Plex for Windows Version 1.48.2.3124-647ff031 - only indirect connection to PMS

Plex Players Desktop Players
1

Server Version#: 1.27.2.5929
Player Version#: 1.48.2.3124-647ff031

Hi,

Having a hard time finding out the exact reason what’s wrong, but my Win 10 client can only connect to PMS indirectly.
PMS is totally accessible by IP and from the internet with zero issues.
Why I can’t find the exact reason - there were multiple possible troublemakers who appeared quite close in time.

  1. PMS update
  2. Win client update
  3. I’ve changed the router from Synology to UDM Pro

From my win pc, PMS is accessible through the browser and is ‘nearby’, when the win client from the exact same PC starts for ~15-20sec and goes indirect.
I’ve checked client logs and seen mentions of PMS old IP, so I decided to reinstall the client, but nothing changed. I didn’t pay much attention to it, but after the router swap, I bet, everything was ok - 5-6sec delay between songs is quite noticeable, I would definitely be triggered earlier.
Nvidia Shield in the same network can direct play. PMS is a bare metal Win 10 installation.
Seen that someone was able to fix some strange behavior with Plex ACC sign out\sign in on a server side, but it’s not my case.

Any ideas about what could be wrong? I can attach server\client logs if it could help.

2

If the issue occurs from within the same local network as the server, then it’s probably “DNS rebinding protection”.
Define an exception in the settings of your DNS resolver for the domain plex.direct.

3

if I use PiHole, am I right that it should be a local DNS record?

4

I am not using Pi-hole myself, so I don’t know how the appropriate configuration item is named.
There is a feature in some DNS resolvers called “DNS rebinding protection”. You need to tell your DNS resolver to not apply this protection to any subdomains of the domain plex.direct.

5

I suspect that it’s not the issue with DNS rebind.
I still can see 2 sequential DNS requests in PiHole
{old private PMS IP}.{token}.plex.direct
{public IP}.{token}.plex.direct

and there are no requests sent to the new private PMS IP
Is there by any chance a persistent record on my PC where Plex client stores old IP?

6

So you have changed the IP of your server?
Or did you move it to a different machine?
Did you clone the server data and are now operating both new and old machine concurrently?

7

Sorry for keeping it unclear, my bad.
The whole network IP range has changed, but both PC client and server are still in the same network and connected to the same switch.
Previously I had 10.0.10.1/24 IPs, now - old plain 192.168.1.1/24, no VLANs

8

I’ve just revoked the certificate of your server. It will fetch a new one automatically upon next server restart.
But I recommend you to perform this procedure now: Why am I locked out of Server Settings and how do I get in? | Plex Support
This forces the generation of a new server token and hopefully will update the local IP as well.

9

Reclaimed the server, but the client is still sending those 2 DNS requests with old and public IPs.
PMS connection is secure now, but still remote after a client restart.
Could the client re-login\re-install help?

10

Settings - Server - Network - ‘Show Advanced’
Check what’s inside of the following input fields and whether they need to be adapted to the new network address.

  • LAN Networks
  • Preferred network interface
  • Custom server access URLs
  • List of IP addresses and networks that are allowed without auth
  • Treat WAN IP As LAN Bandwidth

That’s certainly worth a shot, as it forces the client to contact plex.tv and refresh its information about the server(s).

11
  • LAN Networks - empty, same as before
  • Preferred network interface - any, same as before
  • Custom server access URLs - empty, same as before
  • List of IP addresses and networks that are allowed without auth - empty, same as before
  • Treat WAN IP As LAN Bandwidth - checked, same as before

I suspect, that I missed a step with server re-login before server claim. could it be the reason?

12

Not sure what you mean. Claiming a server is only possible if you’re already logged in.

13

It can’t hurt to fill it with 192.168.1.0/24

14

Was every client rebooted, so it picks up the new network config?

15

I mean that paragraph from the link you’ve shared

Tip!: If you’re already signed into Plex Web App there, first sign out and then sign back in. That will clear connection info for you.

Tried it before raising a ticket, will it give a shot

16

yes, sure, both clients have new IPs and network config

17

Sometimes it is down to slow updating DNS servers. You can try to use Google’s public DNS service at 8.8.8.8 instead of the one which your ISP provides.

18

PlexOnlineHome key is not propagated back after server re-claim. Maybe, it’s worth repeating cert revoke, so that I can re-claim once more, but with log out\log in before re-claim?

19

Repeat the whole procedure, but do also delete the file Cache/cert-v2.p12 from your Plex data folder before restarting the server.

20

Also, I’ve found PlexOnlineHome key and 3 others in one more reg node - ‘HKEY_USERS.DEFAULT\Software\Plex, Inc.\Plex Media Server’ instead of only ‘HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Plex, Inc.\Plex Media Server’ from the support page.

worth killing both? PlexOnlineTokens are different