Recurring buffering issues on Apple TV

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
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Server Version#: 1.22.3.4392
Player Version#: Apple TV 7.16(1)

I’ve been a Plex user (lifetime pass) for several years now, but lately it has become unusable for me most of the time due to constant buffering issues.

During rare occasions it can work perfectly (even with HD video), but most of the time it doesn’t. My setup hasn’t changed during occasions where it works and doesn’t work, so my best guess would be that my CPU can’t handle the transcoding where there are buffering issues. I’ve tried everything from installing an SSD drive, using a wired connection to my media server and replacing the WiFi access points. I dug through several support topics both here and on Reddit, but to no avail.
I also tried the Plex app on my PS4, but the same buffering issues occur.

This my setup:

  • Plex Media Server on iMac Retina 4K 2017, SSD drive with 8 GB RAM
  • Media files are on an external HD connected via USB 3.0
  • Playing on an Apple TV connected via WiFi (Google Nest WiFi), app version 7.16(1)

I’ve taken a look at the logs (see attached file), I see some network errors but I’m not a expert, so it’s hard to say what’s normal and what’s off. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I’m all out of ideas.

Plex Media Server.log (2.9 MB)

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The Plex server has two active network interfaces on the same subnet:

Apr 26, 2021 21:16:04.520 [0x70000719b000] DEBUG -  * 4 en0 (192.168.86.248) (loopback: 0)
Apr 26, 2021 21:16:04.521 [0x70000719b000] DEBUG -  * 5 en1 (192.168.86.247) (loopback: 0)

There are 250+ network change notifications:
Apr 26, 2021 20:52:52.433 [0x7000074ad000] DEBUG - Network change notification but nothing changed.

Either disconnect/disable one interface or pick one (preferably gigabit wired) as the preferred interface in Settings → Network → Preferred network interface. Click “Show Advanced” if needed to make the setting visible.

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Great, thanks for taking a look.
I’ve now picked my wired connection as the preferred connection.

I’ll keep you posted!

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Changing the network setting to the wired connection seems to have resolved the playback/buffering issue, which is already great! I do still experience some issues still with waking my server (iMac) from Apple TV:

  • When starting Plex on my Apple TV, my content isn’t loading (because the server can’t be found)
  • Sometimes I do see the content and I can start playing the content, but then it loses connection after some minutes. (e.g. see attached logs at 15:04)

In checking the logs, some network-related issues are still there as far as I can tell. Connecting my Apple TV via a wired connection doesn’t seem to help…

Plex Media Server.log (2.3 MB)

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