Official sunset of Mobile Sync as of 2022-08-01

General Discussions Plex Features
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What’s Happening

Last year we introduced Downloads as a replacement to the old Mobile Sync feature. As we’ve worked through issues with Downloads, we have previously delayed the ending of Mobile Sync. That delay has now ended.

As of today (2022-08-01), Mobile Sync is officially sunset and no longer supported. Along with that, we’ll begin fully enforcing the Plex Pass subscription requirements for the Downloads feature. Specifically, the feature is gated on the client side (rather than the previous server-side gating of Mobile Sync) and the Plex account performing the Download in the client/player app is the account that will need a Plex Pass subscription.

What Does This Mean To Me?

Because there are many existing users who were previously using the Mobile Sync feature under the older rules, we’ve made some special rules to help accommodate those scenarios. The important points are:

  • was the client account created before 2022-08-01
  • was the server owner account created before 2022-08-01
  • the Plex Pass subscription status of both accounts

If you want to use a client to Download and you have a Plex Pass subscription on your account, then your account is able to use the Downloads feature (regardless of the account creation date or subscription status of the server owner). If your account does not have a Plex Pass, then that’s where the above points come into play.

Can You Just Draw Me a Picture?

Well, it’s not a picture, but the matrix below outlines the different scenarios and the • signifies the ability to use Downloads.

2022-07-28 at 6.50 PM

As mentioned previously, the important cutoff date here is (midnight/morning) 2022-08-01 UTC.

Pictures Scare Me. Text Please?

New Plex accounts (created on or after 2022-08-01) will need a Plex Pass subscription to use Downloads from supported clients. The Plex Pass status of the server owner is irrelevant. Having a Plex Pass will allow you to Download from any server you have access to, as long as that server admin (even if they don’t have a Plex Pass subscription) has granted you permission.

If you have an older Plex account (created before 2022-08-01) you do not need a Plex Pass subscription to use Downloads if the server admin’s account has a Plex Pass subscription and their account was created before 2022-08-01. (This is equivalent to the old requirements of Mobile Sync and we want to try and retain that for existing Plex users.)

If you have an older Plex account and want to Download from a server whose admin is a new user, you will need a Plex Pass to use Downloads.

If you have an older Plex account as a server owner and grant server library access to a new Plex account, those with the new account will need a Plex Pass subscription to Download from your server.

What Else Is There To Know About Downloads?

We recommend that you go take a look at our Downloads FAQ article, which answers numerous questions about the feature. There are also other articles:

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How is Plex reconciling the fact that a client account can potentially buy a Plex Pass for a feature they will be unable to use if the server owner does not allow downloads?

How is Plex justifying the advertisement of download as a Plex Pass feature to client accounts when the ability to use the feature is outside Plex’s control?

https://www.plex.tv/plex-pass/

The Power to Download

Sync your personal movies, shows, and music to your mobile devices to enjoy offline wherever you go.

These questions also apply to other features such as Skip Intro, HDR Tone Mapping, and others where the ability to use the feature relies on the server owner to enable it.

I am also displeased with the 0-day notice when the FAQ page has stated for over a year that the cutoff date would be announced as “a day in the future”. (FAQ still hasn’t been updated)

When will new users need to have a Plex Pass to use Downloads?

The exact date has not yet been chosen. The date will be provided once a decision has been made. It will be a date in the future.

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The relationship between a user and a shared server is between those 2 users. Plex has no control on any of that.

As you stated, this has been mentioned for over a year that this was coming. Today is a date in the future from when that FAQ was written. The intention of that statement was that we would not backdate the cut-off. Sorry for any confusion.

The FAQ has been updated. Try hard refreshing the page, the old page may be cached.

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That is my entire point. Plex is receiving money for something they have no control over.

I interpreted the original FAQ text as “Plex will give advanced notice”.

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But a Plex Pass includes more than just Downloads. I can see your point if we were charging for 1 specific feature and it wouldn’t work.

I interpreted the original FAQ text as “Plex will give advanced notice”.

Does it make a difference?

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Correct, but most of the Plex Pass benefits for a client account (not the server owner account) depend on the server owner enabling/allowing the feature. I am referring specifically to client accounts which do not have a server themselves.

Bad:

  • Downloads requires a Plex Pass for the client account, but depends on the server owner allowing it.
  • Skip Intro requires a Plex Pass for the client account, but depends on the server owner enabling it.
  • Webhooks requires a Plex Pass for the client account, but depends on the server owner enabling it.

I can see a user being enticed to get Plex Pass to use any of these features, then realizing they can’t because the server owner hasn’t enabled it/doesn’t allow it. How do you know which feature was the reason a user purchases Plex Pass? You can’t justify it by saying “you also get access to webhooks” when all the user cared about was downloading something to watch offline on their commute.

Okay:

  • Plexamp requires a Plex Pass for the client account. This requires a music library to be shared with the client account which can be argued they won’t pay for Plexamp without access to music first. It can also be justified if the client account is using TIDAL for music.
  • Color Themes requires a Plex Pass for the client account. This is the only feature that is truly independent of the server owner.

Yes, it wouldn’t be 0-day notice.

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Fair enough. I can bring this up with the appropriate team.

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Another question, the FAQ says:

Managed users will be able to use Downloads as long as the admin of the Plex Home has an active Plex Pass

Can you confirm whether or not full Plex accounts (not Managed Users), created after 2022-08-01, invited into a Plex Home require a separate Plex Pass or not?

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Yes, full accounts in a Plex Home can use Downloads.

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There’s a bullet in the latest Plex for Android release notes:

  • [Mobile] Sync: Now automatically removing legacy synced media items

Does this mean that existing synced content will be deleted from devices? How and when will this occur? Will this apply to other device types in the future as well?

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Yes. It will be done automatically in the background. The old “Sync” folder will no longer be accessible as of this version of the app.

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Thanks! I have friends traveling. I’ll check if they’ve updated to Downloads - or suggest they block app updates until they return to good network coverage.

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My main question is, since the download feature is mainly used in phones and tablets, why wasn’t it added to the one-time activation fee?

It makes 0 sense to pay for a feature that I’ll only use on my phone or tablet and which I also can’t control access to (server owner has to grant me access to it)

It’s badly advertised and should state that the user would get to use the feature if and only if the server host gives them access to it.

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We do mentioned this several times in our support articles.

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Noted, what about the other issues mentioned?

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I have a free account created on July 22, 2022 (joinedAt="1658532912") which does not have the Downloads feature. Account creation date retrieved from https://plex.tv/api/v2/user.

<feature id="grandfather-sync"/> is not listed in the list of account features.

My server is claimed with my 10 year old Plex Pass account. Both accounts are created before 2022-08-01 with the server owner having Plex Pass.

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I had already mentioned this previously in this thread that I suspect Plex actually cut it off 2 weeks ago and not August 1 like they claim.

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Plex feels this feature is worth more than the one-time activation.

It makes 0 sense to pay for a feature that I’ll only use on my phone or tablet and which I also can’t control access to

Already address earlier in this thread. Downloads is just 1 feature of having a Plex Pass.