Plex does not work on my PS4 (Plex is unable to start due to an error)

Hi folks,

I’ve reinstalled Plex four and more times on my PS4, only the “Sign In” works.
My internet works very well on the PS4.
Even I make allways a reset , in addition I reconnected (restarted) the PS 4, nothing helps.

In my account, the Playstation is listed:
Plex for Sony (PlayStation 4 01.40) 11 minutes ago 2.8.7 Plex TV Sony (PlayStation 4 01.40)

My internet works very well on the PS4

Now I need your help, my other devices (pc, tv, tablet and smartphone) works Plex fine.

Could you be more descriptive about what you mean by “doesn’t work” a picture of the TV would be great if it has any error messages etc.

Hi,

I’m getting the same behaviour on my PS4. The Plex app takes ages to load and then comes up with the ‘unable to start due to an error’ message (see attached image of the TV). I can reset via my PC but it just goes back to the error message. I’ve reinstalled the app but still the same thing happens!

Any ideas?

Thanks!

(/uploads/default/original/3X/7/6/76c930d69a99fb3565d2bdd39db25dd22e4c7ef1.jpg “”)

I’m getting the same problem as well. Seems to be after the latest PS4 software update. “Plex unable to start to an error” No other information is provided, just the option to reset plex.

I fixed it by disabling secure connections on the server (Settings > Server > Network > Secure connections = Disabled).
I hope the Plex team will resolve the issue so secure connections can be used with the PS4 app again.

I get the same error. Changing Secure connections to Disabled as @Doneliano suggested changes the behavior but does not fix the issue here.

I have two Plex servers in the network (Shield, Synology). I disabled secure connections on the Synology. The intention is to connect there. Plex now connects to the Shield. When trying to change this it shows the Synology server to be unavailable and it freezes.

As is Plex is pretty much useless on a PS4.

Thanks @Doneliano that worked for me! Hopefully the PS4 Plex app gets an update soon…

The last couple of weeks I tried to get Plex running again and again and it never worked. I resetted my Playstation many times and thought my server is broken. It’s kind of crazy that a secure connection stops the Plex app on PS4 and this is not fixed since 2013.

By the way: Many months it worked fine but at some point Plex just stopped working.

@Doneliano said:
I fixed it by disabling secure connections on the server (Settings > Server > Network > Secure connections = Disabled).

I love you.

This fixed it for me - was tearing my hair out. “Preferred” was br0k3N, “Disabled” fixes the problem.

@Doneliano said:
I fixed it by disabling secure connections on the server (Settings > Server > Network > Secure connections = Disabled).
I hope the Plex team will resolve the issue so secure connections can be used with the PS4 app again.

This doesnt work for me, if i disable secure connections it will give me unable to connect errors.

@alexquinterorivera@gmail.com said:

@Doneliano said:
I fixed it by disabling secure connections on the server (Settings > Server > Network > Secure connections = Disabled).
I hope the Plex team will resolve the issue so secure connections can be used with the PS4 app again.

This doesnt work for me, if i disable secure connections it will give me unable to connect errors.

Doesen’t work for me either, please try to find a solution ASAP!

Bjórkollur (BeearHead),

@bjorkollur said:

@alexquinterorivera@gmail.com said:

@Doneliano said:
I fixed it by disabling secure connections on the server (Settings > Server > Network > Secure connections = Disabled).
I hope the Plex team will resolve the issue so secure connections can be used with the PS4 app again.

This doesnt work for me, if i disable secure connections it will give me unable to connect errors.

Doesen’t work for me either, please try to find a solution ASAP!

I have this working, sort of. Here is what I did.

I disabled Secure Connections, I am not happy about doing this, but for the deubugs sake I made the execption. then I put the IP address of the PS4 as one of the machines that are allowed connections without authentication. Removed all the old entries from PS4 on my Plex media servers, and went trough the process once more, and after the intial registration you get the same error. But then you need to wait a LOOOONNNNGGG time, just sit there and give it time, eventually it will get trough, the plex app will automatically reboot itself, and connect to the server, This can take up to about 10-15 minutes.

I am still searching for the cause here, This could be due to some certificate issues, because Plex cert I belive is self signed, and bsd-based OS systems like MacOS and PS4 are known to have problems in that aeria.

I am going to take a better look at this tonight, to see if I can identify the root cause, once I´ve obtained the logs from the PS4 client.

I am also pursuing, is that this could be a DNS, issue.

I have not been able to pinpoint what is the root cause for my failures, I still belive this has something to do with Name Resolution or certificate. @bjorkollur could you provide me with a description of your setup we could find out what´s causing the problem trough similarities. My setup is quite complicated, a lot of moving parts, so searching for the problem is quite difficult for me, and that´s given that i work in the IT industry and sort of do this for a living, although this is not my field of expertese.

peddi,
I did all of the things you suggested and the result was that the Plex app still wouldn’t work, but at least I could now use the PS4 browser to watch movies etc.
My server is an Apple iMac with plenty of storage space and fast cable LAN connections to my router (Fritz!Box 7390), both from the server and to the PS4.
My proposal is that Plex get the PS4 app to work, but they do not appear to be taking it very seriously, judging by their lack of responses to this chain of messages ???
Please continue to let us all know or your progress or otherwise.

By the way, it seems that the Plex app cannot connect, because it doesn’t have “permission” - whose permission ? How can I give it permission ?

Hi you Plex guys, I have to apologise for my criticism in the above message, I now realise, after reading many threads, that the problem is that Sony’s fear of being hacked again, makes them concentrate on security more than on making the best product for the people who buy their products ! - and thus pay their salaries !

I repaired permissions on my iMac using a package called Repair Permissions and now the PS4 app is working perfectly - after one more login on the PS4. But since it was always working on my PS3, I suggest this problem may be a combination of issues - e.g., Sony, macOS and also Plex ?

I haven’t tried enabling Secure Connections yet, but I will when I have had a few days to enjoy Plex again !!

I have nothing new to report, this PS4 project of mine is a sideproject at best, I have alternate methods of watching my Plex on the TV, that I have never had any issues with.

I still belive this is a DNS, Certificate problem or some related issues. The problem here is that PS4 is BSD based OS that is closed ecosystem. I think this could be fixed by engineering around the problem here. I don´t think I will spend more time on this, though,

have been able to figure out my problem. I do not what exactly did the trick, but here is what I did.
My PlexMedia Server is running on VMware Esx Host, I enabled promiscuous mode, and I manually added DNS etries for the Media Server (running CentOS). Then I have this thing running now.
My Guiess is that there where some connectivity between my server and playstation that was not working or allowing it to go trough.
For other people´s problem I cannot say, but I know that the default DSL routers do not protforard between internal ports unless you telnet into them and turn that off. That might cause similar behaviour as I faced with my Hypervisor and promiscuous mode.

On a sidenote, the real problem here is not the problem but the closed ecosystem playstation has. Making it almot impossible to do good techincal analizes or investiation, as there is little access to logs or traces.

This did the trick for me!