Samsung TV Cannot Connect to Plex

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
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Server Version#: 1.20.4.3517
Player Version#: 2.013

I’ve recently had to reset the Samsung Smart Hub (or NOT So Smart Hub!!) which has subsequently knocked out my Plex App, which worked perfectly well up until today 04/11/2020

I had to reinstall the Plex player app, it loads up ok, but thats about it?

  1. the screen that pops up on the TV to connect to the Plex Server showing the 4 x linking numbers are blank (see screen shot)

  2. Tried to sign in to my Plex Account, I just get the 3 flashing squares in the top left hand corner, the option “Sign in to your Plex Account” will not work when selected (Options: Secure Connections and Device Name do select when clicked on with the remote (see screen shot))

  3. Tried to use the manual option “Connect to a Local Plex Media Server”, I get the error Message: ‘Test failed, server is reachable but it returned: "Access is denied’. Due to the security settings, this server is only accessible, when you are logged in on your Plex account" … Happy days! it would be great to be able to log in to my Plex Account!

Things I’ve tried

TV factory reset
Samsung smart hub reset
TV factory reset Again!
All apps uninstalled and reinstalled
Plex App reset

Scratched my head and did all the above again in a different order, but to no avail.

Is there anybody that can help/advise on what is wrong, thanks All :slight_smile:

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1 Like
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Hi there, thanks for the prompt reply, please find attached the 2 x log files as requested:

(File removed) (File removed)

Cheers
Chris

5

Well thanks for getting back to me on that, I appreciate your feedback.

I fully understand that it isn’t your call, but it is pretty poor form from the Plex development team on a decision like this.

You’d think that it would be a very easy fix to enable a user to link the app directly via the manual settings to their NAS server on their own private local network and accept that they will be limited on functionality, rather than making redundant a perfectly good TV with a higher replacement cost than a streaming App regardless of how good it may be … and I do think the app is great.

3 Likes
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Yes very disappointing from Plex.
I have newer Panasonic TV’s, although we are in the same situation.
Personally I was about to purchase a Lifetime Plex Pass, however I’m glad I’ve held onto my money, as I’m unsure of Plex’s current direction.
They seem to be pushing new features that are of very little interest to myself and every Plex user I speak to.
They are at the same time discontinuing support for many convenient apps and features which made Plex good in the first place.

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Can’t believe an easy (albeit imperfect) solution is in so many other posts but some people still give the advice to just give up and buy sthg else…
see for instance Samsung TV Plex code blank

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8

The problem that you have is security related.
Because TLS 1.1 has been considered unsafe, Plex has disabled this cypher on their servers.
This is not a problem for newer devices, since they have no problem with TLS 1.2 or can handle it after a firmware update, but the older ones are affected by it and can no longer connect.

I think we have little chance of Samsung updating these older models soon, so I made a workaround for you guys in the form of a Plex Proxy Server.

Ok, how does this work:

We will install a service on another machine that will handle the request for the device instead.
So the Samsung device will send the requests to this proxy service over http.
The proxy will send the request over https / TLS 1.2 to the Plex servers, and when the answer returns, it will convert the message back to http and hands it to the device.
Now the device is no longer needing TLS 1.2 and will work like before.

Note that this is a special proxy server that will only work with a new Plex app and nothing else.

Lets get to work:

Download the Plex Proxy Service and install it on a PC that does have TLS 1.2 or higher installed.
You can tell if you have that, if you can reach Plex.tv from a browser on that machine.

For now this is a windows msi installer, but since the proxy is running on Node.JS you could make it work on Mac and Linux by installing Node and coping the files that the msi installs.

Download the special Plex for Samsung version 2.014 and install it on your Samsung device either with SammyWidgets or put it on a USB stick and insert that into your device.
(The method depends on your model, but search this forum on how to do this)

Now Make sure the Proxy service is installed and running, then run the app on your TV.
You will see that the app cannot connect to Plex as before and a popup will show up.
Now select the “Home” option and a new screen will appear that has a new “Configure Proxy” option. Select it and press enter to show the proxy entry screen.

Enter the IP address of the server that is running the Proxy server and click “Add Server”

If the proxy server is reachable, you will get a message and the app will Close down automatically.

Now restart the app, and it will use the Proxy to connect to Plex and things should be working again.

Note that you can run the app without the proxy after you logged in the first time.
The app will then run in “Offline” mode. However you cannot switch users without the proxy though.

I didn’t do extensive testing, so “no support” and “on your own risk”.
This probably also only works for local installed Plex servers (not sure).

The files you will need:

Plex_2014_11112020.zip

PlexProxy.msi

Enjoy!

This doesn’t mean I started development again, this is a one off to help you guys out.
If you appreciate my work , consider a small donation

12 Likes
10

hi @Orca

appreciated!! But do you still have that sammywidgets tool ? seems that link is broken in your other thread

thnx in advance!

this link : https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2994993/Plex/Beta%20Releases/SammyWidgets.exe

1 Like
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I fixed the sammywidgets link, it should now work again.

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for the last two weeks i was in contact with @Orca and I am very glad he did yet another release of his app for smarthub devices!

We both were implementing our own proxies and i will try to take it on from here.

I think Orca’s PlexProxy is to be considered as reference implementation, i am working on my own in a different programming-language. The goal is to have a really simple setup for all kinds of devices (windows, linux, macos, synology - maybe even android) where the proxy can be installed as a service/daemon with ease, just like the .msi above.

As soon as the first public version is available, i will release it on github. This is only for the proxy-part. The app is orca’s and his alone. And BTW: you should really hit that donation button :wink:

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what will be the difference with your proxy ?

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hopefully nothing :slight_smile:

the goal is to have another implementation of the poxy which is community supported.

that means, if anything needs to be changed on the proxy, we (currently myself) can do that.
The other thing is, that orca has released a version for windows, which not only installs the nodejs part but also does the setup of a service (so that the program will start on reboot).

For other platforms one can easily copy the server.js and setup/install nodejs and customize a service/daemon.

but some people might not know how to do that. so i am only addressing that issue. i want to provide a proxy with the same functionality but with the setup for different platforms.

i am even working on porting that proxy to android, so for people who are using a remote PMS and don’t run a server @home could simply start an app, login to plex on the TV and be done with it.

so TL;DR;

  • multiple platforms
  • future support via bugfixing etc.

so Orca won’t have to be bothered when something goes wrong, the community can fix it.

It will take me another week or two to release the first version (i can only work on it on the weekends).

3 Likes
15

Thanks for redirecting me here from my query. Thanks for the detailed run through Orca.

I’ve tried installing via the Sammy Widgets method. The Plex Zip appears in sammy widgets and the television picks up on it and attempts to install but fails every time.

I’m not sure how to install on an old samsung from usb, despite searching here (think it’s 2012-14 model) - would love to get the app working again as (hush) it’s a nicer UI than the official one!

Any help with either the sammy widgets piece or guidance on usb install on older models would be greatly appreciated.

1 Like
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To Use the new version with SammyWidgets try this:

  • Extract de Plex folder from the zip
  • Then create a new zip file with all the contents of the Plex folder inside the root
    (so not in a folder like it is now)
  • Use the new zip with SammyWidgets, see if that works.

For the USB stick option:

  • Format a USB drive with the FAT32 format
  • Unzip the contents of the download into the root of the drive.
  • You should now have a Plex folder in the root.
  • Insert the USB into you Samsung device (try a different port if it doesn’t see the stick)
  • Cancel the popup that might show up.
  • You should now have a new User icon in your SmartHub
  • Select it and start it up like you would normally.
  • The USB needs to stay connected when you use Plex.

Please note that this version does not work on very old models that previously had v 1.x of the app, they are just not compatible. This also does not work on newer Tizen models.

2 Likes
17

Thank you. The good news is that the suggestion to put the folder contents into their own Zip file worked in terms of getting Sammy Widgets to install the custom app.

The bad news is that the server cannot be reached. I have checked in task manager and the plex proxy service is running. Have also disabled secure connections within network settings in the plex area. No vpns, or dns services are running at the moment.

1 Like
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It’s possible that the machine you are running the proxy server on, also has a firewall running.
Find the firewall settings and make a new rule that allows connections over port 3000, that should fix it.

P.S. Thank you for the generous donation!

3 Likes
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You’re welcome. Regardless of whether I’d gotten the app going again I’ve had many good years using it so that alone was worth a tip. However, we’re up and running again.

I did create outbound and inbound rules at port 3000 for both TCP and UDP but it didn’t work immediately.

I then temporarily disabled the firewall entirely and tried it - it configured and reset. I then re-enabled the firewall and everything seems to be working well again.

I suppose the final question is whether I was overkill in the port rule creation?

Thanks for the assistance, it’s appreciated and I hope this info can help others.

2 Likes
20

Hi,
i installed that version but the Smart HUB is showing that the version is 2.012. The official version from Samsung installer had version 2.013. Why did it decrease?

But why did i need to install this specific version anyway? Is the proxy option missing in the app that i get through Samsung HUB (2.013)?

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Because it provides a workaround to Samsung not releasing updated firmware anymore for your TV

Yes

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Thank you so much. I am new to this community but have the same problems on my 2012 Samsung.

I have some quick questions:

  1. Did I understand this correctly, with the SammyWidget method the customized PLEX app will be installed and work as a “normal” SmartHub app, while the USB method requires the stick to be in the TV at all times and executed from there everytime?

  2. Is the proxy connection and sign in a one time thing, or should I have a PC running a proxy and being online everytime I run the PLEX app?

Thanks

23

Did I understand this correctly, with the SammyWidget method the customized PLEX app will be installed and work as a “normal” SmartHub app, while the USB method requires the stick to be in the TV at all times and executed from there everytime?

correct

Is the proxy connection and sign in a one time thing, or should I have a PC running a proxy and being online everytime I run the PLEX app?

no. you only need the proxy for the initial setup and every time you want to switch users.

1 Like