Plex Files Unavailable but they’re not missing

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
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545

Totally fair. My reasoning is based on:

  • SMB is originally an IBM/Microsoft technology
  • SMB access via macOS, even prior to Sequoia, has been sub-optimal (I have had to work around these issues by running a Windows virtual machine on the same Mac)
  • Plex on Windows doesn’t seem to experience the issues being discussed in this thread
  • SMB access on Windows is generally very reliable
  • Thrashing an SMB share hosted on Windows from macOS Sequoia reliably fails (just like it fails with Synology)
  • Thrashing the same Synology SMB share from Windows using the same script is reliable

I will grant that there’s no way that I can be 100% sure, but this is why I currently place blame on Apple. I do have contacts there, and I have reported these issues. Unfortunately, because it is difficult to reliably reproduce…and because it only fails when working with non-Apple SMB hosts…I’m not sure how much traction the issue will get. It would definitely help to have Plex engage with Apple too.

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546

Completely agree. I argued for this point as well. It could mess up others that are currently working. But then testing can be done to catch problems. So the reason why plex hasn’t done it yet is because the risk vs reward is not great enough. I assume the affected users is way too small to justify such a potentially big change.

547

Hi All,
Im posting just to add another user to the count of those affected.

Thank you everyone here that has been working towards workarounds and solutions.
My symptoms (trashcan of all but about 1000 films) and system (M1 Mac Mini and Synology NAS) are in line with the group so I don’t think I have anything substantive to add. And the workarounds presented here are working for me. Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!

I will add another recommendation for Kometa mentioned by @Anqui3tas above, of which I have been a long time user. While it has been a great tool for streamlining and supercharging your library organization, this is the first time that it has truly saved my ass. Its definitely worth the work to transition to it imho.

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548

Thanks for confirming that the workarounds are working for you. That’s useful information.

549

@Anyware @gmfreed quick question.

Its been a few weeks now i have implemented the nsconfig solution and the automounter option.

However recently i noticed that when i try to copy a large size of files from my Mac M2 Pro to my synology it just stops after a few minutes. Usually it will be a large copy and paste -just now an 82GB copy and paste (3 UHD episodes of GoT) did not even make it past 10GB. Often i have to do one episode at a time or umount and remount the servers - despite only beeing active for a few minutes.

Plex work just fine now but it seems there is a setting somewhere - almost like a cashe - that is stopping he transfers?

Any idea?

I am so tempted to spec a windows machine at this point thanks to dear Apple!

550

I haven’t run into that problem myself, but I did just try to copy 4 large files that totaled 115GB from my Mac to my Synology, and I was able to do this three times without any issues. For what it’s worth, I’m using the full nsmb.conf file that I posted earlier (not just the two settings that seem to make the biggest difference).

551

Thanks!

I believe I am using the complete nsmbfile as well as I copied it from your post some time ago.

Not sure what else could be the issue then. Perhaps Automounter or a a Synology setting?

552

Hi @Anyware

I just checked and the config file appears unchanged:

[default]

# Disable packet signing
signing_required=no

# Use NTFS streams if supported
streams=yes

# Turn off SMB notifications
notify_off=yes

# Disable NetBIOS (https://support.apple.com/en-us/102050)
port445=no_netbios

# Negotiate SMB version(s) (https://support.apple.com/en-us/102050)
# 6 == 0110 SMB 2/3 should be enabled
# 4 == 0100 SMB 3 should be enabled
protocol_vers_map=4

# Soft mount by default
soft=yes

# Disable directory caching
dir_cache_off=yes

# Limit caching
dir_cache_max_cnt=0

# Prefer wired connection, if available (https://support.apple.com/en-us/102010)
mc_prefer_wired=yes

# Disable SMB multichannel support (https://support.apple.com/en-us/102010)
mc_on=no

And here is the SMB Settings on the Synology:

Screenshot 2025-02-02 at 22.51.05
Screenshot 2025-02-02 at 22.51.05700×715 45.1 KB

553

The only difference in my configuration is that “Enable Opportunistic Locking” (and therefore, “Enable SMB2 file leasing”) is off on my Synology. I don’t think I turned that off…it’s probably a default that has persisted in my years of upgrading Synology devices.

554

Thanks @Anyware

Just disabled it and see how it goes. It gave me a warning about disabling bonjour time machine broadcast but i figured my time machine is already set up so no need to find it again !!

Let see how it goes. No major file transfers for a while mind you - will be in touch!

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555

@Anyware… thank you for your always prompt replies.

@michaelm… Just to add more metrics to this, I had similar issues before importing the full file. I never modified it at all, and that issue went away. As for my Synology settings… I have Enable Opportunistic locking enabled, and both SMB2 file leasing & SMB3 directory leasing enabled. The rest of my settings are the same.

556

Thanks

As I am sure you have already, I never edited the file either. Just left it as it was.

I changed my Synology settings but not at home now till the weekend so can’t test anything else for now. I have no idea what it could be at this point.

It will do fine shifting smaller files of say 10-15GB each but for some reason those big files of 30GB each will choke it.

Shifting music CD rips as well is no issue. Just large single files especially if it’s more than one together. Individually it fairs better.

Happy to test anything.

Perhaps my router? It’s an Asus RTAX86U and the Mac and Synology are on direct gigabit ethernet connection via an unmanaged gigabit switch

557

Hello, I’m going crazy, please help me. For a month now, I’ve been trying to understand why Plex removes (without deleting) around 600 movies from availability, while the rest are only partially detected. My Mac Studio M2, running macOS Sequoia, acts as the server, while my PC running OpenMediaVault serves as the storage, holding approximately 1,800 movies and 50 TV series. The connection between them is via SMB. I don’t understand anymore, and I don’t know what else to do. I’ve tried all the suggested solutions, but nothing changes. I even installed Plex Server on another Mac M1, and the issue remains the same. Thanks

Edit : I decided to format the entire mac and reinstall Seqoia on a clean version. I installed directly and only plex server and the result with 5 times the library with different scanner settings and the result is worse. More and more film is missing. I’m going to try reinstalling Sonoma.

EDIT 2 :I solved the problem by reinstalling Sonoma. Now all the films are discovered and no more break with smb. This is annoying since Macos will want to update itself. I don’t think Apple will do a fix for this, Plex will probably have to. Please do it quickly. I can’t stay like this.

558

Perhaps intresting

https://www.reddit.com/r/synology/s/C9FmrZPlP9

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559

Thanks for the heads-up. I added a link to the configuration file to see if it helps them too.

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560

MacOS 15.3.1 on an M2 Pro using Synonolgy NAS.

I dropped the unedited nsmc.conf file into /etc and rebooted.

on reboot it didn’t auto-map the drive paths. When I tried to drill down to the path, I got an error trying to connect to the NAS.

URLs with type “smb:” are not supported.

561

I have a full NFS setup instructions somewhere above in this thread. Including setting for automount (and even making sure it’s the same name as your current mount so you don’t have to fully rebuild your library.

…but to add, I have switched from my temporary NFS setup back to SMB with this new conf file.

NFS was resulting in some errors: files would report missing on device players (appletv, playstation, Rokus, etc) however would work fine if set to convert automatically, or accessed via web, but would result in the “your server is not fast enough” message, and ultimately error out. These same files via smb did not have this issue.

SMB: conf file in place, and purchased automounter, just for ease of use, and no issues so far, been a few weeks.

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562

Two things worth trying:

  • Change the protocol_vers_map setting to 6. Perhaps your SMB share isn’t configured to support SMB 3.
  • Comment out (add a “#” sign before the line) signing_required in case your SMB share is configured to require it.

I’d reboot after making each change to see if either helps. Everyone’s configuration can be slightly different, so it’s hard to have a single configuration that works for everyone.

563

Thanks for the report! Good to hear that others are having some luck too.

564

I don’t use NAS, but pc with openmediavault, the only solution was to return to Sonoma, Séquoia breaks the SMB, and even worse if with Plex I use garbage cleaning, it instantly breaks the SMB link. With the link you give, there is no solution, apple must fix this on sequoia, I have to stay on Sonoma until it is corrected.