Server Version#: 1.40.0.7998
Player Version#: 4.125.1
Due to transcoding issues I recently decided to move my PMS from my old Synology DS415+ to a brand new GEEKOM Mini IT13 i5 box, after being recommended to do so rather than upgrading to a newer Synology from someone on these forums. I’m running Ubuntu 22.04 on it and have setup Plex. It basically works, but I am experiencing the following issues that I would love to resolve:
Remote Access: I’ve enabled remote access, but it says it’s not accessible from outside the network. When I click the “Retry” button, using a custom port, it says it is accessible, for 5 seconds and then it says it’s not. I can still access it from outside the network, but it’s a “Limited Connection”.
I still have my old Synology box running, but it’s just for storage and running a few server apps. I’m wondering if it’s interfering with access to my new NUC? If I have setup a port forward rule pointing to that new NUC for the ports I’m using in Plex, shouldn’t it just pass the connection through to that machine?
I’ve setup Overseerr to allow for requests for media, but it can’t find my Plex instance. I’m pointing to the local IP of my NUC and the port for Plex, but it just times out every time. I believe this is related to the first issue.
I am still experiencing some weird lags when viewing some videos. It will just get stuck on the spinning wheel on some devices (Apple TV, LG TV), but plays well on others (Fire TV). I do have hardware encoding enabled.
At this point I would love to pay someone to just get it all fixed for me, but I don’t think that job exists. LOL Any help you can provide is GREATLY appreciated as I have spent SO many hours trying to dial this in.
I recommend ignoring the built in connection test. Use an external port checker. That, plus actually using a Plex client to see if the connection is limited, will tell you what you need to know.
If you aren’t having success, something about your port forwarding is not working right. The existence of your Syno should not interfere with forwarding to the NUC but it all depends on your entire LAN setup.
I can reassure you that in principle, your choice of hardware and OS can be 100% reliable. There’s likely a configuration problem somewhere. That doesn’t mean that some Plex clients can’t have their own hangups, though.
When I check with an external port checker, all of the ports assigned to my NAS are open. I only have 5 port assignments for my NUC, 22, 80, 443, 5900 & 8888 (which I use for Plex). For whatever reason, the first 3 (22, 80 & 443) are all reporting as open, while the last two are closed. They are all setup in my router the exact same way. Should I be using UDP for those two ports? They are all setup using only TCP. I’m not sure what else I can do with the tools I have. I’ve been setting up new apps on my Synology this morning, pointing internal ports to external ports, and they all work immediately with no issues. So it’s very strange that the non-standard ports pointing to the NUC are closed…
Actually, I just checked all of my forwarded ports, and even a few pointing to the NAS are showing closed. Not sure how to resolve those. I guess it’s a network issue, but I am far from a network expert, and it feels like this issue requires that level of understanding…? FYI, I am using a Google Nest wifi mesh router.
Remote Access is never working. That is Plex being “optimistic” while trying to enable remote access. When it fails, Plex then displays the “not available outside your network” message.
The “limited connection” is Plex Relay, a fallback used when Remote Access is not available. The stream is tunneled through servers at plex.tv. It is limited to 2 Mbps (1 Mbps w/o a Plex Pass).
The only port needed for Remote Access is TCP/32400. If you have a firewall on the NUC, make sure TCP/32400 is open.
You will need to configure a port forwarding rule in your Internet router to forward that port to the NUC running Plex Media Server.
You can use a different external port, remapping it in the port forwarding rule.
Thanks for your reply. I have already forwarded the internal (32400) to external ports (8888) but when I check with a port checker port 8888 is showing as closed. I am currently rebooting the router in hopes that it might resolve the issue.
I would also temporarily try the official port 32400. I have read that some ISPs may block some ports, particularly the lower ones. Maybe you have a cool biz plan and that can’t be a factor but if you are stuck, it’s easy to try.
Are the NUC and NAS both connected via wired Ethernet?
To what are they connected, the Google Nest, the router/modem supplied by your ISP?
Is the ISP equipment a router, modem, etc.? If you do not know, does it have a make/model on it?
Wondering if you are in a Double-NAT, or “router behind a router” situation.
PMS should show a warning on the Remote Access settings page if it detects a double-NAT setup.
Also, the Public address displayed in Settings → Remote Access should match what you see if you go to a site such as http://whatismyipaddress.org. If it is different, then there is a network configuration issue somewhere.
You do not need any router port forwarding rules for NUC - NAS communication, since both are on the same network.
Port forwarding rules in the router are only for communication that goes to the Internet.
If you have router port forwarding rules in your router for NUC-NAS communication, you should remove them, as the could be a security risk, potentially allowing undesirable communication from the Internet to reach your NUC/NAS.
The Synology firewall is different.
Synology firewall rules will have no impact on enabling Plex remote access with PMS on the NUC.
You may need firewall rules for other uses, but not for remote access from PMS on the NUC.
Are you running a VPN on the NUC? If so, disable it. Plex and VPNs generally do not play nice with each other. They can sometimes be made to work, but it takes extra steps. If you’re using a VPN, leave it disabled.
Monitor playback via Plex Dashboard → Now Playing + Expanded View.
When playing from a local device, is the connection Local, Remote, or Indirect?
It should be Local. If it is Remote or Indirect, then you’ve networking issues that need to be straightened out first, before trying to configure remote access.
Right now the NAS is connected directly to the router, the NUC is connecting through wifi. The Google nest router is one I bought, and that is connected to the modem, which does have a router, but I am not using that wifi network for anything. I asked and there was no way to disable it. Right now I’m actually at work so I can’t check things that require me to be physically there, but I will read through your links and post back tonight after work. Thank you!
I tried this, and even though I put a port forward rule in for 32400 → 32400, it’s still reporting it as being closed. I just have a standard home internet plan, nothing fancy.
If I go to Plex on any machine other than the NUC that it is running on, and then go to Remote Access and click the “Retry” button, it disables remote access! So then it just shows the server as disconnected. The only way to resolve this is to open Plex in a browser on the NUC and click the Enable remote access button. For what it’s worth…
So I need to use this NUC as headless because in order to connect it directly to the router, like the NAS, it has to be under my living room TV, and I don’t have a small monitor that I can connect to it. Currently I am using it with my large curved monitor that has a KVM switch built in so I can switch between that and my laptop.
So I’ve installed VNC, and enabled RDP, but neither of those works, and I’m assuming it’s because of these network issues. So I’m not sure what to do at this point. Unless I can get remote access to work on this I can’t connect it directly to the router. Otherwise it won’t work and I will have no idea why… Any ideas how to resolve this? I guess I need to now go to Ubuntu forums for this, or is it a network forum? ARG!
I do most work, updates, etc., via SSH/CLI using PuTTY, but there are times when a full desktop is nice.
For remote desktop, I use rdp from my Win10 PC. It is close, but not exactly the same, as a local desktop. For example, I have to re-enter my password to launch the software update app from Ubuntu desktop. I do not have to do that with a local keyboard/monitor. Never figured out why that happens.
Well I am able to SSH into the box, but RDP does NOT work, even though I have set it up properly according to several videos I watched (it’s not that complicated). Same for VNC. So I suppose I could just SSH into it and do my work there, but my command line skills are VERY rusty. I’d love to get either RDP or VNC working for that reason. I’m considering wiping the whole thing and starting from scratch, knowing what I know now…
