I have an Android TV Box with plex app. My plex server is my PC, which is connected to a OpenrWRT secondary router, that is connected to the main ISP Router, all wired.
The Android Box is connect via Ethernet cable directly to the main Router. But I noticed that the Plex app was connecting to the server as if it was a remote connection (the quality was the one I setup for remote connections - 720p 4 Mbps). But if I connect through Wireless to the same router, the ISP router, it connects locally, and streams Directly, as I setup in local connections.
This issue is driving me insane because I cannot figure out with connecting via Ethernet is “remote”, and via Wireless is “local”! Can anyone help me on this?
They are on the same subnet.
Here is a screenshot that shows as local device, same subnet, but converts to 1 Mbps (480p), that is what I have set for remote quality. This is wired directly to ISP router.
But if I connect through wireless, and this is connecting to another wifi router (a Fonera, but using guest network), it recognizes as local network, and streams as local (the IP showing there is from the Fonera router, not Android box, but connecting wirelessly to ISP router does the same, only weaker signal).
I’ve already tried disabling IPV6 support, adding 192.168.1.0/24, 192.168.0.0/22, disabling Relay, and restarting server with every setting I change, and still the same.
Do you have a wifi mesh system or something similar? or are we dealing strictly with a single router in this scenario?
ie. Do you have a Modem/Router provided by your ISP as well as a Router you manage? or is your Modem from your ISP just a modem and you manage a router?
No wifi mesh. I Have a modem/router provided by my ISP, that if I connect to it directly via Ethernet, it will act as if it was remote (although in the control panel it says Local, and shows a local IP).
The Plex server is connected behind an AP (OpenWRT), which is acting as a Dumb AP, no DHCP server, no Firewall, etc. But I even tried connecting both Plex server and ANdroid box directly via Ethernet no my ISP router, and the same happens. Only if I connect via WIFI to ISP router, or another AP, it will stream as local.
What really puzzles me is that even though PMS shows the Android Box client as local, it will use the Remote stream settings (480p)…
I’m waiting for someone to show me how to do that.
I have a ZIP file I retrieved from the Settings/Troubleshooting page, but it shows my public IP, not sure about how safe it is to share that…
yeh, you drag that zip into here. Unfortunately it’s the only way for people to see the logs. Your public IP is protected by your router, provided it’s not bog standard settings there’s not a whole bunch of harm in handing out your logs, but I agree with you, it’s not an ideal situation
This is interesting. When connected via Ethernet, the client is requesting a video bitrate (see maxVideoBitrate) of 1500 kbps:
Feb 18, 2020 22:50:53.266 [20412] DEBUG - Request: [192.168.1.46:51060 (Subnet)] GET /video/:/transcode/universal/start.m3u8?audioBoost=100&autoAdjustQuality=0&directPlay=0&directStream=1&directStreamAudio=1&fastSeek=1&hasMDE=1&includeCodecs=1&location=lan&maxVideoBitrate=1500&mediaBufferSize=74944&mediaIndex=0&partIndex=0&path=%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F106122&protocol=hls&session=1aa03e632e528b56-com-plexapp-android&subtitles=burn&subtitleSize=150&videoBitrate=1500&videoQuality=60&videoResolution=3840x2160 (19 live) TLS Signed-in Token () (range: bytes=0-)
But when connected via Wi-Fi it is requesting a video bitrate of 200000 kbps
Feb 18, 2020 22:51:52.157 [21032] DEBUG - Request: [192.168.1.251:38682 (Subnet)] GET /video/:/transcode/universal/start.m3u8?audioBoost=100&autoAdjustQuality=0&directPlay=0&directStream=1&directStreamAudio=1&fastSeek=1&hasMDE=1&includeCodecs=1&location=lan&maxVideoBitrate=200000&mediaBufferSize=209664&mediaIndex=0&partIndex=0&path=%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F106154&protocol=hls&session=1aa03e632e528b56-com-plexapp-android&subtitles=burn&subtitleSize=150&videoBitrate=200000&videoQuality=100&videoResolution=3840x2160 (13 live) TLS Signed-in Token () (range: bytes=0-)
Maybe the client thinks it’s remote for some reason, though I’m not sure why it would. Have you tried setting the remote streaming quality to Maximum on the client itself to see if its behavior changes?
I had the same problem a couple of years ago when I first got my Android TV boxes. I can’t find the posts that headed me in the right direction, but I think this is what fixed it:
On your server, in the settings menu, under “Networks” Enable server support for IPv6 - DISABLE Secure connections - PREFERRED LAN Networks - include your IP/netmask here followed by “/24” I think, if I read the log snippets and screenshots correctly, you would enter 192.168.1.0/24 Treat WAN IP As LAN Bandwidth - ENABLE
I believe the crucial one was the “LAN Networks” setting, but it was a long time ago.
You might have to re-start the server and Android TV to get it to work (If that does fix it)
I’m not sure if it’s a bug in your Android ROM, but if changing the remote streaming quality on the client changes the bitrate, the issue does seem to be on the client side.
On the client, check what the network settings look like when on Ethernet vs. Wi-Fi:
IP address (we know this will be different
Subnet mask
Default gateway
DNS server(s)
If they are different, and you have the ability, manually configure the Ethernet connection to use the same values (instead of using DHCP). If the default gateway is different it could be taking a different route to the server; if DNS is different, it could be resolving the address of the server to its public address instead of its private one.
Or, you could just leave it as-is, with the remote quality set to maximum on the client. Since the server sees it as local it will stream directly to it, so nothing should egress your private network.
I did all that, the Android Box obtains its network settings via DHCP and they are correct. Even with manual setting its the same…
I spent the entire afternoon yesterday trying to understand this, and it’s always the same… I even flashed the stock firmware and it’s the same.
I think it may have something to do with the network hardware, different MAC adresses, some kind of internal routing of the Android Box. The server knows it’s local, it’s not a server issue because it knows it’s a local client. I think it’s the client that somehow thinks it’s remote and ask for the remote stream settings.
If there is anything else I can do to understand whats going on, I would apreciatte.
I’m having a similar issue where my Shield only talks to my laptop when they’re both on wifi or both hardwired. I’d like to be able to have my Shield hardwired while the laptop is on wifi. I do have a mesh network. Any ideas? I’m very dumb at networking so I apologize in advance.
