Still not working. I tried to sync a file in “original” quality to my tablet and for some reason it started an incredibly slow transcode. This feature is full on broken and I feel stupid having paid for it. It’s quicker and better to use a file manager to copy the files over than think Plex will make things easier for the end user.
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Exactly, I just use DS File for my Synology, works well and fast
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Hi!
I’d like to report that the downloads feature is still terrible. Conversions for download take ages (days for a single ~40 min TV show episode), while on-the-fly conversions for streaming work seamlessly. Downloads aren’t particularly fast either. The old sync function worked extremely well… very disappointing. I hope this gets addressed in the near future.
Best regards,
Andrew
Are there like any updates on it? When can we expect it to work again? I mean this is a paid feature. You would guess this is a high priority
Looks like the iOS client side update to 8.5 finaly solves my download problems.
Thanks,
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Glad that helps.
For all others, we have included a change in Plex for iOS 8.5 that should fix some of the issues with Downloads. Please continue to report issues if you are on 8.5 and still having problems.
Appreciate the info shared so far. This is a good step forward by acknowledging customers’ problems with the very hastily shipped “Downloads” feature of Plex. But none of these resolve issues with why some of my shows are not downloading and some are. I have already shared a few logs from the last couple of days. Hope to find a resolution soon. Not a happy customer. 
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Same here. Just tried the latest iOS version and nothing seems to have changed. I tried deleting the download and rescheduling it. Doesn’t seem to help.
Very disappointing, that the old Sync feature which worked great was shut off…
Best regards,
Andrew
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I have v8.5. Downloads problems persist. Also have a conversation on this going on with you on another related thread. If you need any more logs or info, please let me know if it helps resolve it.
Only took a year, but the 8.5 update fixed the issues I had with Downloads for a year.
Did I mention that it took a year to fix this? 
Seriously, thanks for the fix.
(Even with an error, Downloads now recovers and re-downloads)
Also tested on a 7GB 1080p file that successfully transcoded to 720p on a Pi4 (took awhile on the Pi, but it worked)
Works on iOS and iPadOS 15.5
Weird that it seems to be solved for some folks … congrats to Tony_T for getting it to work. 
My plex server is also hosted on a Pi4 and I understand the limitations of transcoding speeds on this platform. However, while plex is reporting that it is transcoding two items for download (at the same time) a look at the CPU load shows all four cores ‘idling’ at between 15% and 20%. I had expected them to be maxed out for this operation.
Someone enlighten me please: Why is it simply a matter of loading files onto my iPad in VLC and playing it right then and there, but plex takes ages to transcode and then transfer the files? Now, you could say: “why don’t you simply use VLC then?” … that is currently my workaround. But I do really enjoy plex’s ability to let me pick up where I left off and of course keep track of watched/upcoming episodes etc.
I apologize in advance for this ‘n00b’ question…
Well, that’s what the forum should be for… asking questions and getting help from other forum participants.
I’d be interested to read about the tehnical insights of the solution, too.
Thanks rossinior…
Movies seem to download ok, but episodes from TV-series take forever (days per episode) to transcode and download. Transcoding seems to be the bottleneck, which is why I’m baffled that the server (RPi4) isn’t working harder. Any insight from the plex team would be much appreciated.
Server and apps are all on current versions, download still does NOT work on android at all
It’s all about codecs. Something is telling the Plex app that the specific file you want to download isn’t compatible with the device so a transcode is needed to make it compatible.
VLC comes included with a bunch of codecs so if a device isn’t able to play something, it can use software decoding to play it. It also doesn’t check if a file is compatible or not, it will just try to play it and fail if it can’t. Plex relies mostly on hardware decoding to playback a file, so a device needs to support the codecs involved. Plex does some software decoding, but we are limited to what codecs we support for that due to licensing. Plex tries to make sure the file will play.
I need to see the logs from your device to identify why specific files require a transcode.
Hi MovieFan.Plex!
Thanks for your response. I’d be happy to supply logs if you describe to me how to generate them. This brings me back to my question why me server (Raspberry Pi 4) isn’t showing a high CPU load when transcoding is taking place. I would guess from transcoding other files (e.g. using HandBrake or Premiere Pro) that this would put a high load on the CPU… It seems to me that this may be the reason why the transcodes take such a looooooong time.
Best regards,
Andrew
Link on how to obtain Android logs and server logs.
I don’t know what the RP4 is capable of. There may be cores/threads limitations. Need to see what’s actually going on before trying to see if there is a problem.
I’m on iOS so can’t make use of the Android logs guide. I’ve attached the server logs.
Plex Media Server Logs_2022-07-07_06-27-00.zip (4.2 MB)
Ah sorry. Here is info for iOS logs.
here you go…
PlexDebugInfo-8.5-3006 (2022-07-07 08.05.29 +0200).zip (2.9 MB)
