Plex Relay is Broken

Plex Media Server Remote Access
1

Server Version#: 1.43.0.10492
Player Version#: plexamp v4.12.4

Hi, I’ve replied to another user having the same problem, but have been told by support to create my own thread. This is the other thread: Cant access plex outside of network even though it says its accessible

I rely on plex relay to access my music library over the internet. I’m in the UK and behind a CGNAT, I would need to pay my ISP for an external IP address and plex relay is perfect for my needs. I connect from my phone using plexamp.

Plex relay has been broken for the last few days, and I haven’t been able to connect to my music library when not on my local network.

Excerpt from plexamp logs:

Mar 22, 2026 15:23:22.293 [Javascript] INFO - DEVICE: Trying last-ditch relay connection for BEN-MEGA-PC — http://relay00.pop.lhr.plex.bz:8443.
Mar 22, 2026 15:23:22.294 [0x6e446ec0] DEBUG - Networking: Create request 205: (GET http://relay00.pop.lhr.plex.bz:8443/) network type 1.
Mar 22, 2026 15:23:22.670 [0xa28e4ec0] DEBUG - Networking: Completed request 205: (GET http://relay00.pop.lhr.plex.bz:8443/) with code -52 (have 0 bytes) in 375 ms.
Mar 22, 2026 15:23:22.758 [Javascript] INFO - [Navigation] Settings > Settings (Debugging)
Mar 22, 2026 15:23:22.765 [Javascript] WARNING - DEVICE: Server connection http://relay00.pop.lhr.plex.bz:8443 didn’t work for BEN-MEGA-PC: HTTP status -52
Mar 22, 2026 15:23:22.766 [Javascript] WARNING - DEVICE: Connection testing failed for BEN-MEGA-PC

I would rather not share full logs on a public forum, but would be happy to provide them to support over email.

I’ve been able to use tailscale as a workaround, but it’s a bit annoying given that I’m paying for the relay.

Thanks, any help appreciated.

Ben

2

Try navigating to this (Plex) URL:

https://plex.tv/api/resources?includeIPv6=1&includeHttps=1&includeRelay=1&X-Plex-Token=your_token

You can find “your_token” using the information in this support article:
https://support.plex.tv/articles/204059436-finding-an-authentication-token-x-plex-token/#toc-0

The resulting XML document should show your server, including all connection information. Look to see if there is an entry for your server which shows the attribute “relay=1.”

3

Hi pshanew, thanks for your help.

My server has this entry under MediaContainer → Device:

Connection protocol=“http” address=“relay09.pop.lhr.plex.bz” port=“8443” uri=“http://relay09.pop.lhr.plex.bz:8443” local=“0” relay=“1”

4

Interesting. For my own server which has relay enabled, the “address” shows the resolved IP address and not the FQDN. Is your server able to resolve relay09.pop.lhr.bz via DNS?

5

No, I’m not able to resolve relay09.pop.lhr.plex.bz - maybe that’s what is broken

6

Just as a simple test, can you bring up a cmd terminal ping relay09.pop.lhr.plex.bz? W.hen I try it, the IP address comes back as 88.80.186.253.

Are you using your ISP providers DNS servers? Google?

7

Yeah, that could definitely be a problem.

If Plex Media Server can’t resolve the IP addresses of the relay servers, no relay can happen.

As @napolij alluded to, it could be a problem with the DNS servers you’re using. I’ve found that both CloudFlare (1.1.1.1, 1.0.0.1) and Google (8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4) are reliable. ISP DNS can sometimes be unreliable (and they tend to track your activity).

8

I made a mistake yesterday (I copied the domain wrong from pshanews comment!) - I actually can resolve the domain:

Pinging relay09.pop.lhr.plex.bz [88.80.186.253] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 88.80.186.253: bytes=32 time=7ms TTL=53

my mistake! But that’s good news I think

9

It seems like this has been fixed by Plex, thanks everyone :slightly_smiling_face:

10

It’s broken again, and others are clearly experiencing problems too. Would very much appreciate a response from plex on this.

11

This issue is impossible to diagnose without a complete server log in Debug mode.
(Do NOT enable “verbose” mode.)

Stop server
start server
wait 10 minutes
fetch logs

Please do also repeat the test from above Plex Relay is Broken - #2 by pshanew

12

I’m have the same problem for the the last week as well. I’m behind PIA VPN and cloud9 for dns so relay is a life for me. I can get relay working if I turn off the vpn. I’ve never had to do that or will.

13

Which tells us the issue is with your VPN not plex…

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