Plex stuck as "Indirect"

Plex Media Server
1

Server Version#: 1.28.0.5998

Plex is running as a FreeBSD Jail in TrueNAS (via the official plugin). It has a local IP address on my network (i.e., not using NAT), and I’ve confirmed that devices can ping it without any troubles.

  • When I log into the web interface (app.plex.tv), my Plex server displays as indirect.
  • When I play a video through the web interface, it is, indeed, going through the relay. Despite the PC I’m playing it on being on the same LAN (wired connection, IP address in the same subnet, and able to ping each other). It’s a Windows box, and I tried disabling the windows Firewall. No improvement.
  • When I play a video with NVidia Shield (on the same LAN, wired connection) the video is Direct play without going through the relay.

Both devices (browser, NVidia shield) are on the same network, same subnet, same DHCP. Same… well, everything.

Plex is available remotely. I’ve forwarded the appropriate ports through my firewall, and the “Remote Access” tab in the web admin portal has a green checkmark that it’s accessible.

So, why is one doing direct play while the other is forced to go through the relay?

I did change my router recently (moved to pfSense), but I doubt that’s the culprit given that all devices can communicate with each other. And that the behaviour is inconsistent for devices on the same subnet.

2

As a test, I stood up a new instance of Plex in a jail on the TrueNAS box. It was also marked as “indirect.” So the issue is unlikely to be with how plex is configured.

I also tried disabling the pfBlockNG plugin on my firewall (the thing that blocks traffic). Plex was still marked as “indirect.” So the issue is unlikely to be with how the firewall is filtering/dropping inappropriate traffic.

3

Solved!

In pfSense, you have to give a custom directive to the DNS resolver.

  1. Services ==> DNS Resolver ==> General Settings
  2. Go to the “Custom Options” section
  3. Enter: private-domain: "plex.direct"
  4. Save & apply the settings. Wait a few moments for the router to update.
  5. Return to plex web portal and reload the page.
  6. Success!

Credit to the site where I found this documentation.

Now, why the hell it was only a problem for the web portal and not the Nvidia Shield…? But, oh well.

I hope these instructions help someone else in the future who has the same problem.

4

This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.