Server inaccessible outside my network

General Discussions
1

I always have my server set for remote access via secure connections, but I can’t access it at all outside my network. Which is a shame, since i’m not usually at home during the day (work and all that). Sometimes it’ll fix itself, but then a few days later it gets stuck again. Sometimes if I switch Remote Access off and on again, it’ll work right again, but usually not. In addition, an unfortunate side effect of remote access not working is that my Amazon Echo voice controls don’t work either.
It happened again today after I updated to the latest version (I always do so), but when I went to fix it, it said “Server settings are unavailable”. So I’m kinda stuck here.

Any suggestions? Has anyone else been having this problem?

My Plex server is an Nvidia SHIELD TV, latest Plex version (both app and server). I don’t use the beta.

2

Update: I don’t think my DVR program guide is updating, either. It’s not an immediate problem, but in 2 weeks there’ll be no program guide left.

3

Your Amazon voice controls don’t work for what? Plex?.. that is to be expected as she lives in the cloud.

4

Have you forwarded your port in your router? That change alone eliminated most of my remote issues. Actually, I can’t think of one I’ve had since I did that.

5

This sounds like a network issue to me.

And as @AmazingRando24 stated if you use the UPNP option to port forward, you will be sorry as a manual port forward is much more stable.

And I would suggest a static IP on the server or an IP reservation in the router for the server.(If not done already)

6

@SiscoPlex said:
Your Amazon voice controls don’t work for what? Plex?.. that is to be expected as she lives in the cloud.

Yes, Alexa’s Plex skill.

@AmazingRando24 said:
Have you forwarded your port in your router? That change alone eliminated most of my remote issues. Actually, I can’t think of one I’ve had since I did that.

@SiscoPlex said:
This sounds like a network issue to me.

And as @AmazingRando24 stated if you use the UPNP option to port forward, you will be sorry as a manual port forward is much more stable.

And I would suggest a static IP on the server or an IP reservation in the router for the server.(If not done already)

I have no freaking clue how to do that. I just rent a router from my ISP, they came and set it up.

Someone here (https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/293218/remote-access-stopped-working#latest) suggested unplugging the router and plugging it back in. Tried that, and it’s working so far, although I really should consider this a temporary fix. Besides, I still can’t access my server settings.

Oh, and the program guide fixed itself too. That was most likely its own problem, which most likely was caused by my SHIELD getting disconnected from my NAS (I already reconnected them).

7

If you want to avoid the issue in the future, here are instructions on how to Port Forward on your router. It’s ironic you mention the rented router from your ISP as that’s all I’ve ever had… until today… Just got my Nighthawk installed!
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200931138-Troubleshooting-Remote-Access

8

@AmazingRando24 said:
If you want to avoid the issue in the future, here are instructions on how to Port Forward on your router. It’s ironic you mention the rented router from your ISP as that’s all I’ve ever had… until today… Just got my Nighthawk installed!
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200931138-Troubleshooting-Remote-Access

I don’t understand any of this… :stuck_out_tongue:

9

I didn’t get it either until recently… but the further you go down the rabbit hole…

10

I can go into a lengthy layman’s terms explanation if you think it would help?

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@AmazingRando24 said:
I can go into a lengthy layman’s terms explanation if you think it would help?

Sure, thanks.

12

Computers on a network are essentially floating in a pool with no specific place to be. A router knows where they are and can send and receive “stuff” from them, but their location is pretty fluid.
Assigning a static IP address locks them down into one place. This allows your router to always know where that computer is. Assigns it an address so to speak. That’s the first part… locking down the address of your server so the router doesn’t accidentally lose track of it.
Now, there are several ways to get into the computer at it’s new address… There’s the front door, the kitchen door, the side door, the garage door… Those are the ports.

Port forwarding basically tells your router “When you receive information of this type, send it on to this specific door of this specific house at this specific address.”

Your Shield has a door open waiting for Plex stuff. That door has a default number on it, which is “32400”

The hard part:

The first thing you should do is dial into your router… if it’s a Netgear, it’s pretty easy. Open any browser and type in routerlogin.net. Most routers have this info posted on a label on the unit somewhere. There will likely need to be a login and password entered here, which should be on the label. I’d be surprised if it wasn’t “admin” and “password”

Google the instructions for assigning a static IP to your device from the router admin page. I’m not really sure what the specifics are, as they vary from router to router, but there should be an area for assigning static IPs. It might be under Advanced > LAN Setup > Address Reservation
Odds favor your IP Address should fall in line with other devices already connected; 192.168.1.XXX, with “XXX” being the custom number you assign.

Once you’ve done that, there should be another area for port forwarding. This part gets a little trickier. I’m not sure where you find it. Maybe Advanced > Advanced Setup > Port Forwarding? Here you’ll wand to add a custom service called “Plex” with the TCP Protocol. The IP Address is the one you assigned earlier, and the port will be 32400.

Once you’ve done that, head back on over to Plex under Settings > Server > Remote Access and check the box for manually specified port. At this point, you should probably power cycle the router and the Shield.

It may take a few minutes for the connection to bind, but once it does, you probably won’t have any issues like this again.

13

@AmazingRando24 said:
Computers on a network are essentially floating in a pool with no specific place to be. A router knows where they are and can send and receive “stuff” from them, but their location is pretty fluid.
Assigning a static IP address locks them down into one place. This allows your router to always know where that computer is. Assigns it an address so to speak. That’s the first part… locking down the address of your server so the router doesn’t accidentally lose track of it.
Now, there are several ways to get into the computer at it’s new address… There’s the front door, the kitchen door, the side door, the garage door… Those are the ports.

Port forwarding basically tells your router “When you receive information of this type, send it on to this specific door of this specific house at this specific address.”

Your Shield has a door open waiting for Plex stuff. That door has a default number on it, which is “32400”

The hard part:

The first thing you should do is dial into your router… if it’s a Netgear, it’s pretty easy. Open any browser and type in routerlogin.net. Most routers have this info posted on a label on the unit somewhere. There will likely need to be a login and password entered here, which should be on the label. I’d be surprised if it wasn’t “admin” and “password”

Google the instructions for assigning a static IP to your device from the router admin page. I’m not really sure what the specifics are, as they vary from router to router, but there should be an area for assigning static IPs. It might be under Advanced > LAN Setup > Address Reservation
Odds favor your IP Address should fall in line with other devices already connected; 192.168.1.XXX, with “XXX” being the custom number you assign.

Once you’ve done that, there should be another area for port forwarding. This part gets a little trickier. I’m not sure where you find it. Maybe Advanced > Advanced Setup > Port Forwarding? Here you’ll wand to add a custom service called “Plex” with the TCP Protocol. The IP Address is the one you assigned earlier, and the port will be 32400.

Once you’ve done that, head back on over to Plex under Settings > Server > Remote Access and check the box for manually specified port. At this point, you should probably power cycle the router and the Shield.

It may take a few minutes for the connection to bind, but once it does, you probably won’t have any issues like this again.

Thanks, this is very helpful. I was able to find instructions for my specific router (Some ‘Pace’ router or something): AT&T Customer Support

However, I have some questions:

  1. When configuring the static IP, it’s asking for a subnet mask. I couldn’t find a subnet mask number on the SHIELD’s LAN details page (that the router so graciously allows you to view), so what do I put there?
  2. Do I need to configure static IP for just my SHIELD server, or for my NAS as well?
  3. What does “power cycle” mean? Do you mean turning the router and SHIELD off and on again?
14

  1. For most routers, the default subnet mask is “255.255.255.0”. I doubt your ISP would have changed anything. You should be able to check the current settings. Unless you’re doing some advanced networking, your entire network should have the same subnet, and it should show somewhere in the main settings for your router.

  2. Just the Shield. Others may have a reason to, but you’ve already set the relationship between the Shield and the NAS in Plex.

  3. Yes, turn it off and on again. Oldest trick in the IT book. I also recommend watching a show called The IT Crowd. That phrase will get burned into your head after Season 1.

15

@AmazingRando24 said:

  1. For most routers, the default subnet mask is “255.255.255.0”. I doubt your ISP would have changed anything. You should be able to check the current settings. Unless you’re doing some advanced networking, your entire network should have the same subnet, and it should show somewhere in the main settings for your router.

  2. Just the Shield. Others may have a reason to, but you’ve already set the relationship between the Shield and the NAS in Plex.

  3. Yes, turn it off and on again. Oldest trick in the IT book. I also recommend watching a show called The IT Crowd. That phrase will get burned into your head after Season 1.

Tried it with the subnet mask you gave me, and it didn’t work. It just gave me an error message saying “The manually configured supplementary network is not valid.” What did I do wrong?

Also, I have no clue how to turn off my router other than unplugging the power cable and plugging it back in. Would that work?

And I already watch The IT Crowd. Love that show.

16

That subnet is just a general and the most popular one used. There should be something in your current settings that shows what subnet is being used. Hopefully if you can find it listed somewhere, you can just repeat what is used. It’s interesting that it’s asking for a subnet. Mine doesn’t have an entry field for it. If you have a PC connected to your network, you can hit a command prompt and type in “ipconfig” which should also tell you the active subnet.

If your router doesn’t have a power switch, then yes, unpugging it and plugging it back in will work. Only do that though if you’re having troubles making the connection once you’re sure all the numbers are entered right. It’s just a way to make sure things are starting off on a fresh foot. I used to reset my old router weekly as a general rule. My new one is a bit more beefy, and probably won’t need attending to.

17

@AmazingRando24 said:
That subnet is just a general and the most popular one used. There should be something in your current settings that shows what subnet is being used. Hopefully if you can find it listed somewhere, you can just repeat what is used. It’s interesting that it’s asking for a subnet. Mine doesn’t have an entry field for it. If you have a PC connected to your network, you can hit a command prompt and type in “ipconfig” which should also tell you the active subnet.
Did that, and it gave me the same subnet mask as before: “255.255.255.0”.

18

There is a secondary way to assign a static IP. It’s preferable to do it on the Router side, but you should be able to access and set some IP settings in the Shield itself. See if you have any luck there. Once you get the IP taken care of, you can then assign the Port.