I am trying to access my PMS from home while on vacation and having difficulty streaming. When I look at the setting in my remote devices (Ubuntu and Android), the connection is always Indirect. If I turn off indirect connections in settings, the remote devices cannot connect to the server at all.
Fast.com speed test results are widely variable - from 500kbs to 5.6 MBps. Would an unstable internet connection be the culprit? Unfortunately, going to a place with a more reliable connection to do a test is not an option.
When I look at my server settings, they say remote access is not available. But it always says that, and I have been able to remote stream, anyway.
Thanks
M
Server Version#:1.23.3.4706
Player Version#:4.59.2
An indirect connection means you are connecting via Plex Relay. Plex Relay serves as a backup to Remote Access. The stream passes through hosts at Plex and is limited to 2 Mbps (1 Mbps for non-Plex Pass holders). Plex Relay is enabled/disabled in Settings → Server_Name → Network → Enable Relay. Do not disable it or you will lose all remote access to your server.
In order to stream at higher rates, you will need Remote Access working from your Plex Server.
If you have never enabled remote access before, then it may not be possible while you are remote, as access to your home Internet router may be required.
There are two methods for enabling remote access - automatic and manual. You can try the former while remote. The latter requires configuring your home router (to enable port forwarding).
Automatic remote access requires that your home router support UPnP or NAT-PMP auto-configuration. This lets the Plex Server auto-configure port forwarding in the router.
Go to Settings → Remote Access.
If checked, uncheck the box next to “Manually specify public port.”
Click “Enable Remote Access.”
Plex will then try to auto-configure your router to enable remote access.
If it works, you’ll see “Fully accessible outside your network” in Settings → Remote Access.
If it does not work, then you’ll have to try setting up remote access when you’ve access to your home router.
Remote Access settings page when using UPnP. The public port, 10180, is from the autoconfiguration process. The Internet router maps it to port 32400 and forwards it to the Plex server.
Thank you! This was very helpful. I switched back to Automatic and turned off the VPN on the server. Perhaps my manual configuration was incorrect. Anyway, I ws able to stream uninterupted for 30 minutes, so that is good.
I have express VPN, which does not play well with Plex. I will have to look at that when I get home.
