Server Version#: 1.42.2.10156 (issue also experienced with1.42.1.10060)
Player Version#: Plexamp Headless v4.12.4
I’m running Plexamp Headless on a Raspberry Pi 4B, and using a touchscreen connected to the Pi to control playback via the local web interface, running an audio out to my stereo. Playback works perfectly with my Primary (Plexpass) account. I’m also able to cast from the iOS app to the Pi using my Primary account.
However, I’m having 2 problems with Managed Accounts:
switching to a managed account on the Headless web interface results in the following error when I attempt to play a track: “Couldn’t start playback”. This applies to all music in my library. I’ve verified that audio settings are correct, and that no content restrictions are in place on the managed account. I’ve also tried logging into the web interface from another machine on my network, and have exactly the same problem. I can play tracks without issue using the managed account in the iOS app so I don’t think this can be an account or Plexpass problem.
when switching to a managed account on the iOS app I’m unable to see the Pi as a casting option (regardless of whether I’m using my ‘Primary’ account a managed account on the Raspberry Pi). Casting isn’t actually my use case - I’m only interested in controlling playback via the Pi web interface - but I mention this in case it’s relevant. Also worth noting that when using my Primary account, I can cast from the iOS app regardless of whether my Primary account or a managed account is signed in on the web interface on the Raspberry Pi plexamp instance.
EDIT: I’ve done some further digging and the casting point above may be the root of the problem. When I sign in with my primary account I can select my Pi as a casting device and play music. When I sign in with a managed account the casting dialog shows no players - I suspect this is why playback fails.
Looking at my server logs, when I attempt track playback on the Pi interface using a managed account I only see the following, with no further messages (whereas when I play a track with the ‘primary account’ I see similar messages to the below, followed by a very long chain of playback messages):
Auth: authenticated user 615632225 as [managed account name]
Request: [192.168.1.190:40608 (Allowed Network (Subnet))] GET /security/token?type=delegation&scope=all&includeFields=thumbBlurHash (9 live) #7fb TLS GZIP Signed-in Token ([managed account name])
Completed: [192.168.1.190:40608] 200 GET /security/token?type=delegation&scope=all&includeFields=thumbBlurHash (9 live) #7fb TLS GZIP 0ms 527 bytes (pipelined: 3)
I’ve tried restarting the server, and logging out and back in to my account on the Pi, without any effect.
Thanks for replying odinb1.
Maybe @tgp-2 could assist with managed → headless
The install and set up Plexamp headless on Raspberry Pi · GitHub gist goes into initial setup, but the tasks might be admin only. For example, I don’t think a managed user has a Plex account login to sign out of and back into.
yeah i see the same with a managed user … in headless browser page, after switching to managed user i can’t see other players and i can’t start headless playback
a limitation of browsers, unfortunately … they can’t send udp packets to discover other players, and this is the only method available for a managed user (this from @elan)
If that’s the issue then both the Desktop and iOS app also suffer from it - table below is the test I ran using iOS Plexamp, but got exactly the same results for the Desktop app. (‘Raspberry Pi user’ means the account I’ve selected when I browse to the Plex web interface that’s hosted on the Pi).
| Raspberry Pi User | iOS App User | R-Pi 'Player' visible to iOS app |
|-------------------|------------------|-----------------------------------|
| Primary account | Primary account | YES |
| Primary account | Managed User | NO |
| Managed account | Primary account | YES |
| Managed account | Managed account | NO |
If I use the R-Pi web interface as a Managed User I can see my iPhone and Desktop apps (and can stream to them successfully), regardless of which account the players themselves are logged into. So there’s clearly a difference in the way they communicate - perhaps they ‘broadcast’ their availability? In any case, I can’t see my R-Pi headless server (which is the physical device hosting the web interface in the first place - it’s infuriating).
| R-Pi headless web interface: players visible |
| Raspberry Pi user | iOS player | Desktop player | R-Pi Headless |
|---------------------|------------|-----------------|----------------|
| Primary account | YES | YES | YES |
| Managed User | YES | YES | NO |
I’ve also tested the web interface for my actual Plex server (not the Raspberry Pi headless instance), using all possible combinations of Primary and Managed users on both the R-Pi and the server web interfaces. Weirdly, in all cases I saw all available players and could successfully connect to the R-Pi and stream music:
| Server web interface: players visible |
| Server web user | iOS player | Desktop player | R-Pi Headless |
|---------------------|------------|-----------------|---------------|
| Primary account | YES | YES | YES |
| Managed User | YES | YES | YES |
So if this is a UDP issue it’s a very weird - it feels like a bug.
All I want to do is be able to navigate to the R-Pi headless web player interface, sign is as a Manager User, and play music through that R-Pi.
your first table … i think the right column should always = YES … but after some time and repeated tries, i do occasionally lose visibility of all players when using the iOS app as a managed user
second table … i can’t reproduce this … when using the headless browser as a managed user, i always lose visibility of all other players
third table … i see the same as you, interesting … i’m not familiar with how the plex web app does discovery vs plexamp
