ps4/ps3 plex pin issue

both my ps3 and ps4 keep asking for a plex tv pin. i continually put them in and eventually it keeps asking for a new one. I am tired of doing this every day. I have searched the forum for an answer to why this keeps happening but maybe i missed it. 

I’m having this exact issue on my PS4. All my other devices work fine. Beyond frustrating.

Definitely super frustrating. I can't explain why it's happening. I've filed an issue for us to inspect.

Seems to be related to the Windows Firewall and how the PS4 specifically accesses the PMS on a LAN. Still waiting for Plex to fix this.
https://forums.plex.tv/topic/91932-firewall-is-the-issue-ps4-works-with-fw-disabled/page-2

most annoying thing in the world.  i run my plex on a NAS and to have to enter a freaking random PXHF whatever pin every time I launch ps4 app is completely insane.

Agreed, super stupidly annoying. Equally annoying is that it's not a consistent problem. The customers it hits are hit hard. The rest of them are great.

I wish I could get hit by this behavior so we could corner it!

If you run PMS on a Windows machine with Windows a Firewall enabled, you can recreate issue…even if you add Plex or Plex DLNA to list of allowable app exceptions in Windows Firewall.

I paid $4.99 for the PS4 app but cancelled two days ago so I have about 25 days left.  Once this WORKS, I will gladly pay for a full 1 year membership.

I simply cannot use the PS4 plex app now since I have to enter a PIN that is randomly generated on my PS4 every time I launch the PS4 app *into* my server in the other wing of the house.  That server is headless so I had to actaully plug in a mouse / keyboard / monitor just to put in this PIN code.  =(

Once I do enter the pin I can browse sever using plex on PS4 and play back movies etc, but as soon as I log out, or power off PS4, or relaunch PS4, a whole new pin is generated when I launch plex PS4 app and then and I have to walk all the way to server and do this again.  The server is headless so to fire up the monitor and put in a key and mouse is insane every time.  This makes zero sense and clearly cannot be desired behaviour even for a plex pass in "demo" status.

Are there are checklists / steps I need to verify to see if I can fix this?  Clearly others have this problem and perhaps someone has a solution?  In my case PMS runs inside of Xpenology acting as my NAS and everything is on a 192.168.1.x network.  PS4 is wifi to R7000 router and my NAS box is wired direct to same router.  VERY straight forward setup, nothing fancy at all.

I paid $4.99 for the PS4 app but cancelled two days ago so I have about 25 days left.  Once this WORKS, I will gladly pay for a full 1 year membership.

I simply cannot use the PS4 plex app now since I have to enter a PIN that is randomly generated on my PS4 every time I launch the PS4 app *into* my server in the other wing of the house.  That server is headless so I had to actaully plug in a mouse / keyboard / monitor just to put in this PIN code.  =(

Once I do enter the pin I can browse sever using plex on PS4 and play back movies etc, but as soon as I log out, or power off PS4, or relaunch PS4, a whole new pin is generated when I launch plex PS4 app and then and I have to walk all the way to server and do this again.  The server is headless so to fire up the monitor and put in a key and mouse is insane every time.  This makes zero sense and clearly cannot be desired behaviour even for a plex pass in "demo" status.

Are there are checklists / steps I need to verify to see if I can fix this?  Clearly others have this problem and perhaps someone has a solution?  In my case PMS runs inside of Xpenology acting as my NAS and everything is on a 192.168.1.x network.  PS4 is wifi to R7000 router and my NAS box is wired direct to same router.  VERY straight forward setup, nothing fancy at all.

Not much help for the rest, since I am unaffected. The good news is that you should be able to go plex.tv/pin on your mobile device. You wouldn't have to go back to the server. Is your server connected to Plex.TV?

If you run PMS on a Win7 or Win8 machine with the windows firewall enabled and attempt to connect to PMS from a PS4 it will occur. Even after you create application exceptions in the Windows Firewall.

sorry for the delayed response but i forgot to mention i am not using a windows machine. my set up consists of 

 1 mac mini

1 ps3

1ps4 and one macbook pro. 

The server only runs Xpenology which is open source/version of the Synology DSM and basically emulates a Synology NAS box for 1/10th of the price.

PMS runs as/was installed as the Synology NAS package downloaded from PLEX site and is latest version.  That app is in fact logged into plex.tv with my user/pass and it has green check on remote access, etc.  I can hit it all day long from my droid apps with bubble and remote using bupnp server.

There is no Windows firewall to speak of since the box boots to a USB stick with the Xpenology image and that is it.

I could try to enter the pin on my cell phone, sure, but man what a bugger.  I am completely baffled that this is even an issue, even for a beta.  I recently became aware that the Plex team are the same core crew who made the original XMBC waaayy back in the day.  I used to run the very first ever XMBC on my chip soldered/hacked original Xbox and was a very active member of the irc channel and such.  I remember when the ability to mount an .ISO happened with MENU SUPPORT and it was like magic, lol.  This was some 12 years ago or more.

I believe in the core crew behind XMBC so I hope they can get this fixed.  I also just wish I could pay $4.99 ONE TIME just for my PS4 app because I do not need any of the other plex pass doohickery/features.

thanks for tip about putting PIN CODE in with my droid phone, lol.  that does work thought still insanely annoying that it wont pair and stay paired to my PMS.   now i'm getting this BLACK SCREEN bug where the screen just goes totally black after launch which i guess the plex guys will tackle on the separate thread.

I'm so confused by these posts because I kind of get what you are all talking about, but this "new pin every time" thing isn't matching how it works for me. I recently noticed I have to enter a pin now too, but it's the exact same pin I always enter for my plex server page ever since I enabled user switching and it added extra security to my server automatically. 

@Jeff Goldboom from the 80's - There is a PIN CODE (4 digit numerical) that you would use for your primary user, guest user etc... That is the PIN you do have to enter each time on the app or to switch users on whatever device runs the client.  No problem there and it's a great feature to lock an account down to where a guest mode can hide violent movies from kids or whatever. 

The PIN issue this thread refers to is when the PS4 plex app is first launched, it will generate a random 4 LETTER code, PHAK, GBSJ etc etc....  This code must then be entered at plex.tv/pin in order to "pair" the PS4 to the PMS.  The PS4 will not STAY PAIRED so this has to be done every freaking time the app is launched and is a huge annoyance.  Thankfully I can do this from my cell phone or tablet (thanks for that tip) but it's a horrible thing to have to do.  Imagine if every time you wanted to use netflix on your PS4 you had to go to another PC or use any connected device in your house to separately enter some random code to get netflix to work.

Now with the pin code "workaround" via cell phone or tablet, I am actaully getting a BLACK SCREEN after launch that can only be fixed be uninstalling and freshly installing the PS4 plex app.  That will work ONCE TIME until the ps4 is rebooted and then it stops working.

BETA = BETA I guess, yah....

That black screen was super tragic. We've got that one fixed and buried deep. We tested the Plex Home integration thoroughly over several weeks. There was something unexpected in the way the PlayStation app behaves when it starts up that caused us all a lot of grief. Our apologies!

Now, this:

> The PIN issue this thread refers to is when the PS4 plex app is first launched, it will generate a random 4 LETTER code, PHAK, GBSJ etc etc....  This code must then be entered at plex.tv/pin in order to "pair" the PS4 to the PMS.  The PS4 will not STAY PAIRED so this has to be done every freaking time the app is launched and is a huge annoyance.  Thankfully I can do this from my cell phone or tablet (thanks for that tip) but it's a horrible thing to have to do.  Imagine if every time you wanted to use netflix on your PS4 you had to go to another PC or use any connected device in your house to separately enter some random code to get netflix to work.

Just to confirm:

  • If you enter the app, PIN in, wait 1 minute, exit the app (close it completely from PS4 menu), then relaunch - do you need to enter the PIN?
  • If not, how long elapses between each time your run Plex?
  • Are you uninstalling the Plex app in between runs? (probably not, just asking)

Thanks nizzleplex. I hope we can sort this out.

YOU HAVE FIXED IT.  I had to download PS4 2.51 update first.  Then i downloaded 2.3.27 plex app..  Launched it, put the random K H F Z (or whatever code) into my tablet, logged in, tested both users.  Turned PS4 off completely, turned it back on, launched PLEX.  It did *not* ask me for the goofy K S H A (whatever random gizmo) pin but instead launched RIGHT up with my two users.  I put in my numeric pin and wham bam thank u m'aam it is WORKING.

This is when you say praise the lord halleljuah sweet baby jesus almighty.

Please take the entire team of plex to the most expensive steak restaurant in town for some food and expensive beer and send me the tab... you can reach me at bill.gates@buying-steak-forplex.info

NICE WORK, HOMIES!  THANKS!!  As the great leader of the A-Team says "i love it when PLEX team fixes their code and the PS4 app comes together".

CHEERS MATES.

earlraghumiles267:

Could you please tell if the problem is gone for your also?

Without your kind confirmation we won't go to the most expensive steak restaurant in town for some food and expensive beer..

LOL. Unfortunately no this does not work for me. On ps4 I updated to FW 2.51. Deleted my Plex app altogether. Restarted PS4. Then reinstalled the latest Plex app for PS4 and launched. Registered the PIN, web site said activated then the PS4 returned No Media Servers Found as usual. Every other device on my network can connect to my PMS whether it’s on the LAN or WAN (via internet) without issue except for the PS4. Every single one… PC, iPhone, iPad, PHT HTPC, Roku 3, Xbox One but NOT the PS4. Seems to be somehow tied to the PMS machine having Windows Firewall Enabled I believe. Appears to be a PS4 Plex App issue more than a PMS issue. Sorry, wish I could say it was fixed. Unfortunately I’m not the only one in the forums experiencing this issue either. Thanks for asking.

miles267, Just to clarify, do the app ask you for PIN every time / frequently, before showing "No Media Servers Found"?