I have been using Plex for a few years on my Synology NAS. I actually had set up 2 different accounts with different emails since I didn’t know about managed accounts (I wanted an account with lower permissions for normal use to prevent making unintended changes).
I recently signed up for the plex pass lifetime sub, but I accidentally signed up with the “user” account not the owner account. So I wasn’t able to fully extend those privileges to the server/managed account I was using now.
I thought that it would make more sense to transfer ownership to the other account but have been unable to do this so far. The things I have tried so far are:
I originally gave up the claim on the server and claimed it with the other account. While this gave me the ability to manage things such as libraries, I still didn’t have full access and was unable to do things such as create managed users or grant them the ability to download files. The account also did not have the crown icon that my other account had on the switch user screen.
Next, I tried reinstalling Plex, hoping I could just set up the software from scratch and create a new server owned by the Plex pass account. When doing this the steps I followed were:
Uninstall plex app in synology (selected full erase)
Delete plex user
Delete “Plex Media Server” shared folder
Restart server
Install Plex manually from installer Plex provides (more recent version)
Once I completed these steps I logged into the new server using the plex pass account. But it still appeared as before where it could manage libraries, but not managed accounts, and was missing the crown icon.
Next I tried deleting the original plex account and then doing a full reinstall again. But this ended up with the same results as before, but now I have no account that can create managed accounts.
I tried doing several re-installs tweaking different parameters:
I tried renaming the synology service so that plex would recognize the newly installed plex instance with a different name by default
I realized I wasn’t on the newest synology 7.22.x which requires a different plex installer, so I upgraded and installed that version
I tried reclaiming with a claim token when installing (I assume this claim token came from the “user” account since I had already deleted the owner account)
None of these seem to have had the results I am looking for. Is there a way to setup Plex as a completely fresh device with a new owner?
Alternatively, If you want the server owner to be this new name you accidentally used (as long as it has an email address - not a managed user), we can easily change the owner of the PMS itself.
I can help with everything else.
You refer to user Plex. “Plex” was used for all versions DSM 6 and below.
“PlexMediaServer” is now used for all versions DSM 7 and higher (Synology changes mandated it)
Did you previously have a DSM 6 server with Plex/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server ? You say you selected “Erase” option which only exists in DSM 7+
If you did, had you known, we have a documented procedure on how to upgrade from DSM 6 → DSM 7 / 7.2.2 without losing any of your accumulated server data
Regarding how to setup those lower privileges, there’s a couple ways.
Managed users
Separate Plex accounts (free) which you grant read-only access to what you want to allow.
The choice here is yours.
Does it make sense to get your Plex Pass on the right account first and then we’ll start building up a new server ?
I think I was probably on DSM 6 initally but upgraded a while back to 7 without issue. So when uninstalling the first time I had the user and folders from both. The subsequent times I tried reinstalling I only had the one folder to delete and no users.
At this point I know how to set up users, the problem is that the user I have with the plex pass is not the Home Admin of the server and I haven’t been able to find a way to make that happen. No matter how many times I have reinstalled or claimed the server with that account. It isn’t the home admin.
So for now I have restored the Home Admin account I deleted, but it cannot add users other than managed accounts. In the meantime I reached out to plex billing support to see if I can have the pass transferred to the other account. Not sure if they will do that, so I would also like to find out if there is a way I can change the Home Admin, I don’t mind starting reinstalling and starting with a fresh install, but even doing that doesn’t seem to have a way to make the other account Home Admin.
If you’ve given the Billing folks the “from” and “to” email addresses, and then you work with them (probably an email from each account to verify it’s still you), I don’t see any reason they won’t transfer your PlexPass to the proper account.
Once that’s done, changing owner on the actual server is trivial.
(I built that into the menu system)
Uninstall the Plex package (sign out – Radio button 2)
– it keeps all the existing metadata and server internal files except the server owner information. The server becomes “unclaimed”.
Reinstall the same SPK again – EXCEPT
– Select radio button 3 - Install using Plex Claim Token option
– Click “Get Plex Claim Token”
A new browser tab will open with a claim-xxxxxxx token for you to use
– COPY that token (click the COPY button)
Return to the package installation tab (you only have 4 minutes so be prompt)
PASTE the claim-xxxxxxx token into the box on the form
– Click NEXT - NEXT - DONE and let it installed.
When it’s complete, if all is successful (usually is), it will look like this:
The whole sequence is here in the “Syno FAQ”
For future reference, I’ve assembled a number of How-To’s to help with doing things on DSM 6 and 7. Those things unique to DSM 7+ are so marked.
I have played with it a bit and I think the problem is different than what I thought it was. I thought that I was unable to add users because I didn’t admin the server. But I think I admin the server, the real problem that I am seeing is that I can’t interact with a Plex Home on that account.
But none of the buttons, for adding users, adding managed accounts, or enabling the guest account. Are available when I am signed into the account with the plex pass.
Oh my god, I think I finally solved it. It looks like the plex pass account, that had been a member of the original server owner home. I am pretty sure I had left the home earlier, but I may be misremembering. It looks like at some point in the process, the account was a “ghost member” of the home. It wasn’t showing as a member of the home from either account.
I logged back into the account that owned the home, and it showed it as a member of the home by itself. I created a managed account, and suddenly the new server admin with the plex pass showed back up in the plex home along with the guest account.
I removed the plex pass account from the home and now logging back into that account, it can create a plex home.
This seems like a bug in the plex account/home system.