Server Version#: 1.41.2.9200
Player Version#: 4.141.0
<If providing server logs please do NOT turn on verbose logging, only debug logging should be enabled>
I can’t seem to wrap my head around remote access and port fowarding. I have followed all the steps here and followed the troubleshooting. Also set plex pc to a static IP, which I am running on windows 11. Opened 32400 port, supposedly. You got signal shows that its closed. Don’t know why. I have done my research on reddit and when i think i have it, it doesn’t work. I’m literally going insane over this and so close to throwing in the towel. Only way to access my server is with relay but it’s not reliable, would rather direct plays.
I will provide screen shots and if anyone that is a network wizard could give me a hand with this, its much appreciated.
1st screenshot: only forward TCP packets. No UDP.
3rd screenshot: empty out the field “List of IP adresses…”
4th screenshot: tick the checkbox “manually specify port” and put 32400 into the input field behind it
Tip: The number in screenshot 4 must be the same as the “WAN Port” from screenshot 1. I recommend you to pick a random number in the range 20000 – 50000, in order to make it not so easy to filter Plex traffic on public WiFi networks. 32400 is too well-known by now.
If your ISP has put you behind a CGNAT, all of the above is for naught, unfortunately.
You’ll have to ask them whether this is the case, and if they offer a way out of it. (Most will sell you a “static public IP”.)
Have you checked the properties of your network connection in Windows? It must be “private”, not “public”.
If you do all of the things from my first response, but still get told that the port is closed, it may be likely that you are behind CGNAT. The newer your ISP tariff is, the more likely it is.
This appears to be the case, unfortunately.
At this point, you can only enable the Plex Relay service and use it to stream music (because with a limit of 2 mbps it is not usable for much else)
Then contact your ISP and ask them about CGNAT and how to get rid of it (and to which conditions/price).
I would be okay with using relay for now but do you know how to make it more reliable when trying to access the server outside the network. What settings inside the plex settings and router settings do i need to achieve this?
I will have to contact my ISP maybe next week or even after the holidays to see about getting rid of the CGNAT.
You already did the most important one by giving your plex server a static local IP.
Others would be:
give your server only a wired network connection to the router. If it has both wired and wireless network adapters, disable the wireless ones.
disable power management on the network adapter and disallow Windows to switch it off when idle. Similarly, in the settings of the adapter, disallow it to downgrade the link to a slower connection speed when idle (if there is such a setting. Not all adapters/drivers provide this.)
don’t try to save power by allowing (or even forcing) your server machine to hibernate when not used. It is a server, so it has to be awake in order to respond to network requests. (No, Wake-on-LAN is not a solution.)
if you use external hard drives or a NAS to store media, disable the server setting “Empty trash automatically after every scan” and keep it that way.
One other question if you don’t mind, once I contact my ISP and they fix or assign a static IP for my network. What do I need to do to complete the remote access and port forwarding?
Strictly speaking, it doesn’t have to be static. If it changes once a day, this is perfectly fine.
I was just speaking of a “static IP” because this is what other ISPs offer to customers who want to get out from behind the CGNAT.
CGNAT is the actual roadblock. You need to ask your ISP specifically if there is any way to get out from behind that.
