A fix for this has just been written. I expect it to be released in Plex Media Server 1.28.1
In the meantime, please increase the max pause time allowed for playback to circumvent the bug with downloads
See Server “Network” Settings - Advanced
Terminate Sessions Paused for Longer Than
thanks, the problem was the timeout not the size, although the larger the size, the more chance of reaching that timeout 
Changing that parameter the downloads work perfectly
Great job!
Hello!
We’ve now established that the download feature itself works well using an RPi4 as the PMS and the iOS app on an iPhone or iPad. However, only when setting the quality to ‘original’ and switching off media optimization for compatibility.
Thus, the remaining issue is to figure out why the conversions/transcodes are so glacial when downloading, but seem to work fine for streaming. The RPi’s CPU power isn’t the bottle neck, since it typically hovers around 20%…
Any ideas on how to improve this?
Best regards,
Andrew
You could at some point run a specific test with server debug logging not disabled and have the same media file transcoded for streaming for one test and then transcoded for downloading
Having both tests done in controlled sessions with no other activities and both starting a few minutes after a server restart and when getting to an idle state - you can enable verbose logging on the server during these controlled tests and you would know the server reached an idle state when the Plex Media Server.log gets repeated log entries like these
Jul 18, 2022 09:40:40.884 [3384] VERBOSE - WebSocket: processed 1 frame(s)
Jul 18, 2022 09:40:49.776 [3384] VERBOSE - WebSocket: processed 1 frame(s)
Jul 18, 2022 09:40:50.886 [3384] VERBOSE - WebSocket: processed 1 frame(s)
Jul 18, 2022 09:40:59.777 [3384] VERBOSE - WebSocket: processed 1 frame(s)
Jul 18, 2022 09:41:00.887 [3384] VERBOSE - WebSocket: processed 1 frame(s)
Not to beat a dead horse, but Downloads are still not working for me on iOS (iPad Pro or iPhone 13 Pro). PMS is running on a Mac Mini. It’s really aggravating that this has not worked correctly for so long (especially, as mentioned before, when Sync worked great). I do not see the value in maintaining my Plex Pass with this kind of issue persisting. Download/ Sync is a key feature for me since I need offline access on a frequent basis.
Could you capture Plex Media Server debug server logs and Plex for iOS logs for a failing download so that the issue can be investigated.
Please refer to the linked support articles. Thanks
Hello sa2000,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you - I was on a business trip.
I’m happy to perform this test but to need more detailed instructions on how to proceed.
Something like this, I presume:
enable verbose logging (how?)
reboot PMS
start streaming a media file from an iOS device
save log (how?)
reboot
(clear logs?)
start media file transcode by initiating a download from iOS app
save log (how?)
Can you elaborate?
Best regards,
Andrew
Plex Web / Settings / Server Settings / General / Show Advanced
Enable Debug Logging and for this specific test also enable verbose logging - both appear on this general advanced settings page. Save changes
Plex Web / Settings / Server Settings / Troubleshooting
Download Logs
No need for that
and after collecting both sets of Plex Media Server logs - then capture the Plex for iOS logs - on the Plex app :
Settings / Help & Support / Debugging / Share Debugging Data
Select email option to email the logs zip to yourself and then attach here together with the two sets of server logs zip files and indication of what was used for the tests and what the times were
After this test - disable verbose logging on the server leaving just debug logging
I have the same problem with Download not working. I have capture Plex Media Server debug logs and Plex iOS logs and sent them to @sa2000.
Hm, todays release of PMS 1.28.1.6018 ( available to Plex Pass users in the Beta update channel) seams to have fixed my problem with downloads Previously my download would start for about 3-4 minutes but then stop. My initial testing with one movie worked great after upgrading to 1.28.1.6018.
Sadly the external (srt) subtitles do not work with the downloaded movie (Its possible to select, but nothing happens)
But hey, its a step in the right direction
That’s good news.
Sadly the external (srt) subtitles do not work with the downloaded movie
Yes, we’ve identified this new bug. Try selecting the subtitle while the movie is playing.
Yes, we’ve identified this new bug. Try selecting the subtitle while the movie is playing.
The correct subtitle is actually selected when I start the movie, but it doesn’t show up. Tried to set subtitle to “Off” and then back to the correct subtitle (while the movie was playing) without any luck.
Hi!
So I finally got around to performing the tests you described (sorry for the delay - work-related travel was keeping me busy)…
For some reason, I tested with an episode of Paw Patrol and it worked fine in all scenarios (streaming, streaming at reduced quality, download original format, and download converted). While converting, the CPU was pretty much maxed out on all four cores.
I was elated! Now, I’ve deleted one of my finished downloads of The West Wing (that was in original format) and restarted the download with conversion set to “720 HD (High)” and “Maximize Compatibility”. Now, once again, the CPU cores are all hovering around 20% and the download isn’t making any progress.
After Cancelling the download in the iOS app. The server still shows the animated orange circle around the “wave”-activity icon… A server reboot solved that.
Last log (which I started a few seconds late, sorry!) shows a conversion of TWW without 'Maximize Compatibility" activated. Again, all cores were pretty much maxed out.
I guess the latter setting may be the culprit… However, the download is still taking a rather long time. But it seems to be working…
Plex Media Server Logs_2022-08-07_14-38-54_stream-4Mbps.zip (3.9 MB)
Plex Media Server Logs_2022-08-07_14-49-49_download.zip (4.0 MB)
PlexDebugInfo-8.6-3226 (2022-08-07 14.50.46 +0200).zip (3.3 MB)
Plex Media Server Logs_2022-08-07_14-57-43_convert-TWW-sloooooow.zip (4.3 MB)
Best regards,
Andrew
… and three more log files… Let me know, if you want any other tests/logs.
PlexDebugInfo-8.6-3226 (2022-08-07 14.58.10 +0200)-TWW_sloooow.zip (3.3 MB)
Plex Media Server Logs_2022-08-07_15-28-36_TWW-converted_NO-max-compatibility.zip (3.0 MB)
PlexDebugInfo-8.6-3226 (2022-08-07 15.29.08 +0200)TWW-converted_NO-max-compatibility.zip (3.4 MB)
… and, I just noticed that even with ‘maximize compatibility’ off, the CPU load has dropped down to ~20% after the first episode finished downloading and the second one was being worked on… so back to square one?
… just to confirm: downloads are now firmly stuck, once again - after downloading a single episode in a reasonable time. My only option is to forego conversion for downloads which seriously limits the number of items I can sync to my iPad 
I’m on the beta builds of PMS and latest Android app.
Adopting the naming convention 1x i for every month it’s been broken…
Downloads are stiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiill broken.
Can confirm, still not working as advertised
plex server: 1.28.2.6151
plex android: 9.8.1.35118
hello,
some time ago i learned that the DOWNLOAD feature was not working correctly when downloading to an external sd card in an android device (issues with speed, completeness of download, etc).
i tried to download a few music files and it seems that the feature does not work properly yet (at least for me). so i was wondering whether a fix has been implemented and where i can find such information in order to update my setup.
thank you, best regards,
Sorry, hasn’t worked in more than a year
