Server Disappeared, Cannot Claim

Plex Media Server
1

Server Version#: 1.42.2.10156
Player Version#: N/A
<If providing server logs please do NOT turn on verbose logging, only debug logging should be enabled>

Windows 10

So a couple days ago I upgraded my internet plan, and shortly after I completely lost access to my media server. I did change some settings in Plex, because prior to upgrading I was having some buffering issues when streaming remote, and now things seem to be royally screwed up. One key part seems to have been: I was going through Authorized Devices and deleted everything, which I didn’t realize at the time includes the server itself.

The main thing is: I cannot claim my server. The General tab shows “This server is unclaimed and not secure”, but clicking the Claim Server button does nothing. Also worth noting that next to the Version number it says “Something went wrong. Please install manually.”, which directs to the Windows store install.

On http://localhost:32400/web/index.html I can see my library, but attempting to play anything results in Playback Error, “Conversion failed. A required codec could not be found or failed to install.”

I have done the thing with the 4 PlexOnline registry keys multiple times to no avail.

I have launched Setup Plex.html, but that just results in a continuously refreshing “Claim Server” page. (I don’t know if it matters, but I have my Plex App Data on a drive that is not C:)

Launching Plex via the quick access icon results in a continuously refreshing “Getting ready…” page.

I have checked the TCP Optimizer, but there is no auto-tuning = experimental.

My router DNS is set to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4, respectively. Candidly I don’t understand these internet things well enough to make heads or tails of much, so I’m not sure what matters, but it’s set to Dynamic IP. It also has a Dynamic DNS with the Service Provider being TP-Link. DHCP Server is enabled, with an IP Address Pool of 192.168.0.2 - 192.168.0.249. Default Gateway is 192.168.0.1, Primary DNS is 8.8.8.8 and Secondary DNS is 8.8.4.4

On my computer, IP Assignment is Automatic (DHCP), IPv4 address is 192.168.0.200, IPv4 DNS servers are 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

Honestly I have no idea what happened here, and have been troubleshooting with some help of a redditor here ( Reddit - The heart of the internet ), but nothing is working. At this point I’m tempted to nuke my media server and start again from scratch, because I can probably fix all my metadata and mark shows as watched etc. easier than navigate this, but wanted to check here to see if anyone had any ideas.

Happy to provide logs or whatever other info might help figure out what’s going on here, and tremendously grateful for any help. Thanks!

2

This means that your server was ousted from your user account.
You need to reclaim it.
See You need to reclaim your server, but don't dare to touch the Windows Registry
Follow it closely.

Afterwards, you need to reclaim the server as described in here: New Claiming Requirement for Windows

I only know TP-Link as a router manufacturer, not as an ISP.

3

Appreciate your reply, but I followed all of this closely just now and no luck. When I click “Open Plex” via the taskbar icon it pulls up a “Getting ready…” page that refreshes continuously.

I also checked the Registry after doing that process, and it created “PlexOnlineToken”, with no Value Data, but that’s all.

Re: the Service Provider, TP-Link is listed as the service provider of the Dynamic DNS. My ISP is Spectrum.

At this point I’d be happy to nuke my server and start fresh, but if this is a network issue then (I think?) that wouldn’t actually fix anything.

Thank you again for your reply, and please let me know if I can provide any additional info to help troubleshoot.

4

Update: I completely uninstalled Plex Media Server using these instructions https://support.plex.tv/articles/201941078-uninstall-plex-media-server/

After installing Plex Media Server, it launched another continuously refreshing “Getting ready…” tab.

Selecting Open Plex from the quick access icon brings up a “Not authorized” page.

Does this help narrow things down at all? Kind of losing my mind here, just trying to get this back up and running.

EDIT: Looks like I might have a double NAT issue. The IP address shown on https://whatismyipaddress.com/ does not match what’s shown in my ethernet adapter.

5

It should show the external IP address of your router.
It must not show the IP address of the network adapter in your Plex server machine, unless you have placed your server directly into the open Internet. Which is not advisable and should not be done, unless your server machine is located in a professional data center.

That being said, even a double NAT situation should not prevent you from claiming your server.
Are you sitting directly on the keyboard of this machine? Or is it in a different network?

6

Turns out the issue was… AdGuard. It somehow never occurred to me to try disabling this, but ExtensionMarch6812 of r/Plex suggested it, and that did the trick. Hadn’t made any changes to AdGuard, and it’s never caused issues with Plex before, so I’m not sure exactly what about it created a problem here, but I am thrilled to have this resolved. I really should have thought of trying that sooner, so this was a valuable reminder and learning experience.

Thanks!

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