely to my Plex Server. All other players (iPad, iPhone, Web, PC, Laptop, Wired, Wireless) connect locally as expected.

The TV is connected via network cable to my R7800 Router running OpenWRT. Can anyone assist in identifying why my LG TV connects remotely to my server even though it is connected directly to my local network? It’s previously worked and I only noticed the remote connection the other day when checking the Plex Dash app while someone was watching something on the TV.

Plex Server Settings:

• IPv6 support disabled.
• Secure Connections - Preferred.
• LAN Networks - 192.168.1.1/24
• Treat WAN IP As LAN Bandwidth - disabled.
• List of IP ** allowed without auth - 192.168.1.1/24

LG TV Plex App Settings

• Manual Plex server address added.
• App reset multiple times.
• App uninstalled and reinstalled multiple times.
• IP Address checked to make sure on same subnet.

Can send logs later if required.

Many thanks!

[FordGuy61]

Check for DNS rebinding.

See Why Isn’t It Working section of How to Use Secure Server Connections.

Use a public DNS and configure DNSMASQ in DD-WRT advanced settings.

@Griff

The TV is connected via network cable

The Ethernet port on the TV is 100 Mbps. Some media, such as 4K HDR BD rips, may burst above that speed. If so, you may experience buffering.

The TV’s WiFi is 802.11ac and capable of speeds faster than 100 Mbps. If you experience buffering with high bit-rate media, try connecting the TV to a 5 GHz Wi-Fi channel.

@Griff

LAN Networks - 192.168.1.1/24

Is the server on the 192.168.1.0 network? If so, this setting is not necessary and should be removed.

@Griff

List of IP ** allowed without auth - 192.168.1.1/24

While necessary to use Plex Media Server during an Internet outage, be aware of the implications.

This allows all devices on the 192.168.1.0 network to access the server without authorization. This means all clients have admin rights, including the capability to change server settings and delete media (Plex Web & Desktop). Additionally, there is no enforcement of age related or other such restrictions (if you’ve kids with restricted profiles, they can see all media).

@Griff

Manual Plex server address added.

This should not be necessary.

[Griff]

@FordGuy61

Check for DNS rebinding.

Thanks. Checking now. I’m using OpenWRT so just checking the relevant settings.

@FordGuy61

The Ethernet port on the TV is 100 Mbps. Some media, such as 4K HDR BD rips, may burst above that speed. If so, you may experience buffering.

The TV’s WiFi is 802.11ac and capable of speeds faster than 100 Mbps. If you experience buffering with high bit-rate media, try connecting the TV to a 5 GHz Wi-Fi channel.

I’ve never had an issue when it was connecting locally. As mentioned, everything else on my network connects locally and has no issues. Thanks for the tip though. You prompted me to try something else to troubleshoot. I connected via 5GHz wifi and attempted to watch something on plex to see if that made a difference and unfortunately there was no change.

@FordGuy61

Is the server on the 192.168.1.0 network? If so, this setting is not necessary and should be removed.

I did this as part of the troubleshooting to force it to connect locally. I figured it wouldn’t hurt.

@FordGuy61

While necessary to use Plex Media Server during an Internet outage, be aware of the implications.

This allows all devices on the 192.168.1.0 network to access the server without authorization. This means all clients have admin rights, including the capability to change server settings and delete media (Plex Web & Desktop). Additionally, there is no enforcement of age related or other such restrictions (if you’ve kids with restricted profiles, they can see all media).

We get internet disconnections on and off and this prevents family melt-downs when the internet disconnects. In saying that, it doesn’t always work for some reason. One of the things I put down to Plex nuances. It does annoy me when we can’t watch local media when the net goes down.

@FordGuy61

@Griff

Manual Plex server address added.

This should not be necessary.

Same as before. I just did it as part of my troubleshooting to try and force it to connect locally.

Thanks again. Any other tips? I’ll chase down these logs eventually. Sorry.

Edit: I forgot to mention, I have Pi-hole running as my DNS server. I didn’t think this would affect the connection however, I’ll try connecting to a Public DNS server to see if this helps.

[FordGuy61]

@Griff

Edit: I forgot to mention, I have Pi-hole running as my DNS server. I didn’t think this would affect the connection however, I’ll try connecting to a Public DNS server to see if this helps.

Adjustments necessary there as well.

Plex and Pi-Hole

Hi. I have Pi-Hole running on a Raspberry PI. I have my router’s primary DNS set to my Pi. When I do this my Plex media server is unhappy because it’s an unsecure connection. I clicked on “Allow unsecure connections” and nothing happens. How do I resolve this?

[SOLVED] Plex secure connection not possible

Server Version 1.19.3.2852: Player Version 4.34.3: Hello Plex Community, Since the last Plex Server Update I have the problem that I can’t reach the server via the website “app.plex.tv” anymore. It is suddenly displayed to me as “insecure”. Which I have already tried without success: Log off Plex Server and log on again Plex Server via apt install --reinstall "reinstalled into my Fritzbox “plex.direkt” as allowed release for the DNS rebind protection logs searched for common errors Plex Se…

[Griff]

Apologies for the time between replies. I’ve been away for an extended period of time.

Update: I temporarily stopped using my Pihole server and connected to a public DNS. The TV then started to connect locally without a problem. I then resumed using Pihole and the TV still connects to the local network with no problems. I have no idea why it wouldn’t connect locally before and why all my other devices, laptops and PCs connected without a problem.

[FordGuy61]

Something in the Pi-hole config is blocking communications with at least some portion of Plex hosts. When you went to a public DNS it allowed the necessary communications. That info is probably cached in the Plex app on the LG.

Did you add the plex.direct domain to the Pi-hole (DNS rebinding)? You should also whitelist the plex.tv domain. I don’t have a Pi-hole, but the docs/threads linked earlier should help with the configuration.

Another possibility would be to configure the LG with a fixed IP address and public DNS servers (instead of using DHCP). The LG would then communicate directly to the Internet, bypassing the Pi-hole.