Plex Media Server Version 1.7.2.3878 with a Plex Pass
Hardware: Synology DS1815+ NAS
Internet: 200Mbps symmetrical fibre connection with static IPv4 & IPv6 addresses, two layers of firewall
I have opened a pin hole on my firewalls to forward TCP port 32400 to the NAS that runs Plex. From a public connection I can telnet to my public address and connect to Plex on 32400, but the Plex settings still says Remote Access is “Not available outside your network” when I enable or retry it.
How do I diagnose this, are there some log files I can review? Do I need to forward UDP or ICMP as well perhaps?
Also, turn off IPv6 in Plex settings->server->network and disable IPv6 on the NAS.
Hi
I think you have misunderstood. Plex is installed and operating, I am trying to get Remote Access working (Plex → Settings → Server → Remote Access → Enable Remote Access)
I have just tried disabling IPv6 in Plex settings, but remote access still returns the same error.
Note: I forgot to say in my original post, I can see the remote access test session packets coming from Plex (54.194.240.140) to my NAS on TCP 32400 and the responses going out. Session total 3 seconds, 1814 bytes sent, 5087 bytes received, Close - TCP FIN.
I am experiencing the same issue here.
Running server version 1.5.5.3634 on a DS216+ running DSM 6.1.1-15101 Update 4.
Haven’t changed any setting on Plex or NAS recently. Have tried restarting NAS, Plex itself and disabling / reenabling remote access. All to no avail, sadly.
@CHerron said:
Situation resolved. Disabled / Enabled remote access again today and can now access remotely again.
I tried disabling and enabling again, no luck for me unfortunately. Externally I can browse to Plex (https://myipaddress:32400/web/index.html) and login to the Plex web service on my NAS. So it is fully accessible, its just that Plex does not recognise that it is accessible
In the last couple of weeks Plex has again become “Not available outside your network” so I went through all the steps I had previously tried:
made sure I don’t have double NAT,
rebooted everything many times,
tried using different ports (the network default gateway as well as the IPv4, and the Plex DNS),
switched UPnP/TCP on/off, and each one independently,
all to no avail.
The only new “feature” is that on trying to reconnect (either by disabling remote access and re-enabling, or by clicking “Retry” on the manually specified public port) after the “Connecting server” finishes spinning, I briefly (< 1 second) see the Green “fully accessible” before it’s replaced with Not available outside your network.
Seeing the above thread, I’m searching through my router’s config to try to find the MTU to ensure it’s 1500, but haven’t found this yet.
Any help gratefully accepted
Edit: Plex Server Version 1.5.5.3634 on an i5 Windows 10 machine connected to a Synology DS1513+ NAS through the LAN
@trumpy81 said:
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You may want to check to see if remote access is actually working. A real PITA for sure, but worth trying.
Thanks for the suggestion - I had tried this (but forgot to mention it above) and it doesn’t connect externally. It spins for a while saying “Direct connection unavailable”
Intermittently it will connect saying it’s “Indirect” but the quality is lousy
Also - just updated to 1.7.2.3878 as suggested, tragically same problems persist
@trumpy81 said:
That is disappointing.
Indeed - summer holidays coming up and now it looks like we’ll have to copy to an external HDD
I don’t know why Plex bother with indirect, but I guess it helps some folks who can’t connect otherwise.
Have you updated Plex at all?
I do update the server on the recommended update pathway, and suspect that this coincided with breaking the remote access, but can’t be sure. It’s very frustrating as you say, and a shame that such a key feature is so flaky for so many people.
I would certainly appreciate a comment from anyone official at Plex, or better yet release of some sort of troubleshooter, or a tool that can at least collect relevant information and report back when this sort of thing fails, and perhaps we could get to the bottom of things
@trumpy81 said:
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If you would care to provide your Plex logs, I will certainly take a look at them. You will find them by going to Plex settings->server->help. Click on the download logs button and then attach the .zip file to your next post, thanks.
@trumpy81 said:
Do you still have the 1.5.1 installer and can you downgrade back to that version in order to verify your claim?
I am seeing a small percentage of people having issues with remote access, but I also see a large majority that have no issues. That does not point to an issue with Plex at all, although we cannot rule out the possibility that something has not installed correctly or that something has not been messed up in the process.
If you would care to provide your Plex logs, I will certainly take a look at them. You will find them by going to Plex settings->server->help. Click on the download logs button and then attach the .zip file to your next post, thanks.
Hi trumpy I have PMS installed in a manual jail on my FreeNAS system, I set this up so I just shell into the jail and update to the latest version of Plex Pass PMS every now and then.
Unfortunately I do not know how to downgrade to an older version, If you do let me know how and I will give it a go. I have it set up so the “Plex Media Server” folder is on a seperate data set so reinstalling doesn’t take me long.
I actually tried reinstalling PMS from scratch yesterday to see if it would fix this remote access problem, but obviously it didn’t work.
I have pulled the system logs from my logs download, zipped them up for you and attached them to this post.
Hopefully these are what you need.
Thanks
Can you please try the following experimental procedure (supposing that port forwarding uses 32400 in your case):
1) Open port 32400 in your router and direct it to your NAS
2) Edit server settings and disable remote connections
3) Stop PMS
4) Edit the preferences.xml file (using a Text Editor that does not generates CR, such as Wordpad) so that:
a) PublishServerOnPlexOnlineKey="1"
b) ManualPortMappingMode="1"
c) ManualPortMappingPort="32400"
d) LastManuallyMappedPort="32400"
e) LastAutomaticMappedPort="0"
5) Start PMS, and verify if remote connections are enabled (don't stop / start them using PlexWeb)
I see where Plex is having difficulty with uPnP and PMP on your router. Make sure you have uPnP enabled and then reboot the Modem/Router and everything connected to it.
This was the first thing I had done after checking I didn’t have double NAT, and I’ve done this a few times over the last week.
The above could be DNS related. In most cases a reboot of the modem/router is required. It is not guaranteed to fix the problem though and may indicate other DNS related issues.
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I also see that you have two NIC’s and it would appear that Plex is having a hard time with communications jumping from NIC to NIC. Try disabling one of those NIC’s.
We have an ISP provided modem-router (Huawei HG8247) which has poor wireless coverage, so I attached 3 Eero’s which now cover the house. Before I reconfigure the HG8247 into bridge mode (which looks painful from the service manual and would break our network printer and annoy the wife and kids) I’d like to make sure this is a last resort.
Our internet drops out a few times per day, and Plex is then unavailable while the internet is not working (despite everything being connected on our local network). Looking through this thread
( https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/142929/plex-without-internet-access )
it seems that it’s not all beer and skittles to have plex working without internet access. Could this be a solution though if losing internet connection is what’s toggling things back and forth?
The only other thing I see in your logs is very poor file naming, especially for TV Shows.
I highly recommend you use FileBot to automatically rename your files for use with Plex.
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OK, I bought the Windows version as it looks like a good tool to support, and I’m now pointing it at all files, once that’s done I hope it should resolve the occasional missing file problems.
Thanks again for your help
@trumpy81 said:
Sorry, but the logs you provided are next to useless in this instance. Would you kindly follow my instructions to download the logs and then attach the .zip file to your next post, thanks.
Mine is now working again.
It may have been a problem with the FreeNAS-9.10.2-U4 update as it was giving me problems in the gui too.
Updated to FreeNAS-9.10.2-U5 now and although remote access didn’t start working straight away ( i tried disabling and enabling a few times along with a few system and hub restarts ) i just checked again (few hours later) and its GREEN
So unsure if it was actually freenas or if plex sorted something out their end ?
Anyway I don’t care really as long as it stays green.
Thanks for every1s help !
@trumpy81 said: @rodwhiteley You are aware that remote access is required for remote connections (when you are away from home) and that they are not required in order to use Plex in your home?
Do you need/want remote access?
Yes - 2 main reasons, going on summer holidays & would like to have access to the library while overseas, also wanting to share family photos/videos with the family
Do you have another router besides the Huawei HG8247 that is plugged into the Huawei HG8247?
If so, what make/model is the second router?
Not a router, 3 Eero’s (https://eero.com/) each connected to the other by LAN cable to get wireless coverage through the house
I see where Plex is having difficulty with uPnP and PMP on your router. Make sure you have uPnP enabled and then reboot the Modem/Router and everything connected to it.
Jun 08, 2017 15:05:14.961 [13580] ERROR - Error issuing curl_easy_perform(handle): 6
Jun 08, 2017 15:05:14.961 [13580] WARN - HTTP error requesting GET http://plex.tv/pms/:/ip (0, No error) (Could not resolve host: plex.tv)
The above could be DNS related. In most cases a reboot of the modem/router is required. It is not guaranteed to fix the problem though and may indicate other DNS related issues.
Hey,
I’m having the same issue, and so does a friend of mine, we’ve been getting the “direct connection unavailable” message on and off for the past 10 days or so.
Interesting points :
both running PMS on a Synology (though no DSM upgrade in the relevant time period)
he’s running an IOS client, I’m running Android
both having the same ISP
Considering all of these, I’d suspect the ISP, maybe some update pushed to the modem/router.
Which PMS logfile would hold the uPnP or dns resolution errors?
Found the culprit. My internet box was still registering the uPnP ports correctly, but forwarding was failing (whether uPnP or manual port forwarding).
I’ve been having the same problem and no rests have helped/fixed the problem. No settings have been changed before the PMS started having issues. I’m running PMS on a Synology DS916+
