Server migration not working

Plex Media Server
1

Server Version#: 1.43.3.10828
Player Version#: 4.160.0
<If providing server logs please do NOT turn on verbose logging, only debug logging should be enabled>

I am trying to migrate my server to a new machine (both linux), and a new external hard drive. I understand that I will have to map the libraries to the new drive when I’m done, but I’d like to keep all the metadata I’ve added. A lot of the artists in my music library, for example, don’t have readily-available metadata online, and they don’t show up in Artists unless I manually change the metadata. And I’d like to keep the playlists I’ve made.

I’m following the guide, and using rsync and --archive to copy server data from the source system. I’ve uninstalled and purged Plex on the new machine to start over several times now.

When launching plexmediaserver on the new machine, the server I’m trying to migrate does not show up at all.

I went out of town for a few days, and I needed to have my music, so I set up a new server mapping to the new library locations. Now - no matter how many times I remove and purge all of plex from the new machine - the new server is the only one showing up when I launch plex. And the new server does not have any of the metadata that I’ve copied over using the instructions in the guide.

Logs.tar.gz (393.4 KB)

2

No offense, but if you had followed the guide exactly it would be working. Can you please provide exact details of what YOU have performed and in what order?

3

Some things to check:

Copying the Plex Data Folder

To copy the Plex Data Folder from the old to new system, see the Plex Linux FAQ: Backup, Restore, or Clone your PMS installation.

tar preserves file/folder ownership and permissions. If you wish to make sure they are correct (from Migration from another OS to Linux):

  • Change the ownership of the files to the Plex user on the Linux host.
# chown -R plex:plex "/var/lib/plexmediaserver"
  • Make certain Linux file permissions are set correctly
# find /var/lib/plexmediaserver -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
# find /var/lib/plexmediaserver -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
# chmod +x /var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application\ Support/Plex\ Media\ Server/Codecs/EasyAudioEncoder-8f4ca5ead7783c54a4930420-linux-x86_64/EasyAudioEncoder/EasyAudioEncoder

Preferences.xml

Did you copy preferences.xml from the old server?

preferences.xml contains info that uniquely identifies your server to plex.tv. If you copied it from the old server, then plex.tv cannot tell the difference between the two servers.

  1. Stop Plex Media Server on both systems.
  2. In Authorized Devices, remove the listing for the new server and also any outdated server entries.
  3. On the new system, rename preferences.xml to preferences.xml.old (or just delete it).
  4. Start Plex Media Server on the new system. It will be unclaimed.
  5. Claim Plex Media Server on the new system. If remote, use the User Credential Reset Utility.
  6. Ensure the new server is online and working OK.
  7. Start Plex Media Server on the old server.

Remote Access

To access both servers remotely, they must use different remote access ports.

If using UPnP, it should handle the port assignments.

If using manual port forwarding, then the router must have separate port forward statements for each server with differing public port numbers.

The public port in the port forward must match the public port in Plex Settings → Remote Access.

4

@dbirch I will provide the exact details of what I have performed and in order. Although your first comment is a little harsh. I did follow the guide, but sometimes it’s vague. For example, it says “Copy Additional Server Settings From the Source System”, but there is no link to a more detailed guide with instructions such as @FordGuy61 provided me with.

  1. I disabled emptying of trash.
  2. I stopped PSM on the source system.
  3. I downloaded and installed PSM on the destination system.
  4. I made sure PSM was stopped and I was signed out of the account.
  5. I copied the server data (/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/) using @ChuckPa 's instructions, as provided by @FordGuy61 :
    1. Made the backup image
    2. Copied the backup image to the new machine
    3. Restored the backup image
    4. Set permissions as instructed
  6. Rebooted the system
  7. Deleted Preferences.xml
  8. Started PSM
  9. Removed the listing for the new server in Authorized Devices.

My original server is still not showing up, even in unavailable or unclaimed state.

5

Ok, when you deleted the Preferences.xml you deleted the ID of your server. It also unclaimed the server so it wont show in your device list. You can:

  1. Restore your Preferences.xml and it will assume the identity of your old server
  2. log into the server using its LAN IP 192.168.1.2 ect and setup as a new server ID with the old metadata.
6

Thank you for that clarification. Unfortunately, now the old server is visible again, but it’s unavailable.

Steps:

  1. Started clean by stopping PMS sudo systemctl sop plexmediaserver.service
  2. Purging PSM sudo apt purge plexmediaserver
  3. Reinstalling PSM sudo dpkg -i plexmediaserver_1.43.3.10861-07dfddaeb_amd64.deb
  4. Made sure PSM was signed out on both machines
  5. Restored backup image that was copied previously:
sudo sh
systemctl start plexmediaserver
systemctl stop plexmediaserver
cd /var/lib/plexmediaserver
rm -rf Library
tar xf PathToFolder/PlexBackup.tar.gz
chown -R plex:plex ./Library
systemctl start plexmediaserver
  1. Set permissions
chown -R plex:plex "/var/lib/plexmediaserver"
find /var/lib/plexmediaserver -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
find /var/lib/plexmediaserver -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
  1. Rebooted system
  2. Did not delete Preferences.xml
  3. Started PSM sudo systemctl start plexmediaserver.service
  4. Logged in using LAN IP
7

When you logged in via the LAN IP did it show your old server’s library (even if it has a different server name)?

8

When logging in via the LAN IP the old server is visible, but since it is unavailable, I can’t see the libraries.

Now, when logging in on the old machine, the new server is visible and available, but the old server (originally hosted on the old machine) does not show up when in Settings. It shows up in the web app, but it says Not Authorized.

I tried the advice in this support article, but it did nothing.

9

Edit: One additional item. Make sure each server has one active network interface. In the logs attached to the first post, it appears that system has active wired and wireless interfaces. Shutdown the wireless interface.

Plex Media Server.log 
Aug 01, 2026 13:25:50.789 [127645905754768] DEBUG - Network interfaces:
Aug 01, 2026 13:25:50.789 [127645905754768] DEBUG -  * 1 lo (127.0.0.1) (00-00-00-00-00-00) (loopback: 1)
Aug 01, 2026 13:25:50.789 [127645905754768] DEBUG -  * 2 enp0s31f6 (192.168.1.188) (08-92-04-1B-55-01) (loopback: 0)
Aug 01, 2026 13:25:50.789 [127645905754768] DEBUG -  * 3 wlp0s20f3 (192.168.1.165) (4C-44-5B-4E-63-2B) (loopback: 0)

==========

Let’s try working with the servers individually, starting with the old server. Once it is online and accessible, then move to the new server.

  1. Stop Plex Media Server on both systems.
  2. On the old server, rename preferences.xml to preferences.xml.save
  3. On the old server, start Plex Media Server.
  4. Do not start Plex Media Server on the new server.

Plex Media Server will create a new preferences.xml file on the old server and it will be unclaimed.

Point a private/incognito browser at the IP address of the old server: http://pms_ip_addr:32400/web. Do not use app.plex.tv. The server will not appear there since it is unclaimed.

You should be able to login, reach server settings, and claim the server.

If you cannot claim the old server, then stop Plex Media Server, manually retrieve the server log files (tar & compress the Logs directory), and post to the thread.

If you can successfully claim the old server:

  1. Do not change any server settings on the old server (can change things later).
  2. Verify you can see the libraries in Settings → Manage section → Libraries.
  3. Repeat steps 1 to 4 above with the new server. Be sure to leave the old server shutdown.
10

Thanks again.

Steps 1-4 worked on the previous machine. On the new machine, navigating to the IP address of the new machine in a private window takes me to the

“This application is at 192.IPaddress and is not hosted by Plex. Continue only if you recognize this server and wish to grant access.”

page, and if I log in using my email it leads me to the How Plex Works - Server Setup page.

This prompts me to create a new server with a new friendly name. Does this sound right?

Attempting to attach logs, but it keeps getting stuck processing.

11

I just ran the steps on my server:

  1. See the “This application is at 192.168…” message, which is expected, since using the server IP address, not app.plex.tv.

  2. Login with e-mail.

  3. “How Plex Works” screen. Click on “Got It!”

  4. Server Setup on Name tab. Click “Next”

  5. Server Setup on Media Library tab. This shows a list of the libraries on the server. Did not add or delete any. Click “Next”

  6. Server Setup on Finish tab. Click “Done”

I can then choose the Wrench icon and reach server settings.

If I click on the server name, I see the online server (green lock, Nearby) and an unavailable server with the same name (red triangle).

I can access my libraries, play media, etc. Since the server is claimed, I can access it via app.plex.tv.

All the server settings are at default values, which is expected since it is running with a new Preferences.xml.

12

Yeah, idk what’s going on, but when I get past “Got It!”, I’m only shown the temporary server I created a couple weeks ago as a short term solution along with its associated libraries.

The logs are getting stuck in processing, but maybe the file is too large. Do I need to include the whole Logs directory?

13

Upload Plex Media Server.log and rollovers .1.log to .5.log. They’re the main log files for Plex Media Server.

14

I’m sorry - when I tar and compress the Logs, the forum keeps getting stuck processing the upload. So I’m going to have to do it this way.

Plex Media Server.log (843.7 KB)
Plex Media Server.1.log (191.4 KB)
Plex Media Server.2.log (174.5 KB)
Plex Media Server.3.log (179.7 KB)
Plex Media Server.4.log (247.9 KB)
Plex Media Server.5.log (97.0 KB)

15

Thanks for the log files.

Aug 05, 2026 20:24:15.005 [127958756846392] DEBUG - [Req#84] CERT: Version mismatch, fetching a new one.
Aug 05, 2026 20:24:15.005 [127958756846392] ERROR - [Req#84] PKCS12_parse failed: error:11800071:PKCS12 routines::mac verify failure
Aug 05, 2026 20:24:15.005 [127958756846392] DEBUG - [Req#84] CERT: Unable to parse existing certificate, fetching a new one.

It appears there is a problem with the server’s certificate.

Try moving the certificate out of the Plex Data Folder:

  1. Stop Plex Media Server
  2. Navigate to the Cache folder in the Plex Data Folder (/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Cache).
  3. Look for files ending in .p12 (cert-v2.p12, certificate.p12, etc.).
  4. Move them to a location outside the Plex Data Folder.
  5. Start Plex Media Server

PMS will download a new certificate from plex.tv.

Once the new certificate is downloaded, point a browser window at the IP address of the server, see if you can login, etc.


Here’s the Plex Media Server.log entries from my server downloading the new certificate (no idea why it took 11 tries):

Aug 06, 2026 13:18:41.512 [134352545815352] DEBUG - CERT: Certificate did not exist, fetching a new one.
Aug 06, 2026 13:18:52.773 [134352545815352] DEBUG - CERT: Downloaded new cert from plex.tv; took 11 tries.

The new certificate:

$ ls -l *.p12
-rw------- 1 plex plex 4240 Aug  6 13:18 cert-v2.p12
$
16

There were no files in the entire Plex Data Folder with “certificate”, “cert”, or “.p12” in their filenames. I ran several searches when I didn’t see them manually. I re-copied the Plex Data Folder from the first server onto the new machine, and there was a cert file.

I moved the cert file out of the Plex Data Folder. I tried this both with the original Preferences.xml and I tried it after re-copying again and changing Preferences.xml to Preferences.xml.save

I’m still only directed to the new server, with the new “temporary” libraries. The old libraries don’t show up.

Plex Media Server.1.log (2.3 KB)
Plex Media Server.2.log (2.3 KB)
Plex Media Server.3.log (2.5 KB)
Plex Media Server.4.log (3.2 KB)
Plex Media Server.5.log (2.5 KB)
Plex Media Server.log (2.3 KB)

17

You’ve provided logs from two different systems, a Dell and a HP.

Pick one system with which to work. Get it working, then move to the other.

Which system do you want to work with first?

Which is the original and which is the new Plex server?

Also, stop copying the Plex Data Folder between systems. That will not help, and it may cause problems with permissions, ownership, etc.

18

The old machine is a HP, and the new machine is a Dell. I’m not switching back and forth between the computers, but maybe this will explain what you’re seeing?

On the HP, I checked like you advised earlier in this thread, and I was able to log into the server that had the libraries I’m trying to recover. So I:

  • Made a copy of the Server Data on the HP as described here, which is linked to in the guide, using the instructions I was shown in this thread.
  • The Server Data I’m copying consists of the directory: /var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library
  • Stopped PSM on the HP, and logged out of the app, etc.
  • Installed PSM on the Dell.
  • Replaced the Server Data on the Dell with that from the HP.

I haven’t gotten out the HP since making the copy of the Server Data. So, I’m not switching back and forth between computers. I am using that same copy of the Server Data from the HP while attempting to recover the server on the Dell. Maybe that’s why you’re seeing both machines in the logs.