I have couple of problems with my Plex Media Server (PMS) and Plex Media Player (PMP) that I think they are all related. I also found similar topics in the forum but either they were not resolved or the proposed solution did not work for me. So here are the questions,
Accessing PMS is always indirect on my local network. When I change the “Secure connections” settings to disabled and toggled it back to preferred, it shows my server as Nearby for short period of time, it goes back to indirect again after a while.
I cannot access PMS manually using its IP address, i.e., xxx.xxx.x.x:32400/web.
Issues 1 and 2 will be resolved if I change the “Secure connections” setting to “Disabled”. But the server become inaccessible after a while and I have to restart the system and change the option back to “Preferred”.
Issues 1 and 2 will be resolved if I disconnect my router from the modem (so no internet access). By doing so, the PMS will show “Nearby” and I am able to access it manually through its IP.
From similar issues that have been posted on the forum, I understand that there are two things that can cause this behavior;
My ISP DNS server. I changed it to Google DNS server (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4).
Possible DNS rebinding protection, which frankly I am not sure what it is. I tried to find the corresponding setting on my router and add Plex as an exception, but I was not able to do so, I even was not able to find out if my router has this option or not.
Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks,
Kourosh
Here is my system specifications;
I have Plex Media Server-Plex Pass Version 1.18.2.2041 on FreeNAS and I am running Plex Media Player on my MacBook. Everything is connected to my home network through Netgear R7960P router.
Indirect is a fallback to a Plex Relay when a direct connection is not possible. More information in the article below. It’s still secure, but the streaming quality may be reduced.
Your server will show as indirect if there is some other configuration issue e.g. Double-NAT. This is possible as you mention you have a modem and a router.
To ascertain if the issue is Double-NAT, follow the instructions under the heading Detecting Double-NAT in the guide below.
Thank you for your response. I checked for Double-NAT but the issue was not related to that. The IP address from my router and the one from whatismyip were identical.
So your modem is set up in bridge mode? Please confirm.
Are you using a private IP address for your network?
For this to work, you must have allowed access without authorisation for devices on the local LAN (assuming Secure Connections is still Preferred)? Please confirm.
Thank you @basilh for your response. Below is my response to your questions;
No, the router is not in bridge mode. I am not sure about the modem. But based on the link that you provided for double-NAT, that should not be an issue since my IP address from the router is identical to the one that I am getting from the web. To double check, I disconnected the router and connect my laptop directly to modem (via LAN) and I got the same IP address.
No, my IP address starts with 97.xx.xxx.xxx
Is this setting related to “List of IP addresses and networks that are allowed without auth” in Plex Server settings under Network? If so, mine is empty, see the attached screenshot.
Also, without the internet access on the Select User page while launching the Plex locally (with its IP address) only one user is there to select which is my own (I have other users as well for my family).
I did a little search in the forum for this issue. There are so many posts about it but unfortunately no universal solution. So, I am back to square one, any idea is much appreciated.
This seems to be a little complicated for an average user who just want to stream their media using Plex. Also, I could not find anything in Plex support articles regarding RFC-1918. If that is the requirement, they should have mentioned it somewhere in their support articles, am I right or missing something?
Moreover, what about issue number 3 from my original post. Why disabling the secure connection makes the server inaccessible?
On a separate note, it has been more than two weeks that I posted my issue and no one from Plex support team bothered to comment on this. It is a little frustrating to not hearing from official support team specially when you are subscribed and paying for the service. I am considering looking for alternatives.
Still struggling with this issue since an update in November. Nothings been done since. I was hoping an update can fix this, but no. Still the same. Im not a techie person so I dont know how to fix this myself. Frustrating AF. Before the update, everything was fine. Update messed everything. Hard to edit my library because I cant log-in into my account by browser. Always BEN-PC is currently unavailable… IN THE SAME PC as my Server! WTF?
In my case when I disconnect the internet (either by turning off the modem or disconnecting it from router), I can log into my account using Plex local IP address. You might try this.
If your Plex server’s remote access is enabled then you should be able to access the PMP app without problem, which, in turn, you can change settings.
If the remote access is not enabled, then, like I said previously, just disconnect your network from internet. If you have separate modem and router just disconnect the modem from router. If not, I guess you can just unplug the internet cable from modem. Again, this works for my case, I am not sure if it works for yours as well.
How is the Netgear handing out a 97.xxx.xxx.xxx address?
If the Netgear is connected to the modem via the WAN port and all your devices are connected wirelessly/LAN ports it would only get addresses in the RFC-1918 ranges ie 10.X.X.X, 172.16.X.X - 172,31.X.X or 192.168.X.X
You can download the logs Server>settings> Troubleshooting >download logs, drag and drop the zip file into a reply.
