ReadyNAS server stuck as shared / ghost server – cannot be claimed

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
1

Hi,

I have a Plex Media Server running on a Netgear ReadyNAS (OS 6).
The server is running and accessible locally on LAN, but I cannot claim it. The server worked fine yesterday and I assume it stopped working today due to external IP changing. This has happened before and I got the libraries back but this time I accidently interrupted something mid-loading which probably caused the issue.

Even when accessing the local setup URL
/web/index.html#!/setup
I get: “Setup is not allowed for shared servers”.

I have already:

  • Removed all PlexOnline* entries from Preferences.xml

  • Restarted Plex cleanly (no running processes left)

  • Tried manual claim via API using curl:

    Result: 401 Unauthorized

  • Tried forced local setup URLs and new MachineIdentifier

Only shared servers from friends are visible; my own server never appears as owner.

This appears to be a ghost / soft-deleted server identity on the Plex backend.
Please detach/reset the backend server identity so the server can be claimed again.

Platform: Netgear ReadyNAS OS 6
Server name: AKEH-NAS
Local IP: 192.168.0.70

Thank you.

2

Can you post your server logs?

3

The server is not deleted.
It’s still connected to your user acount.

4

Since I can´t access any server settings in plex (when connecting through my local IP) I can’t seem to package them from plex itself. I added all the logs manually into the .zip.

Logs.zip (1.5 MB)

5

Yes, my understanding is that this is actually the problem? I am sorry, my knowledge about this is limited, I’ve been vibing with AI-chat to try and solve the issue (As I also did when setting it up in the first place). It has been working fine for quite a while but obviously I messed something up yesterday and now I just can’t seem to get it working again.

6

Possibly this: Important note about the Plex Web app - Local Network Access

7

This seems to only apply when you try it from the plex app in the browser though? I am browsing into the local IP, I will try as soon as I get home though.

8

What did you do? You are not supposed to supply the machineID yourself.

9

Some weird Ai-tip. I kept the old file and changed it back. So no numbers are changed.

10

After much problem-solving I managed to get it up and running again. No matter what I tried I couldnt reclaim the server, I think the reason is that my NAS’s OS is just too old and couldnt read/install the certificate. The problem got solved by installing an earlier version of plex which allowed me to access the server without issue.