I’d like to add the request for this - but following the request guidelines here’s what I would add to this feature request:
Capability can be limited to API for proper authentication so official / third party apps can prevent spamming
Add the ability for the message to be an image or any supported format.
Beyond informing users with text - a lot of home automation would take advantage of: “If motion detected at back door WHILE streaming on Theatre client SEND camera thumbnail/live video”
This would be insanely epic. I’d renew my Plex Pass on that alone. I want to see the Pizza delivery showing up while we’re watching a movie! The phones could finally be put away permanently during movie time!
If I’m notified I’ll work on the home-assistant / Google portion of the guide!
Please PLEX!! This request has been out there for years!!! Just a quick note to let users know I’ll be doing maintenance on the server or storage. Even a check box in settings to enable a fixed message would be fine! We pay for this, and Plex treats us like garbage!!!
I cant wait, at least now we all know that its in the roadmap for the future.
This is someting we really need to let our friends/family know what is going on with the server of if having technical issues with some movie or with storage etc…
My idea is a custom server offline message. Anytime someone’s Plex server becomes unavailable, the custom message displays to the end users. This message can be changed by server owners through MyAccount on plex.tv and reflected across all platforms. Clients would have the option of using the suggested default message, or they can create their own using MyAccount on the Plex website.
Currently, here is the default message that we see through the web app when a server suddenly goes offline:
And here are some sample custom messages:
One option may be for the developers to keep the default as it is, but have a live link to Plex.tv which then displays the custom message, like this:
Clicking the update link pulls the latest information from the server owners custom message from MyAccount on plex.tv. This may be easier to implement because the message and and update link would stay the same across all platforms.
Please don’t confuse this suggestion with the other suggestion of sending a live message to clients. These messages only appear if there is an outage of any kind.
It would also be nice if Plex could notify me when my server becomes unavailable. Plex could test the external connection to my server every X minutes and if it fails to connect then an email could be sent to me. I don’t mean to hijack your idea. I like it.
@kingdave said:
It would also be nice if Plex could notify me when my server becomes unavailable. Plex could test the external connection to my server every X minutes and if it fails to connect then an email could be sent to me. I don’t mean to hijack your idea. I like it.
PlexPy can do this for you already. PlexPy can be configured to send you a text message, run a script or a slew of other things based on events that happen within Plex. For some people that extra external traffic is a no go. Hence why Server Side speed limits has been such a heavy hitter for votes.
PlexPy is easy to install, and well, usually just runs. It’s only major detraction is that the data it maintains isn’t maintained in the main Plex DB, but in it’s own DB. And it requires you to have a different browser window open to use it. (Could be the same, but hard to flip back and forth.)
I have PlexPy and I thought I’d set up to do that. I’ll have to double check. Most of my problem is when my OS updates and reboots the PC, I then find my PC at the login screen and Plex was unavailable for who knows how long. Maybe I just need to change the Windows setting so I don’t do updates automatically.
Devs have added a message to someone if you are killing a stream in progress, but there still isn’t a way to let users know why the server is down. Hope my idea picks up steam!
I was just about to suggest this myself. I get people messaging me saying, “Hey, is Plex down?” and I’d love to be able to have a custom message saying something like, “System down for maintenance, will be back and running as soon as possible!” I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who wants this feature.
Came to the forums expecting this to be implemented already, only to see it as a feature request. Vote added.
I think the original post articulated very well exactly what I’d be looking for - great suggestion post.
Having a custom message when users hit the server on client apps is ideal because it’s a “pull” style notification - aka folks retrieve the info when they need it (when they use the app).
Most alternatives (plexpy, group message chats, email distros, etc) are less ideal because they are “push” style notifications. They can lead to “spamming” of people. Joe and Jane Doe won’t give a darn about a 60 min outage 98% of the time, so why would I want to spam them each time I’m doing maintenance?
A custom server offline message allows efficient, pull style notifications, when users actually “want” them, which I think are a far better experience than push.
Good feature suggestion. Thank you, and I look forward to seeing this reviewed. It should be a pretty simple code change to make this message configurable by the server admin.
The big challenge I could see would getting this message across all client apps - if it’s implemented piece-meal across apps, vs a centralized message store / CMS solution, then it’d be pretty tough, and the “live link” alternative in the OP would be worth a look as a good second choice.
Yeah I’d still love for something like this, especially knowing I’ll be creating a new server soon and would love to redirect people to the new server when they log in to the old one…
I would like the ability to schedule maintenance or downtime windows for your server, and the ability to login if your server/interweb/HDD is down that will update your users when they view the app on any platform. That would be some next level stuff that Netflix does not have to do with the distributed model, but Plex could increase the usability with that feature. Imagine even a schedule the user could set of I love to watch at these times, or analytics that could advise the server owner of the best time to conduct maintenance to avoid their users disruptions. The schedule would be set by the server owner, with end users establishing “date/watch nights” for peak use times, which the server could absorb and notify the admin to avoid those times, or push notifications of the maintenance windows.
As far as analytics, the details have been improved quite a bit. You can create an announcement library to share and add videos you make to inform those you share with of upcoming downtime. I schedule my maintenance stuff automatically for Monday morning at 6am. It tends to be the ideal time since no one cares about TV early on a Monday
Regarding the ability to make general announcements: this has already been requested, so please give your vote to this thread instead of creating your own: Send server messages
Have a “Going away” feature on an item you wish to delete in X days, but give those with access to your library a chance to view it before it is deleted. Sends a notification/message to those you have shared your library with.
I would like to suggest a feature to automatically send a maintenance or information message to all users of my personal Plex server when the server goes into maintenance or is temporarily shut down. The aim is to inform all users with a standardised message without the need to enter free text.
It would help if an automatic notification was sent in advance of maintenance, explaining the server status and informing users that maintenance or shutdown is imminent. This should also apply in the event that the server is down due to problems. In such a case, the message should ideally be sent before the server is shut down so that users who can still access the server can see the latest status message.
The function could optionally offer the following options:
predefined messages for maintenance announcements.
automatic notifications in the event of server outages or planned shutdowns.
pre-shutdown notifications visible to all users in the Plex home screen.
It would be a very useful addition to improve communication and user experience for all Plex users.
