Remote Access still not working after three months?

Plex Media Server Remote Access
1

Server Version#: 1.43.1.10611
Player Version#: don’t know
<If providing server logs please do NOT turn on verbose logging, only debug logging should be enabled>

Plex Media Server Logs_2026-05-13_19-02-07.zip (8.0 MB)

I have been trying to sort out remote access on two servers- one on a Synology and one on a WD MYCloud.

They both worked faultless for at least 2 years. Now, I just can’t get it to work.

I have followed all of the guidance, I spent days with experts talking me through every scenario, I’ve set up, reset up port forwarding rules. I’ve dabbled in DNS, I’ve checked for CGNAT.

If I can’t sort it this time, it will be farewell to Plex. I’ve not wastes the money on my PLEX Pass, but this is just too complicated for me to even know what to do next.

2

For Plex on the Synology…

The port forward in the router is working. However, Plex Media Server is not correctly registering with hosts at plex.tv.

  1. Go to Settings → Remote Access + Show Advanced

  2. Check the box to manually specify public port.

  3. Enter port 32400 and Apply (or Retry).

  4. Plex will initially say “Fully Available.” However, it is still trying to setup remote access.

  5. Wait 3 - 5 minutes. If It still says “Fully Available” then it is working.

If registration fails, and Plex shows “Not available…”, then pull & post a new set of log files. Also, post a screenshot of Settings → Remote Access + Show Advanced. Blur out the public IP address (but not the port number). Do not blur out any other info on the page.

Note: Do not rapidly try to enable/disable remote access (more than once per minute or so). When the systems at plex.tv see too many requests, they think the server is unstable and stop responding. The logs show no indication you are doing so. Just be aware of it.

4

But this is where I keep going round and round in circles, because that is exactly what has happened on the log you’ve already received.

Manually specify public port has always been specified. Points 1 to 4. have always been constant in my set up. Point 5 never says fully available for more than 2 or 3 minutes. Done as you suggested and it has failed again.

Hopefully, screen shot of settings attached.

Will attach logs in due course.

Screenshot_20260514_000642_Chrome
Screenshot_20260514_000642_Chrome1200×2000 186 KB

5

Plex Media Server Logs_2026-05-14_00-24-44.zip (7.3 MB)

Rebooted the server. Re-did retry of remote access on both servers. Failed on both in less than three minutes.

6

Quick question: What external port are you using on the WD? It must be different than the port on the Synology, so not 32400.

Disable remote access on the WD until it is working on the Syno. One less variable with which to contend.

7

Thanks for the screenshot. I’m not sure why remote access is not activating.

Below are some basics to check. After doing so, power cycle your router (remove power for 10-15 sec). After it is back online, stop, then restart Plex Media Server.

Here’s the log entries where you can see the connection failing:

Plex Media Server.log 
May 14, 2026 00:24:40.958 [140618454756152] DEBUG - [EventSourceClient/pubsub/pubsub07.pop.lhr.plex.bz:443] EventSource: Got event [data] '<Message address="86.x.y.z" port="32400" asyncIdentifier="2f229b44-a868-4d04-a719-7163aa9209fd" connectivity="0" command="notifyConnectivity"/>'
May 14, 2026 00:24:40.958 [140618454756152] DEBUG - [EventSourceClient/pubsub/pubsub07.pop.lhr.plex.bz:443] PubSub: Got notified of reachability for async identifier 2f229b44-a868-4d04-a719-7163aa9209fd: 0 for 86.x.y.z:32400 (responded in 5096 ms)
May 14, 2026 00:24:40.958 [140618454756152] DEBUG - [EventSourceClient/pubsub/pubsub07.pop.lhr.plex.bz:443] MyPlex: reachability check - current mapping state: 'Mapped - Not Published (Not Reachable)'.
May 14, 2026 00:24:40.958 [140618454756152] DEBUG - [EventSourceClient/pubsub/pubsub07.pop.lhr.plex.bz:443] MyPlex: mapping state set to 'Mapped - Not Published (Not Reachable)'.

Items to check

  1. Disable the Synology firewall temporarily, if enabled.
    Synology Control Panel → Security → Firewall tab
    Uncheck “Enable Firewall” and Apply.

  2. Use a public DNS server
    Configure the NAS to use a public DNS server, such as 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare), 8.8.8.8 (Google), or 9.9.9.9 (Quad9).

    Synology Control Panel → Network → General tab.
    Check the box to Manually configure DNS server.
    Enter the address for the Preferred & Alternative DNS servers.

  3. Synchronize the NAS with a public NTP server.
    Synology Control Panel → Regional Options → Time tab
    Select the button to Synchronize with NTP server
    Select the desired server - pool.ntp.org, time.nist.gov, etc.
    Click Update Now.
    A “Successfully synchronized..” message should temporarily appear at the bottom of the window.
    Status should also be Normal.

8

I’m using external port 49155 on the WD.

Disabled for now.

9

OK, thanks for that.

  1. Synology firewall was already disabled.
  2. Was using 1.1.1.1 on the router, but there was an anomaly on the NAS- so now both are using 1.1.1.1.
  3. Was sync’ed with Google. But Now sync’ed with pool, just to see if that makes any difference.

Have power cycled the router and restarted the NAS server. “Fully accessible outside your network” at present- but occasionally I have been able to get it working for short periods of time, so will keep checking to see if it remains connected.

Thanks for your help.

10

Plex Media Server Logs_2026-05-14_09-17-31.zip (6.7 MB)

So, it was fully accessible for about 25 minutes, then it failed again.

Did the usual retry, and stayed green for the standard three minutes before going back to red/not accessible.

Logs attached that covers all of the above period.

I think I’ve gone beyond being frustrated- I just want to understand what is going wrong.

11

Can anyone help me resolve this?

Nobody seems to be able to give me an answer.

12

Not sure what answer can be given, you have two things occurring.

  1. After a non specific time the external port is being blocked, whether at the ISP level or Router level is unclear.
  2. Your Public IP changes, whether it is because you are rebooting your router or the ISP is forcing a change is unclear. Each time it changes it takes Plex time to reconcile the new IP.

You could try a higher external port like 49152 mapped to your serverip:32400 in case you ISP is detecting Plex traffic and blocking it. What router do you have? Does it have some sort of intrusion detection/prevention running?

Use something like UptimeRobot to monitor your Public IP and Port for change/block.

13

I have an EE Smart Hub 6 Plus. I have had it for two to three years.

As far as I am aware it doesn’t have any intrusion detection/prevention running.

I did reboot the router this morning. Remote access was working OK until two minutes ago, then it dropped out, literally as I was typing this message.

When it dropped the Broadband public ip has not changed. It remains the same one as shown in Plex.

I have tried the higher external port up until last week, when I changed it back to 32400. Neither appear to make any difference.

Thanks for your help.

I think this has become all far too complex. I’m going to use a more straightforward system for playing music. Fortunately my video/film needs are minimal and are only required over my home network which continues to operate.

14

Double check your port forwarding rules and the manual port address for your WD server. Your log shows external port 32400 going to the local IP for your WD.

15

Ok, if I’ve got this right, my set up is as follows:

Router-

External port is 49155

Internal port 32400

In Plex:

Manually specified public port is 49155

Private always remains 32400.

This hasn’t changed. Have I got something wrong? If I haven’t got it wrong, how is this showing on the log?

And on the Synology, both ports are 32400. So there shouldn’t be any conflict. But that doesn’t work either.