As the title says, devices on the same network apart from my main plex server get indirect connection but outside network its direct. I have spent about a month trying to get this to work but it always ends in a headscratcher.
My main plex pc is a Mac, that is running Bootcamp (Windows) for about a year now, and for the moment it is on a wireless connection. My Android TV has plex and has an ethernet cable attached to it, and it gets a direct connection.
Below I will provide the ‘solutions’ that I have tried already:
My internet has no issues, has a great connection.
I don’t understand what I’ve been doing wrong?? As only my TV gets a direct connection through ethernet but nothing else can as its on Wi-Fi. So I’m guessing its the Wi-Fi that has the problem, I might be wrong.
Do both the WiFi and direct Ethernet have the same subnet and if not why not? TCP broadcast doesn’t typically go across subnets which could be tripping you up.
What do you mean by direct and indirect connection?
Note there are typically strange network configurations when running virtualization. Have you tried the various settings?
I’m not sure i understand what subnet is, where can i see this? My tv has the ethernet connected directly to my router.
what I mean is in the settings of my plex server, it shows that my server has direct connection (Nearby). However, when trying to watch something through my laptop it shows that ‘’ direct connection not available’’, giving me 320p before plex pass and 720p with plex pass and never original quality. Same goes with handheld devices.
Various settings how? Through my router or plex settings?
Caveat — when I did OSX virtualization for work I used Fusion (VMWare) or more recently Virtualbox (Oracle). I have not done Bootcamp since it cause is all compatibility issues.
The “network settings” I am assuming you would have would be in Bootcamp. In Fusion they were things like Host only, NAT and at least one other. I do not know whether you can “punch through” the NAT Bootcamp may be using. Changing this may, or may not help, and can break other things. In my case I was able to change the settings before virtualization start in case I broke something. Recommend you have backups and Bootcamp doesn’t automatically open the image since you may need to revert.
Subnet is a configurable IP address group. Without boring you with the details it is most likely the first three groups in the device. Your TV IP “might” be 192.168.1.122 and the configurable subnet would most likely be 192.168.1.*. Any other IP address outside the scope of 192.168.1.(1-254) would be in a different subnet group. Otto, or someone else, will need to tell you how to make your Plex Server which is most likely behind a NAT look like it has a “direct” connection.
IMHO — you are potentially going down a difficult path. Why not run a non-virtualized version of Plex Server?
I checked out the link and I still cant seem to find my solution. It seems that my router does not have the options such as ‘DNS rebinding’ and all.
Also, I’m not sure I’m ready to make changes to my modem with DNSMASQ and or PFSENSE just yet, before I’ve figured out the basic settings.
If you like, should I share screenshots of what my router settings have to offer, maybe you can guide me through that?
Well I’ve been using Windows for about a year now, without looking back at MAC. It has made my life much easier for productivity and entertainment.
Fusion is similar to Bootcamp in the sense of providing the Windows OS. So how did you manage to mess with the setting of Host only, NAT…?
Oh boy, this is going to be a hell of a ride but I have a feeling this might, again ‘might’ solve the issue. If I cant find a solution through this forum then I will definitely keep this in mind.
Also, for the fact that I operate through my Windows on a daily basis and wouldnt be pleasant to keep switching over to Mac just to watch movies, especially in a household with 3 other people.
I am talking about making Plex Server native not requiring all members to know Mac. I am assuming you have native PCs that access Plex Server. There is no requirement to run the same OS between the server and the player.
You could also try running Plex Server on a native PC and see if that fixes the issue. Again, assuming the player is running as a native app on either Apple or Windows.
Adding Bootcamp, or any of its friends, makes your network configuration difficult and outside the norm for most of the Plex base so it isn’t surprising you are having an issue.
A quick check would be to try running Plex Native on the same Mac as your current Plex server to see if it works after ensuring Bootcamp, or the Plex server running under bootcamp, doesn’t start on boot. After making those changes suggest a reboot of your Plex server. If it breaks everything or doesn’t work you can go back to your current configuration. Please make certain you have the necessary backups before starting.
