Plex web and iPhone Plex app accounts are different

General Discussions
1

Somehow my Plex web account and iPhone Plex app account are out of sync.

Environment:

Web app, Windows 11 Pro, Chrome browser
iPhone 16 Pro iOS 26.3.1 with Plex app
Server: NVIDIA Shield, media on Synology NAS
Plex Pass since 2016

  1. Everything works perfectly on my iPhone Plex app. Plex username is correct, Media libraries are all there, shared libraries with other users are there, media streams just fine to the iPhone.

  2. Attempted to log in to Plex web – authentication error – reset password, and now when logging in, I get a completely bogus username and profile. There are no libraries, no Plex Pass, nothing. (Note that this reset was done via my current Gmail address – see about my legacy Hotmail address below.)

  3. I tried logging in using a fresh incognito window with the same results.

  4. At some time in the past, I had a legacy Hotmail account, but had changed it to a Gmail account some years ago. Since that time, I had been able to use Plex web as well as the iPhone app.

  5. Contacted Plex billing/contact, here’s what they said:

Thank you for reaching out to us. We can see that the lifetime Plex Pass subscription is still active on your xxxxx@hotmail.com Plex account. To make use of the subscription, you need to sign in to your player apps and Plex Media Server using the xxxxx@hotmail.com Plex account.
*
If you want to change the username, email address, or other information on the xxxxx@hotmail.com account, you can do that at any time on the Account page (https://app.plex.tv/desktop#!/settings/account) when signed in. Please note that usernames and emails must be unique. So, if what you desire to use is already in use on another Plex account, you’ll first need to change the information on that other account to something else (to “free up” what you want to use).*
*
If you run into any issues, please post specific details in our support forums at https://forums.plex.tv/. Our staff or friendly community should be able to help you out.*

  1. I tried (and failed) to login to Plex using the legacy Hotmail account (invalid username/password).

  2. I tried (and failed) to change the legacy Hotmail password – but the response to the request never came back to the legacy Hotmail account (and yes, I checked the spam folder).

So, now I’m stuck. I cannot use Plex web, and I’m afraid to touch the iPhone Plex app in case I loose access to everything.

Please help me wrestle my account back into submission!

Phil

2

BTW, the username shown on this thread is the bogus one, not my correct username.

3

You real account has always had a hotmail account email and it still is that account email as far as I can see in account logs.

The account you mentioned that has a strange username ( the one you are using on this forum now) was created a year ago and has always had that email and username since it’s creation. ( the gmail account that has the custom domain not @gmail.com). The username was likely just a generic one created when the Plex account was created with the random numbers at the end.

Besides the spam folder check hotmail.com “rules”. This can move to trash or just delete emails. This is different than spam filters. I have found with other users that hotmail have had the same problem.

If that still does not work for you, since you have a Plex Pass, reply back the the billing folks and explain you did not get the reset email and ask if there is a way they can verify who you are to give you a temporary link to change the password for the main account with hotmail email.

4

Thank you so much for your reply.

Having found nothing relevant regarding Hotmail rules, I’ve made the request to billing to supply me with a temporary password reset link.

Fingers crossed.

5

Hello Mr. Big Wheel.

I have provided authentication information to Billing and they have sent me a password reset link. (See their email below).

I want to make sure that I do things correctly.

I’m guessing that I use the password reset link which will provide a return message to my Hotmail account. Once I change the password, I assume that I can use my legacy Hotmail address and newly set password to log into Plex web.

I’m not sure what will happen on the Plex iPhone app seeing that it’s already working. Do I have to log out/in again somehow?

I’m also a bit confused about the instructions that say I cannot transfer a Plex Pass subscription from one account to another. I don’t want to change my account – I just want to move my account from my old Hotmail address to my custom Gmail address.

Can you help guide me please?

[email from billing beow]

Dez (Plex, Inc.)

Mar 16, 2026, 5:02 PM PDT

Hi Phil,

Thank you for getting back to us. Using the payment information you have provided, we were able to verify ownership of the xxxx@hotmail.com Plex account. You can use the link below to reset the password on the account and access it. We recommend that you manually paste the link into a Private/Incognito browser window, to ensure that you’re acting on the correct account.

https://plex.tv/users/password/edit?reset_password_token={token was given here}

Please also keep in mind that we don’t currently offer the ability to transfer a Plex Pass subscription from one account to another. To make use of the Plex subscription, you need to sign in to your player apps and Plex Media Server using the xxxx@hotmail.com Plex account.

If you want to change the username, email address, or other information on the xxxx@hotmail.com account, you can do that at any time on the Account page (https://app.plex.tv/desktop#!/settings/account) when signed in. Please note that usernames and emails must be unique. So, if what you desire to use is already in use on another Plex account, you’ll first need to change the information on that other account to something else (to “free up” what you want to use).

If you run into any issues, please post specific details in our support forums at https://forums.plex.tv/. Our staff or friendly community should be able to help you out.