I’ve just finished building a new server, but have been as yet unable to establish a secure connection to it from any Plex client. I am able to establish insecure connections using HTTP and direct IP over LAN.
Plex was working previously using a different Windows PC, with the same network configuration, but I’ve gone through everything I can think of all the same:
Port forwarding is set up, TCP external port to 32400 internal port, external port shows as open and listening on https://canyouseeme.org/
PC’s firewall has been configured to allow all Plex services; I’ve also tried temporarily disabling it completely to test - no change.
OttoKerner has advised that I’ve been assigned (several) new certificates; I’ve left PMS open for hours, so these should have had time to install. I’ve restarted PMS, the server, and all network equipment.
The issue persists whether using LAN or external network
Edit: Also, I can access it from outside my network if I flip “Secure Connections: Required” to ‘Preferred’. I’m left to assume my phone is then resorting to an insecure connection, however I had a friend test for me and his PS5 is unable to connect under the same conditions.
Any pointers as to where to aim myself next would be hugely appreciated. I’ve attached my Plex log, hopefully it’s of some use.
You are currently rate-limited by the certificate-issuing server.
Wait at least 24 hours before trying anything else.
Particularly do NOT delete your server from your account.
Are you using any 3rd-party firewall or anti virus software?
Is there a VPN in play?
Disable all network adapters except one.
Have you used symbolic links to change the location of the Plex data folder on your server?
Did you copy any data over from your old server?
Are you using any 3rd-party firewall or anti virus software?
I am using a firewall called TinyWall, but have configured it to allow all Plex traffic (TCP and UDP) on any port, and have intermittently disabled it completely during troubleshooting. No anti-virus, just the built-in Windows Defender.
Is there a VPN in play?
There is one on the server, but it’s configured to only interact with one (other) application. When first setting this up and encountering the issue, the VPN was not yet installed.
Disable all network adapters except one.
I’ve now gone in and disabled all other adapters except for the LAN. The above VPN has been turned off and disabled as well.
Have you used symbolic links to change the location of the Plex data folder on your server?
No, thank you.
Did you copy any data over from your old server?
I did copy the \AppData\Local\Plex Media Server folder to the new server, and then installed Plex on top of it using the latest available installer. While my libraries came intact, it did seemingly create a new server, where I then had to go into my Account Settings and delete the “old server”, then claim the “new server”.
Depending on exactly how you were performing the copy, some of these copied files may be read-only, because the Windows user account on your old machine was probably not the same ID as the one on the new server.
So you may need to reset the access permissions of the whole plex data folder and each folder, subfolder, and file therein.
Understood. I’ll leave the server online, but will hold off on any further troubleshooting for 24h, and will report back.
I’ll check the folder and file permissions to make sure ownership and permissions are correct.
I do still have access to the old system, but it sounds like copying the registry at this point is moot? Thank you for the link regardless, hopefully it will be some time before I’ll have need of it again!
Mostly, because you have already removed the old server from your account, which makes its login token invalid. So you’d have to re-authenticate it anyway.
The only thing where this would be helpful is if you have a lot of individualised media shares with other Plex users (managed or regular). Copying the registry will copy the old server’s “identity” to the new machine, so that all shares stay valid.
Without any further troubleshooting, it seems all my clients are working now, with “secure connection” still set to “required”. I must have rate limited myself while trying to set up the server initially - probably due to the firewall? - and it was just a matter of waiting it out.
Thanks. Sorry to have taken up your time; I was just at the end of what I could come up with on my own and was running out of ideas. Appreciate your help, Otto.
