Why do newly created "friend" and "user" accounts, for which invitations have been sent, and accepted, continue to be displayed as pending more than 24 (so far) hours later?
I am running an installation of Plex Media Server Version 0.9.12.4.1192-9a47d21 under Windows 10 64-bit Insider Preview Build 10159.
While I had, and continue to have no problems with my account connecting to, and using my server from my computer, over my local network, or from remote locations over the internet, a family member with the only "friend" account on my server reported that she could no longer access the server from a remote location. I couldn't find any problems with my installation of Plex Media Server, my network, it's connection to the internet, or my computer, so I decided to delete her "friend" account, and then create a "user" account for her. The requisite invitation was sent using her user name at plex.tv, and she accepted that invitation. But her account continues to show as pending. Creating additional "user" accounts in the same manner ended up with the same result, and have since been withdrawn/deleted.
I'm stumped.
I don't know if the problem started with the recent update of my server to the current version of it's software, or before. The family member said she had not experienced any problems connecting to my server two weeks earlier, which was before the installation of the update. I'm left wondering if the problem is with my particular installation and setup of the updated version of the software, a bug in this version of the software, or a problem with the server(s), or her account at Plex.
I'd appreciate any helpful solutions which would lead to a resolution of this problem.
Copies of my server's current log files are attached for perusal.
Same issue. Users still able to get to my server but then have to click guest or my account to get all the way to server.
Forgot to mention one invite went to user but that was the first created and invited users show up on friends list just not as users. Not sure if this is by design or bug.
And I can’t help but notice the information displayed in upper left corner of this webpage disclosing that there are currently 511 (FIVE HUNDRED ELEVEN) unanswered questions.
You gotta love the quick, and helpful responses from Plex Ninjas and Plex support staff to requests from PlexPass subscribers for assistance.
To investigate this, we’ll need some more information:
What are you using to send the Friend invites? (web app, Android, iOS, etc.)
Are you referring to adding members to your Plex Home or are these outside of the Plex Home?
Are you adding Managed Users or regular/full Plex accounts?
For the shared user, where precisely does “pending” show up for them? (screenshot could be useful)
What’s the exact username/email of the user experiencing this issue? (so we can look at the correct info)
To be sure, this is for a server share from the Plex Media Server associated with your lkmcmillen account?
(FWIW, the number of “unanswered” questions is quite misleading since a lot of users don’t go back and mark that they received an answer to their question.)
Thank you very much for finally responding to my request for assistance. I and my family members had come to the conclusion that Plex was a hobbyist activity being run from some teenager’s parent’s garage. I’m sincerely hoping that I’m wrong.
After such a long wait for any response to my request for assistance, I eventually withdrew all invitations, and all three of the users I’d invited subsequently deleted their accounts at plex.tv due to their concerns with the recent hacking of the Plex forums, and it’s being taken offline… And, although I didn’t cancel my account with plex.tv, I did abandon my use of Plex Media server.
We’re going to try again.
My son has created a new account with plex.tv. He was surprised that he was able to use his choice of the same username (Ahuacamolli) which he had used before, but then cancelled/deleted. Unfortunately, after a couple of hours he hasn’t yet received the account activation email. If and when that email finally arrives, and his account is properly activated, we’ll proceed and see how things might go with a fresh attempt to add him as a family member user of my Plex Media Server.
@lkmcmillen said:
My son has created a new account with plex.tv. He was surprised that he was able to use his choice of the same username (Ahuacamolli) which he had used before, but then cancelled/deleted. Unfortunately, after a couple of hours he hasn’t yet received the account activation email. If and when that email finally arrives, and his account is properly activated, we’ll proceed and see how things might go with a fresh attempt to add him as a family member user of my Plex Media Server.
Deleted accounts are retained for a short period for security purposes, but after that, the username/email would no longer be in use and so would be available for use on a new account.
In your son’s case, he’s probably never going to receive an email because the email address was very likely misspelled (“@utlook.com”) during signup. He can sign into the account and edit the address to correct it (https://plex.tv/users/edit). I do see you’ve sent an invitation to him. He can accept that via the web app since the email to him almost certainly failed.
I found if I send a request through “friends” instead of add user then they can connect without clicking the guest user. Friends show users correctly. The add user still shows the ones I added by add user and still shows as pending, even though they show up in friends. Those users still have to select guest. If a user sends me a friend request and I accept I still need to go to friends and then share whatever libraries. Would be nice when I am away from a computer that when I accept request it would give dialog for what libraries I want to share instead of having to wait until I can get to one or have that ability in phone app. (If it is there I have yet to find it.)
To be clear, if a mobile app (Android, iOS, etc.) is being used to send a friendship request, that is not the same thing as sharing libraries. Basic friendship lets you use recommendations.
If you want to share libraries, then that has to be done through the web app: Server Sharing
@Chris C said:
To be clear, if a mobile app (Android, iOS, etc.) is being used to send a friendship request, that is not the same thing as sharing libraries. Basic friendship lets you use recommendations.
If you want to share libraries, then that has to be done through the web app: Server Sharing
Still why am I able to accomplish what adding user cannot. If I add user by plex user name. That user will always show pending after they accept invitation. (Except for one that now reverted back to pending.) And will have to click guest or my admin pin. (Not an option.) But if I add by friends page and not by add user I can share libraries which is what I want to do in first place. If I accept friend request by phone or they accept by me adding them by phone it is rather pointless if I am unable to share libraries. IE yes they are my friend for being a friend but for no other reason with exceptions of recommendations? I am not able to share anything until I can get to a computer. I have a Note 4 and even with it’s large screen I cant launch the web app proper from browser to share libraries.
So a much needed feature for this work around, unless add user is fixed, is to give the option to share library/change restrictions on phone app.
@theonlycure
You never answered the list of questions I originally posted, so it’s hard to look more into things. Server sharing is intentionally only available in the web app and can’t be initiated from a mobile app. If you provided step-by-step instructions (1. go here, 2. click that, 3. type such and such, etc.) that would also help understand the issue you’re having and to test it.
Hi, I just installed Plex and had the same problem, 4 family members accepted the invites but they just sat pending on my server. What I did to get them all working was to log in as each user onto the server and then I got an option to click the tick to join the server. I did this for each user and they are all now joined. Hope that helps.
I am also having this same issue. I’m running PMS on a WD MyCloud Ex2 Ultra (I may switch this later so I can use transcoding). I invited a new user by going to (in the web app on the localhost of the PMS) Settings > Home Users > Add User > Add an Existing Plex User. I entered the email of the family member I wanted to invite. The one thing that I can think of is that they created their account just before I sent the invite, so the account may not have been fully activated when it was sent. But they were able to follow the link in the invite and can now access my server like any of my other users, but for some reason this one account still shows pending, meaning that I can’t allow sync or add content restrictions.
