Plex constant buffering for remote users / local is fine

General Discussions
1

Hello, having some trouble here. Out of nowhere, my Plex has been constantly buffering for all non local users and devices.

I have tried everything under the sun and consider myself pretty good with this sort of thing. I have tried the following

• complete reinstall of Plex
• I tried downloading an older version
• I have 350 MB down and 30MB
• I have a fully loaded Mac Mini i7 with 16GB of RAM
• I have ensure that no other computer processes are running
• I have rebooted my router and computer a dozen times

This configuration has been working flawlessly for years. Any help would be appreciated, I am losing my mind.

2

Maybe it’s not you!
What’s changed at their end??

3

Thanks for the response. Not just a user. Several separate tech savvy users have reported it over the past few days.

It has been working just fine for everyone up until yesterday, for a few years at least.

4

Have you run a ping test, speed test, or trace on your outbound internet? Perhaps your provider is having an issue at the moment.

5

Ping

64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=0 ttl=63 time=0.640 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=1 ttl=63 time=0.704 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=2 ttl=63 time=0.661 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=3 ttl=63 time=0.590 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=4 ttl=63 time=0.657 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=5 ttl=63 time=0.637 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=6 ttl=63 time=0.575 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=7 ttl=63 time=0.557 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=8 ttl=63 time=0.592 ms

Trace

traceroute to 71.228.241.18 (71.228.241.18), 64 hops max, 52 byte packets
1 c-71-228-241-18.hsd1.tn.comcast.net (71.228.241.18) 0.747 ms 0.329 ms 0.300 ms
2 c-71-228-241-18.hsd1.tn.comcast.net (71.228.241.18) 0.515 ms 0.502 ms 1.390 ms

My connection speed is 350MB down and 30MB up.

6

Plex reports your external IP when you go to the Web App -> Settings -> Server -> Remote Access. This is the IP you and your friends should be doing a ping on. Also, if you have NOT changed this page to use a different port (and mapped the port on your router to a static IP on your PMS machine) you should. Many ISP (internet Service Providers) are throttling the default port 32400.

Read here: https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200931138-Troubleshooting-Remote-Access for very basic instructions on how to do this. Scroll down to the “Manual Port Forward” section. Each router brand and model is a little different, so you will need to find the model for your specific model and read up on the process. Read it first, read on the page, double check the settings then commit them. You will need to read the sections for specifying an IP (Or setting a static IP) and also for mapping a port.

7

I edited my previous post before you were done with yours. To be clear I am using port 80, not 32400

Ping
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=0 ttl=63 time=0.640 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=1 ttl=63 time=0.704 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=2 ttl=63 time=0.661 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=3 ttl=63 time=0.590 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=4 ttl=63 time=0.657 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=5 ttl=63 time=0.637 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=6 ttl=63 time=0.575 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=7 ttl=63 time=0.557 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=8 ttl=63 time=0.592 ms

Trace
traceroute to 71.228.241.18 (71.228.241.18), 64 hops max, 52 byte packets
1 c-71-228-241-18.hsd1.tn.comcast.net (71.228.241.18) 0.747 ms 0.329 ms 0.300 ms
2 c-71-228-241-18.hsd1.tn.comcast.net (71.228.241.18) 0.515 ms 0.502 ms 1.390 ms

My connection speed is 350MB down and 30MB up.

8

Try rebooting any switches or routers you have in your LAN. I’ve seen these devices cause this type of problem every once in a while and a reboot fixes the issue. Easy enough to try!

Carlo

9

I have rebooted my modem and router a half dozen times thanks but it doesn’t resolve the issue

10

I would suggest not using port 80 as ISPs tend to throttle that as well since most (residential) ISPs usually have a clause in the terms and agreements about not running servers. Try a port in the 20,000 to 50,000 range like the link @“MikeG6.5” posted suggests.

-Shark2k

11

What version of PMS are you running? Did you happen to upgrade your server from 1.3.4 to 1.4.3?

12

@benjmiller said:
Ping

64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=0 ttl=63 time=0.640 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=1 ttl=63 time=0.704 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=2 ttl=63 time=0.661 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=3 ttl=63 time=0.590 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=4 ttl=63 time=0.657 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=5 ttl=63 time=0.637 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=6 ttl=63 time=0.575 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=7 ttl=63 time=0.557 ms
64 bytes from 71.228.241.18: icmp_seq=8 ttl=63 time=0.592 ms

Trace

traceroute to 71.228.241.18 (71.228.241.18), 64 hops max, 52 byte packets
1 c-71-228-241-18.hsd1.tn.comcast.net (71.228.241.18) 0.747 ms 0.329 ms 0.300 ms
2 c-71-228-241-18.hsd1.tn.comcast.net (71.228.241.18) 0.515 ms 0.502 ms 1.390 ms

My connection speed is 350MB down and 30MB up.

Well, that eliminates that. Your connection is amazing.

13

Try going back to 1.3.4; I had similar issues and it fixed it for me

14

@Jdiesel87 said:
What version of PMS are you running? Did you happen to upgrade your server from 1.3.4 to 1.4.3?

@taylrjones said:
Try going back to 1.3.4; I had similar issues and it fixed it for me

I am using version Version 1.4.3.3433-03e4cfa35. It is possible that I upgraded from version 1.3.4

Where can I download old versions of Plex for Mac?

15

Just an update. My ISP was the issue. A node went out in the area and limited my upload speed to 0.

Thanks for everyones assistance.