Plex on a Mesh Network only achieving Indirect Connection

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
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Hey guys!

So, I’m not exactly an IT expert, but I know my way around most stuff. I’ve been using Plex for years now to share films from my home PC to my TV.

My PC isn’t a dedicated server, I use it for a variety of things, but not to watch the movies, just to download. The player has gone through some iterations, like using a videogame, to using the Plex app for Smart TVs and now using an Android TV Device (Xiaomi Mi Box 3).

I recently moved to a larger house and found my router to be insufficient to cover the whole home, so I bought a mesh Wi-Fi system, the TP-Link Deco M5.

Everything has been mostly ok, but while the havoc of the move I haven’t had time to sit down and watch a movie until today, which is when I realized Plex isn’t working very well.

Here’s my setup:

In my Living Room, my ISP connects to the main Deco unit, which acts as a router to two other units through the house. My Android TV device is connected via Wi-Fi to the main unit.

There’s a second unit bridging the connection between the main one and the bedroom, where my PC and a third unit are. My PC is hooked via cable to the third unit.

So what happens is when I try to watch any movies on the Android TV device, it says it is indirectly connected to the server. I assume this means the server is ping-ponging the files between my network and the Plex Server. Because of this, even 1080p movies are being a hassle to watch, as the server constantly buffers because the network is too busy by uploading and downloading the same file twice.

That becomes a bigger trouble when 4K movies enter the picture, which is a huge factor to me.

Anyone knows what I have to do to correctly setup my devices in order to allow the ATV device to connect directly to the server?

Other info:

My server is configured to allow insecure connections. The server is not found if I dont check the option to “Allow Remote Connections”. If I do, the server says it’s not available outside of my network. I have set port-forwarding on my device and it still does not work.

The Deco settings app is very limited and I can’t find anywhere an option to whitelist/disable DNS Rebinding Protection, which other topics have directed as possibily being the problem.

I have seen two other topics citing issues with the TP-Link Deco M5, but both their solutions (deactivating the TP-Link Antivirus settings and setting up Port-Forwading) have not solved it for me.

Please help

SOLVED: The problem was Window’s own firewall. The whitelist was erased on th 10/18 Update (f you Microsoft. F you). I had to deactivate the firewall again and it seems to be working.

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If the server and player are on the same network it should work… Sounds like they are on two different network segments, as in a guest wireless setup or you’re trying to separate wired from wireless traffic… Check the IP addresses of the server and any player that shows “Indirect” to check that everything is on the same network segment…

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If nothing else you could try power over ethernet adapters. I have used them for a variety of things over the years and have always been good to me.

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I think you mean Ethernet Powerline Adapters, that are just plugged into wall outlets and use your home’s AC wiring for networking… Power over Ethernet or PoE is used to power remote devices like cameras, AP devices, etc., in areas where power is not readily available…

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If by IP Address you mean my local LAN IP (192.168.68.100~255), yes they both are.

But I don’t know how to get the IP the rest of the world sees (like I said, not an IT expert) on my Mac, which is the easiest device to check the Plex connection

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Yes, I mean the local IP addresses that your network uses… You state the PC that runs PLEX is a wired connection… How is the ATV you’re having the problem with connected to your network, wired or wireless???

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The ATV device is connected via Wi-Fi. It is connected to another one of the mesh units.
There are other devices connected wirelessly to the same mesh unit as the server, and one wired device.

They are all getting indirect connections

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Jp, It sounds like you have one of two things going on: Either you have your windows device set to not be discoverable on your network (easy fix), or your network is set to not allow lateral communication between devices on it (less easy fix, but not terrible).

Who makes your mesh wifi access points? If you tell me make and model I can probably find you a manual.

To check if it’s on your windows box, get here. Control panel>network and internet>network and sharing center>advanced sharing settings.

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I’ll try that first solution in a second

My mesh devices are the TP-Link Deco M5.

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Hey! I just tried that, it was already on and isn’t working. What about the other solution?

My device is the TP-Link Deco M5

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I just realized my comment wasn’t relplying yours

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Hey man! I solved it. Turns out the latest windows update (that 10/18 update that caused some trouble back in october before resuming distribution in december) erased my whitelist on Windows Firewall. I had the ideato check that out with your instruction to check Windows sharing settings and the Windows firewal was active and blocking connections from Plex.direct.

Thank you very much!

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I managed to solve that. The Windows firewall was the problem. The whitelist was erased on a recent windows update and I didn’t notice it.

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