Unable to claim Media Server after removing from Authorized Devices

Plex Media Server
1
  • Plex Server Version#: 1.32.1.6999
  • Player Version#: N/A - Browser (Edge ver. 112.0.1722.58 / Firefox 112.0.2)
  • NAS Manufacturer: Synology
  • NAS Model: DS920+
  • NAS Configuration: 4 x 8TB drives in Raid 1+0 configuration (Total 16TB usable space, 45% full)
  • Firewall: Sophos XGS (SFOS 19.5.1 MR-1-Build278)
  • Server/Plex on VLAN 6 on 192.168.60.0/30 subnet.
  • LAN to LAN firewall rules in place to allow traffic across subnets from 192.168.10.0/24 and 192.168.20.0/28 subnets.
  • Communication with server from allowed subnets and devices works without issue (Ping, HTTP, HTTPS, 32400)

Overview of Problem

I am running Plex Media server version 1.32.1.6999 on a Synology DS920+ with DSM 6.2.4-25556 update 6. Plex is configured with a No-IP Dynamic DNS hostname managed by Synology DSM and certificate is signed by Let’s Encrypt. All of these settings have been working perfectly for a few years, until I decided to change firewalls. After changing firewalls (more on that below), I had intermittant connectivity to Plex Media server that seemed to be caused by some ports blocked by the firewall. I got this straightened out by allowing the correct ports for Plex to traverse the VLANs (32400, http, https, dns, etc). Then one day, the server was no longer accessible from the lan or any of the VLANs for no apparent reason. Nothing changed with firewall rules and all network cabels are tightly secured. Plex App is running on the server, but not accessible by any device.

Troubleshooting
In my troubleshooting of the problem, I started by going through my firewall rules looking for any abnormalities and found nothing. The plex server was not accessible by URL. I should have tried to connect via IP address rather than URL, but didn’t think of it until after I ran into further problems. My mistake seems to be that before I connected to the <server’s IP>:32400/Web, I removed the server from my list of authorized devices, despite the warnings I received about doing so. Now I am trying to reclaim my server and it will not work, no matter what I do.

Following advice from other forum posts, I have cleared the tokens, like this in the Preferences.xml file:

  • PlexOnlineToken=“”
  • PlexOnlineHome=“”
  • PlexOnlineMail=“”
  • PlexOnlineUsername=“”

After restarting the Plex server, I attempt to reclaim the server, but I get an Error 408 as a result. Log output is attached to this post below. I can see that it reaches out to the server and requests the token, but appears to be rejected by the server or blocked somehow. I have checked to see if it is a firewall issue, but as far as I can tell, my server has complete, unhindered access to the internet (at least during troubleshooting and claiming). I even found an obscure comment to a forum post that stated to change DNS servers to Google (8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4), but that did not solve my issue as it has for others. It goes without saying that until I can claim my server, I can’t watch any movies or access the server securely. Hoping someone with more advanced knowledge of Plex can help me here. I am at a loss of what to do. Now onto the firewall stuff for background info.

2023-04-27 22_22_46-Plex and 5 more pages - InPrivate - Microsoft​ Edge
2023-04-27 22_22_46-Plex and 5 more pages - InPrivate - Microsoft​ Edge1173×426 162 KB

Firewall Configuration (for reference only)
My Plex installation has been working flawlessly for quite a while, but recently I changed firewalls and it seems that this sparked a chain of events that has lead me to where I am now.

I have been running an Untangle NG Firewall for many years now and decided to bump up my security posture by installing a new firewall with Zero Trust framework. The firewall is Sophos XGS firmware 19.5.1. I have set up VLANs for various network devices for network segmentation. Server operates on the 192.168.60.0/30 subnet (VLAN 6). PC’s and Laptops are operating on the physical network of 192.168.10.0/24. This is also where the firwall’s LAN port is connected and supplying all DHCP and Routing services for all physical and virtual interfaces. VLAN 2 (192.168.20.0/28) is for IoT devices, only a Smart TV has access plex. VLAN 3 (192.168.30.0/28) is for Guests and does not access Plex. VLAN 4 (192.168.40.0/28) is for Mobile Devices and Does have access to Plex server.

The firewall rules have been configured to allow Lan to Lan communication on specific services, but for testing and troubleshooting purposes, all services (ports are allowed across VLAN’s/LAN). Server to WAN firewall rule is set to allow all ports out to the WAN. I also have http, https, 32400 accessible from the internet. Again, this firewall information is for reference only and I am not requesting assistance with my firewall, unless something is obviously configured wrong to be causing this issue.

2

You need to fully remove these Name=“value” pairs
Setting them to NULL will never work.
You must also be on the same subnet and opening PMS by LAN IP (no domains) to reclaim it.

If you were using DSM 7, you could use the built-in Claim Token feature.
(this is something to consider in the future)

3

Thanks. I will give this a try and report back.

4

I have completely removed the name=“value” pairs from the preferences.xml file and connected to the NAS from the same network as my PC. Same exact result, unfortunately.

2023-04-29 00_32_45-Plex and 1 more page - Personal - Microsoft​ Edge
2023-04-29 00_32_45-Plex and 1 more page - Personal - Microsoft​ Edge1189×446 166 KB

Maybe there is something else wrong in my preferences file. Here is a screenshot with sensitive stuff redacted.

2023-04-29 00_40_58-C__Users_rogue_Downloads_Preferences.xml - Notepad++
2023-04-29 00_40_58-C__Users_rogue_Downloads_Preferences.xml - Notepad++783Ă—327 16.3 KB

5

Remove secureConnections, remove the Custom Certificate info too.

You can’t have it as part of a custom domain before it’s claimed.

6

Having same exact issue. I too made no changes to config. updated plex about 10 days ago.All has been working fine but yesterday it topped working. I think its a bug in the recent update.

7

@jreuben

DSM version ?
PMS version?

Do you have manually captured logs ( a ZIP file)

8

DSM 6.2.3.25426
PMS Version 1.32.1.6999

Literally spent hours working on it yesterday and finally gave up last night. Just went to colllect logs and performed a claim some the error would be in the logs. And it worked! Had to be something on the plex side. Can attach logs from last night during failure and today with success if you still want them. lmk

9

Yes, please! I’d love to know what worked for you. Lots of suggestions to try. Narrowing it down would be very helpful.

10

I’m going to suggest this as first course of action.

I suggest it because resets the ownership of the local PMS to be whatever you give it (using your credentials claim token) from Plex.tv

Be advised, you must run this from the Synology command line -OR- a Synology Scheduled Task (User-Script)

I will tell you how to run it using Task Scheduler (more cumbersome) if you wish.

11

It is working for me now! Thank you for all your suggestions!! Because I removed my server from my authorized devices, I had to reclaim the server. This was not working for me, but I followed all suggestions and today it works without issue! As @jreuben mentioned, it could be that it was on the Plex side that this wasn’t working. I don’t know for sure. I did follow your suggestion to remove the secure connections before I tried this, so maybe that did it.

Again, thank you all!