Hey guys, so I’ve been digging around the forums for a few days trying to figure out my problem and cant find anything that works. I have also looked on other forums and tried plex’s help page.
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get my remote access set up. I am not too smart with computers…so dinking around in the settings was tough enough and I came up unsuccessful.
Remote access is not working with my VPN (IPVanish) on or with it off. From what I read, it might be a setting on my ASUS RT-AC88U router or possibly a setting in my network section on the control panel. I tried to set up this port forwarding stuff and lost internet. After I restored I tried again and couldn’t figure it out. Ideally, I’d like to have my plex media server behind the VPN but if thats too complicated then it’s ok to not have it behind there.
Does anyone have any advice or have a step by step guide that breaks it down barney style for those not smart with settings?
Currently, my plex version is Version 1.14.1.5488 and it says, " Not available outside your network". I have the lifetime membership.
I had to manually set the port under settings>>remote access. I had to open the port on my windows server, antivirus software (which included a firewall) and my router. Once all the hurdles had the same port it came up and has stayed up - well once the antivirus got stupid but not a PLEX problem.
Thank you for the help grhlner! Do you by chance know if there’s a guide for this? I’ll of course look but if you remember how to do it or the website you used, that would be greatly appreciated!
Robert if you’re still having a problem and want some remote help via TeamViewer send me a PM with a phone number. I’ll give you a call and we can do a TeamViewer session. I’ll guide you through the setup and explain what to do while you do the work (so you’ll learn). I’ve got some Asus routers and known them inside and out.
For starters you will want to ditch the VPN and get Plex working remotely then with some changes in VPN setup you can (if really needed) get it to work behind a VPN.
My solution - ensure you have a static IP from your internet service provider.
I had Plex working remotely just fine, then I changed to a different provider for a cheaper price. This messed up my remote access. I scrolled through forums for days looking for the solution, and after trying all the suggestions, nothing worked.
I finally figured the difference was the my new provider only offered a dynamic IP, and this for some reason meant several things for me stopped working from Plex remote access to DNS.
I changed to a different provider again, one that offered a static IP, and BINGO! Everything back to normal.
You’ll have to find a FAQ for your router on opening ports, NAT settings, and if you have a firewall on the server or anti-virus (mine was McAfee’s software.)
I must admit I fumbled thru a lot of tries before it all worked.
The key is in the port forwarding. As others mentioned, if your ISP is running your “modem,” whether that be DSL, Cable, AT&T etc…, in a Dynamic format (DHCP) then it can get tricky. Setting the port forwarding is predicated on having a static IP you can reference.
Having said that, MOST ISP’s have their TTL (Time to live) for their DHCP delivered addresses set for 48 hours to 5 days. Also, 9 times out of 10, the DHCP server will give your device the same address. DHCP is a layer 7 protocol so as long as the device can access the same DHCP server with no issues it will get the same address.
Of course, you can always isolate your Plex Server by placing it on the DMZ and that fixes everything. Let me know if you still need help.
