Server Version#: 1.41.8.9834
Player Version#: 1.41.8.9834
Hi Plex Team,
I’d like to suggest an improvement to how Plex handles remote access when using UPnP or NAT-PMP for port forwarding.
Currently, if the router/modem is rebooted, it loses all dynamically-created port forwarding rules (which is expected behavior). However, Plex appears to assume the port forwarding is still in place and doesn’t re-establish it automatically unless the Plex server itself is restarted or remote access is manually refreshed.
This results in remote access silently breaking until user intervention, which can be frustrating and confusing — especially if the user isn’t aware the modem/router was restarted.
Proposed Improvement:
Plex Media Server should:
- Periodically verify whether its external port is still correctly mapped and reachable (e.g., every 10–30 minutes).
- If the mapping is lost or unreachable:
- Attempt to re-initiate UPnP/NAT-PMP port mapping.
- Optionally notify the user via the dashboard that remote access was degraded and is being restored.
This behavior would make remote access much more robust in real-world home networks, especially for users with dynamic IPs or ISP-supplied modems that occasionally reboot.
This improvement wouldn’t add security risk, as it’s just a retry mechanism for something Plex is already doing — and would help prevent downtime without requiring users to restart the server or dig into logs to diagnose the problem.
Thanks for all your work — Plex is an outstanding product, and this small addition would make it even more seamless!
