Apologies if this is in the wrong place - I’ve tried looking for the answer myself but the more I look, the more confused I am!
I have a Plex server set-up on my NAS. I want family to be able to access remotely - manily via laptops, possibly an xbox. I’ve tested this with my mum this evening - enabled remote access, shared with her etc. When attempting to watch anything get a message saying need to upgrade or pay for one time activation. I’ve not come across this whilst streaming to my smart tv or on my own laptop, so can only assume this is because she is on a different network? In which case, what is the best option in regards to this. If I was to upgrade to the Plex Pass - would family members still need to pay the activation fee as well or is there a way to include them in the pass? If we were to pay the activation fee, is this linked to the account or the device - would we need to repay if purchased a new laptop?
You should only see references about a one-time activation when using Plex on a mobile app (e.g. Plex for Android or iOS). The other apps might show an option to buy a Plex Pass but that’s not essential to using the app itself (unless you want to use some of the premium features like skip-intro etc.).
Thanks for the quick response! This is part of my confusion - that was what I thought to be the case, however this is on a Windows laptop and I downloaded the app from the Plex website. The message says ‘Until activated playback from a Plex Media Server to this app will be limited to a minute’. Am I doing something wrong?
The activation fee is tied to the store account where the app was purchased - Google / Apple / Amazon. The fee applies towards all devices for that store account. It cannot be transferred between stores.
Example 1: You have an iPhone & an iPad, both tied to same Apple store account. One activation fee.
Example 2: You then buy an Android phone. Another activation fee as the fee is paid through Google, not Apple.
Example 3: You then buy an Android tablet and it uses the same Google account as the Android phone. No activation charge. It is covered by fee you already paid for the Android phone.
All of your mobile devices are unlocked. This is handled via your Plex Pass account at Plex. It has nothing to do with any Google / Apple / Amazon store account.
Anyone you share libraries with is NOT covered by your Plex Pass. They would still have to pay the activation fee for their mobile devices.
EXCEPTION: Anyone you invite into your Plex Home is covered by your Plex Pass. They will not need the unlock fee for mobile devices.
There are implications to inviting someone into your Plex Home. You should only invite people you trust. You should strongly consider setting up PIN protection on all accounts within a Plex Home. Otherwise, anyone in your Plex Home can change from their account to yours.
Read the Plex Home documentation closely before inviting anyone. You may wish to create a dummy Plex account with which to test before inviting others (get a free e-mail address at Google, Yahoo, etc, create another account at Plex with it, and use that account to test sharing, remote access, etc).
Preferably go with “Plex for Windows” from the page linked above. If you want a more extensive “HTPC experience”, you can go for the newer Plex HTPC app (instead of the old Plex Media Player)
Do not download the super-outdated and discontinued “Plex for Windows” app from the Windows app store.
Edit: I just noticed that MS Store link is now only valid for the Xbox version (so that should not be causing an issue)
Yes, I downloaded the ‘Plex for Windows’ as in the link. Maybe it’s some kind of glitch then - will try one more uninstall/reinstall and log a support request if still not working.
