Plex Issue – One User Cannot Play Content From One Specific Server (No Stream Starts)

Plex Media Server
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1

Setup

  • Multiple Plex servers:

    • server 1→ works fine

    • server 2→ issue occurs here

  • Both servers:

    • 2 host (Unraid)

    • Same network configuration

    • Remote access fully working

  • Users connect via standard Plex apps (no custom URLs)

Affected User

  • Only ONE specific user is affected

  • Tested on multiple devices:

    • Android phone (Samsung S24)

    • TV app

    • Box

  • Also tested:

:backhand_index_pointing_right: Same issue everywhere for this user

Behavior

What works:

  • User can:

    • Log in normally

    • See both servers

    • Browse libraries

    • Open movie/episode pages

  • PC (browser) playback works fine

What does NOT work:

  • On mobile / TV / box:

    • Click “Play”

    • Black screen + loading spinner

    • After a while:

      “Check that server is available”

  • No stream appears in Plex Dashboard

  • No logs indicating playback attempt

Key Tests Performed

Cross-server test:

  • Same movie:

    • :check_mark: Works on server 1

    • :cross_mark: Fails on server 2

  • Same series episodes:

    • :check_mark: Work on both servers

:backhand_index_pointing_right: Confirms:

  • Files are OK

  • Network is OK

  • Issue is tied to server 2 only

Additional tests:

  • Disabled IPv6 → no change

  • Disabled Relay → no change

  • Custom access URL → no change

  • Changed ports / NAT → no change (and broke access for others)

  • Optimized version (H264) → still fails

  • New user account → same issue

Important Observations

  • Problem occurs before playback starts

  • No session is created

  • No transcoding attempt

  • No error logs

  • Works for all other users

Conclusion

This seems to be:

:red_exclamation_mark: A server-specific issue (server 2)
:red_exclamation_mark: Affecting only certain clients (mobile/TV)
:red_exclamation_mark: Where Plex fails to provide a valid playback stream URL
:red_exclamation_mark: Even though browsing and server access work fine

Question

Has anyone seen a case where:

  • One Plex server works for everyone

  • Another server works for most users

  • But one specific user cannot start playback at all (no stream, no logs)?

Any idea what could cause Plex to fail before stream initialization like this?

Thanks in advance :folded_hands:

2

Additional Debug Summary (since initial post)

Since my original post, I performed extensive additional testing to isolate the issue. Here is a concise summary of what has been verified:

Confirmed behavior

  • The issue is not global:

    • Same server (server 2) works for other users.

    • Same user works on other devices.

    • Same content works on another server.

  • In failing cases:

    • The client can browse metadata normally.

    • No playback session is created.

    • No /play request appears in Plex logs, even with verbose logging enabled.

  • The issue depends on a combination of:

    • device/client (TV, mobile, box)

    • server 2

What has been tested and ruled out

Media / Files

  • Same exact file works on both server.

  • Multiple codecs tested (H264/EAC3, H265/AAC, etc.).

  • Not tied to a specific codec or container.

Plex Media Analysis

  • Fresh libraries created for testing.

  • XML metadata compared between servers → identical media structure and streams.

  • No difference in selected/default streams.

Server Configuration

  • Same Plex version on both servers.

  • Same Docker image and configuration.

  • Hardware (CPU/iGPU) equivalent.

  • GPU permissions verified and corrected → no impact.

Client Profiles

  • Full Resources/Profiles directories extracted and compared:

    • Same number of files

    • Same content

  • Not a missing or different profile issue.

Transcoding

  • Transcoding works (confirmed via admin playback).

  • Not a global transcoder failure.

Network / Access

  • Reverse proxy tested → no change.

  • Direct access vs remote → no consistent difference.

  • Relay / direct connection already verified.

Users / Permissions

  • Library access confirmed correct.

  • Same user works on other devices and servers.

Database

  • Plex database was repaired.

  • Issue existed before and persists after repair.

Key observation

The most critical finding:

On server 2, in failing cases, clients never send a valid playback request.
The failure occurs before playback negotiation, not during playback.

Current understanding

This does not appear to be:

  • a file issue

  • a permission issue

  • a transcoding issue

  • a profile mismatch

  • a standard configuration issue

The issue appears to be:

A client-side playback negotiation failure specific to server 2,
where certain clients refuse to initiate playback under certain conditions.

Conclusion

At this point:

  • The issue is reproducible but highly contextual

  • All common causes have been ruled out

  • Plex logs do not provide a clear explanation

This looks like a Plex server/client edge case or bug, triggered only under specific combinations of:

  • server 2

  • client/device

  • user context

for information both server use the same plex account, are on the same network, but different server.

3

for people searching, I juste deleted the container appdata and reinstalled plex. works…
EDIT: nope, just got worse with more people having problems……