When clicking on content I get a "Something Went Wrong, Retry" message repeatedly, but then it works

Server Version#: 1.28.0.5998
Player Version#: Android-TV, Shield, ATV

I have a constant issue that when I go to open a piece of media the following things happen:

  1. Click the Movie Poster
  2. The app goes partially into the Movie description - the background art changes and the movie name pops up, but no play buttons, actors, more films etc. pop up
  3. I get a “something went wrong, retry” error
  4. I click retry 3 or 4 times
  5. Finally, everything works fine.

It’s incredibly annoying and is generally consistent, but occasionally it’s doesn’t happen and I don’t know why it works. I never run into these issues on the web player.

Things I’ve tried:

  • I was running in Docker Bridged Mode on a remote server. I switched to a Docker Host Mode setup as to not run into NAT issues with Docker itself.
  • Not requiring Secure Connections
  • Disabling ipv6
  • Disabling Relay
  • Setting Preferred Network
  • Cleaning / Repairing Database

I cannot figure this out for the life of me.

In the log files I see that I’m getting issues where it looks like it’s timing out trying to talk back and forth.

Here are the logs from my player: 29/plex/stable/package/a3d5bb79a74c0212659f1789f7867615017c99be/include -DLIBXML - Pastebin.com

and server logs are attached below.

Plex Media Server Logs_2022-07-23_18-21-42.zip (5.0 MB)

Thank you for the logs:

  1. /transcode ? Is this a container? Error is “Not writable”.
Jul 23, 2022 09:56:46.016 [0x7fe7a92cdb38] DEBUG - Transcoder: Cleaning old transcode directories.
Jul 23, 2022 09:56:46.016 [0x7fe7a92cdb38] ERROR - IsFileWritable: failed to create file '"/transcode/aaaf5364-60d3-45a0-ac30-4df82982209c"'
Jul 23, 2022 09:56:46.016 [0x7fe7a92cdb38] WARN - IsDirWritable: directory '"/transcode"' is not writable
Jul 23, 2022 09:56:46.016 [0x7fe7a92cdb38] DEBUG - Whacked session e7a7a08c-201e-4453-8b96-d521339fb80f, 0 remaining.
  1. Networking failure - DNS lookup did not resolve.
Jul 23, 2022 12:23:21.144 [0x7fe7abd62b38] DEBUG - [HCl#348] HTTP requesting GET http://plex.tv/pms/:/ip
Jul 23, 2022 12:23:21.354 [0x7fe7af360b38] WARN - [HttpClient/HCl#348] HTTP error requesting GET http://plex.tv/pms/:/ip (6, Couldn't resolve host name) (Could not resolve host: plex.tv)
Jul 23, 2022 12:23:21.354 [0x7fe7abd62b38] ERROR - PublicAddressManager: Unable to get public IP adddress from myPlex (httpCode=-6): 
Jul 23, 2022 12:23:21.354 [0x7fe7abd62b38] DEBUG - MyPlex: mapping state set to 'Mapped - Not Published'.
Jul 23, 2022 12:23:21.356 [0x7fe7abd62b38] DEBUG - MyPlex: Last published value didn't change, we're done.

There are other errors but they are likely the result of the primary DNS failure.

Plex Media Server Logs_2022-07-25_09-39-35.zip (3.9 MB)

Hi There -

I took Docker out of the equation and am still running into the same issues on bare-metal. From what I can tell - DNS is working fine. Can you look over these logs and let me know if you see anything further? Also - where are you seeing the errors - there are so many log files to look through that I don’t know where to start.

Thanks again for the assistance.

I’ve been doing some further testing.

The issue appears to be a delay in propagating the actor, trailer, related metadata for android TV apps, IOS Apps and ATV Apps. I’ll select a movie and the page will start to load, but not provide any of the additional info for up to 30 seconds. Once it loads, I can then select any other movie and it will load instantly. This keeps working for that browsing session, but after an amount of time, maybe 10 minutes, it goes back to one very slow load until it works again.

On ios - it just sits still and hangs. On Android TV it gives a “something went wrong, retry” error. Retrying multiple times eventually allows the app to punch through.

I never experience these issues in the web app on my browser or the PC plex player app, on the same network in the same house. I do experience the issue in other locations, so I don’t think it’s my home network.

I’ve tried deleting the cached plugins - to no avail.

Here is a video of the problem happening on mobile.

And on Android TV

Thanks @ChuckPa !

Any chance you could take a look at the updated logs @ChuckPa ? I can’t figure out what the issue is on my own.

That is pretty wonky.

Using these logs Plex Media Server Logs_2022-07-25_09-39-35.zip (3.9 MB) from 3 days ago,

That Chrome device is SPEWING requests like it’s nobody’s business and beating hard it.

If you look, you’ll see several requests separated by single-digit milliseconds.
I’ve never seen a PMS client misbehave like that.

What is this Chrome device ChromCast ? Web?

It would just be a web browser. I don’t have a chromecast.

Web browser is the only player that doesn’t grind to a halt upon browsing for new movies tho

That TV looks a lot like the app / WiFi is not working right in the TV.

When’s the last you updated it / reloaded the app?

Are both WiFi ? If so, 2.4 Ghz or 5 Ghz?

All are up to date on 5 GHz. The TV has an Nvidia Shield connected and it has the same issues as the native TV app. I see the same problem at different homes on different networks. I have tried rebooting many times. I also show the same issues on the iOS client and apple tv client.

You certainly have enough CPU power for this. (I have a 2690v4)

How’s the server connected and is it running native on the host?

The Server is a VPS XL on Contabo located in the US. It’s been running without issues for years now. This is a new issue that popped up.

It’s just strange to me that I don’t see these issues through the web app at all - instant loads, but on pretty much every other client I get that huge initial lag (and on Android TV - I get timeouts until it finally loads).

And yes - I moved it to running Natively from running in docker to see if it would help with my issues - but I still see them.

Could it potentially be something to do with the database? I’ve checked for errors using PlexSQL and all looks fine. Also removed all caches.

If you were having database issues, the first indication would be “SLOW QUERY”.
Those fire if any query takes more than 250 ms to complete.

How many vCPUs of that 10-core (20 thread) are you getting?
They advertise 10 core but how many other customers are you sharing with ???

To keep you and them separate, you must be abstracted from the hardware so either it’s a Linux Container or a VM (maybe ESXi)

I am supposed to get 10. I show 10 in htop. Watching htop while clicking something in ios show very little activity, but very slow response in the plex app.

That really does wreak of network performance given it’s remote.

What that actually is is going to require a lot of digging.
Process of elimination –

MTR test (hop test)

Start with mtr ip.addr.of.server

IPERF3 test (sustained throughput)

  1. install iperf3 on the VPS
  2. start the server iperf3 -s
  3. Install the same app iperf3 on your workstation
  4. run a test
    – iperf3 -c ip.addr.of.server -t 15
    – iperf3 -c ip.addr.of.server -t 15 -R

( -t is how long to run. -t 60 runs for 60 seconds)

Please report all findings.

MTR:

WinMTR Statistics

WinMTR statistics

Host % Sent Recv Best Avrg Wrst Last
10.0.0.1 0 185 185 1 2 5 3
192.168.1.254 8 143 132 2 3 6 3
162-224-232-1.lightspeed.irvnca.sbcglobal.net 0 185 185 3 6 19 7
70.232.229.16 0 185 185 3 6 19 7
12.242.115.3 0 185 185 5 9 19 12
be3013.ccr41.lax05.atlas.cogentco.com 0 185 185 5 8 29 12
be3359.ccr42.lax01.atlas.cogentco.com 0 185 185 5 8 19 12
be2932.ccr32.phx01.atlas.cogentco.com 0 185 185 16 22 100 20
be2930.ccr21.elp01.atlas.cogentco.com 0 185 185 24 27 32 29
be3047.ccr22.den01.atlas.cogentco.com 0 185 185 46 50 123 50
be3036.ccr22.mci01.atlas.cogentco.com 0 185 185 47 51 99 50
be2347.rcr21.stl03.atlas.cogentco.com 0 185 185 53 56 65 58
154.24.77.138 0 185 185 53 56 65 58
38.104.163.242 0 185 185 53 56 62 55
vmi538761.contaboserver.net 0 185 185 53 58 79 55

razzamatazm@vmi538761:~$ iperf3 -s

Server listening on 5201

Accepted connection from 99.59.234.143, port 60396
[ 5] local 209.145.59.74 port 5201 connected to 99.59.234.143 port 60397
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[ 5] 0.00-1.00 sec 2.50 MBytes 21.0 Mbits/sec
[ 5] 1.00-2.00 sec 4.00 MBytes 33.6 Mbits/sec
[ 5] 2.00-3.00 sec 4.00 MBytes 33.6 Mbits/sec
[ 5] 3.00-4.00 sec 4.00 MBytes 33.6 Mbits/sec
[ 5] 4.00-5.00 sec 4.23 MBytes 35.5 Mbits/sec
[ 5] 5.00-6.00 sec 4.02 MBytes 33.7 Mbits/sec
[ 5] 6.00-7.00 sec 4.00 MBytes 33.6 Mbits/sec
[ 5] 7.00-8.00 sec 4.11 MBytes 34.5 Mbits/sec
[ 5] 8.00-9.00 sec 4.14 MBytes 34.7 Mbits/sec
[ 5] 9.00-10.00 sec 4.00 MBytes 33.6 Mbits/sec
[ 5] 10.00-11.00 sec 4.00 MBytes 33.6 Mbits/sec
[ 5] 11.00-12.00 sec 4.00 MBytes 33.6 Mbits/sec
[ 5] 12.00-13.00 sec 3.88 MBytes 32.5 Mbits/sec
[ 5] 13.00-14.00 sec 4.11 MBytes 34.5 Mbits/sec
[ 5] 14.00-15.00 sec 4.12 MBytes 34.6 Mbits/sec
[ 5] 15.00-15.06 sec 273 KBytes 35.0 Mbits/sec


[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[ 5] 0.00-15.06 sec 0.00 Bytes 0.00 bits/sec sender
[ 5] 0.00-15.06 sec 59.4 MBytes 33.1 Mbits/sec receiver

Server listening on 5201

Accepted connection from 99.59.234.143, port 60449
[ 5] local 209.145.59.74 port 5201 connected to 99.59.234.143 port 60454
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth Retr Cwnd
[ 5] 0.00-1.00 sec 6.25 MBytes 52.4 Mbits/sec 0 462 KBytes
[ 5] 1.00-2.00 sec 3.75 MBytes 31.5 Mbits/sec 0 439 KBytes
[ 5] 2.00-3.00 sec 3.75 MBytes 31.5 Mbits/sec 0 445 KBytes
[ 5] 3.00-4.00 sec 3.75 MBytes 31.5 Mbits/sec 0 471 KBytes
[ 5] 4.00-5.00 sec 3.75 MBytes 31.5 Mbits/sec 0 445 KBytes
[ 5] 5.00-6.00 sec 2.50 MBytes 21.0 Mbits/sec 0 448 KBytes
[ 5] 6.00-7.00 sec 3.75 MBytes 31.4 Mbits/sec 0 465 KBytes
[ 5] 7.00-8.00 sec 3.75 MBytes 31.5 Mbits/sec 0 453 KBytes
[ 5] 8.00-9.00 sec 3.75 MBytes 31.5 Mbits/sec 0 445 KBytes
[ 5] 9.00-10.00 sec 3.75 MBytes 31.5 Mbits/sec 0 456 KBytes
[ 5] 10.00-11.00 sec 2.50 MBytes 21.0 Mbits/sec 0 445 KBytes
[ 5] 11.00-12.00 sec 3.75 MBytes 31.5 Mbits/sec 0 453 KBytes
[ 5] 12.00-13.00 sec 3.75 MBytes 31.5 Mbits/sec 0 448 KBytes
[ 5] 13.00-14.00 sec 3.75 MBytes 31.5 Mbits/sec 0 445 KBytes
[ 5] 14.00-15.00 sec 3.75 MBytes 31.5 Mbits/sec 0 439 KBytes
[ 5] 15.00-15.06 sec 0.00 Bytes 0.00 bits/sec 0 439 KBytes


[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth Retr
[ 5] 0.00-15.06 sec 56.2 MBytes 31.3 Mbits/sec 0 sender
[ 5] 0.00-15.06 sec 0.00 Bytes 0.00 bits/sec receiver

Server listening on 5201

^Ciperf3: interrupt - the server has terminated

That’s showing us 30 Mbps usable (combined).
Is this speed rate expected?

I did some tests using parallel connections and got much faster speeds - see below.

PS C:\Users\Tyler\Downloads\iperf-3.1.3-win64> ./iperf3.exe -c 209.145.59.74 -P 4 -w 100M
Connecting to host 209.145.59.74, port 5201
[ 4] local 10.0.0.3 port 62743 connected to 209.145.59.74 port 5201
[ 6] local 10.0.0.3 port 62744 connected to 209.145.59.74 port 5201
[ 8] local 10.0.0.3 port 62746 connected to 209.145.59.74 port 5201
[ 10] local 10.0.0.3 port 62747 connected to 209.145.59.74 port 5201
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[ 4] 0.00-1.00 sec 104 MBytes 875 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 0.00-1.00 sec 105 MBytes 877 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 0.00-1.00 sec 104 MBytes 872 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 0.00-1.00 sec 104 MBytes 871 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 0.00-1.00 sec 417 MBytes 3.50 Gbits/sec


[ 4] 1.00-2.00 sec 5.88 MBytes 49.1 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 1.00-2.00 sec 5.38 MBytes 44.9 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 1.00-2.00 sec 7.50 MBytes 62.7 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 1.00-2.00 sec 4.50 MBytes 37.6 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 1.00-2.00 sec 23.2 MBytes 194 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 2.00-3.00 sec 5.50 MBytes 46.2 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 2.00-3.00 sec 4.00 MBytes 33.6 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 2.00-3.00 sec 3.38 MBytes 28.4 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 2.00-3.00 sec 4.12 MBytes 34.7 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 2.00-3.00 sec 17.0 MBytes 143 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 3.00-4.00 sec 4.25 MBytes 35.6 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 3.00-4.00 sec 3.75 MBytes 31.5 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 3.00-4.00 sec 3.75 MBytes 31.5 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 3.00-4.00 sec 3.38 MBytes 28.3 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 3.00-4.00 sec 15.1 MBytes 127 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 4.00-5.00 sec 4.50 MBytes 37.7 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 4.00-5.00 sec 3.12 MBytes 26.2 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 4.00-5.00 sec 3.88 MBytes 32.4 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 4.00-5.00 sec 3.75 MBytes 31.4 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 4.00-5.00 sec 15.2 MBytes 128 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 5.00-6.01 sec 4.50 MBytes 37.6 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 5.00-6.01 sec 3.12 MBytes 26.1 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 5.00-6.01 sec 3.00 MBytes 25.1 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 5.00-6.01 sec 3.62 MBytes 30.3 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 5.00-6.01 sec 14.2 MBytes 119 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 6.01-7.00 sec 2.50 MBytes 21.1 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 6.01-7.00 sec 2.75 MBytes 23.2 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 6.01-7.00 sec 2.25 MBytes 19.0 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 6.01-7.00 sec 3.12 MBytes 26.3 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 6.01-7.00 sec 10.6 MBytes 89.6 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 7.00-8.00 sec 2.75 MBytes 23.1 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 7.00-8.00 sec 2.75 MBytes 23.1 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 7.00-8.00 sec 2.50 MBytes 21.0 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 7.00-8.00 sec 3.00 MBytes 25.2 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 7.00-8.00 sec 11.0 MBytes 92.3 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 8.00-9.01 sec 2.88 MBytes 23.9 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 8.00-9.01 sec 3.00 MBytes 24.9 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 8.00-9.01 sec 2.62 MBytes 21.8 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 8.00-9.01 sec 3.25 MBytes 27.0 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 8.00-9.01 sec 11.8 MBytes 97.7 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 9.01-10.01 sec 3.25 MBytes 27.3 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 9.01-10.01 sec 3.38 MBytes 28.4 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 9.01-10.01 sec 3.00 MBytes 25.2 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 9.01-10.01 sec 3.62 MBytes 30.5 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 9.01-10.01 sec 13.2 MBytes 111 Mbits/sec


[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[ 4] 0.00-10.01 sec 140 MBytes 118 Mbits/sec sender
[ 4] 0.00-10.01 sec 40.6 MBytes 34.0 Mbits/sec receiver
[ 6] 0.00-10.01 sec 136 MBytes 114 Mbits/sec sender
[ 6] 0.00-10.01 sec 36.2 MBytes 30.3 Mbits/sec receiver
[ 8] 0.00-10.01 sec 136 MBytes 114 Mbits/sec sender
[ 8] 0.00-10.01 sec 36.2 MBytes 30.3 Mbits/sec receiver
[ 10] 0.00-10.01 sec 136 MBytes 114 Mbits/sec sender
[ 10] 0.00-10.01 sec 36.6 MBytes 30.7 Mbits/sec receiver
[SUM] 0.00-10.01 sec 548 MBytes 460 Mbits/sec sender
[SUM] 0.00-10.01 sec 150 MBytes 125 Mbits/sec receiver

iperf Done.
PS C:\Users\Tyler\Downloads\iperf-3.1.3-win64> ./iperf3.exe -c 209.145.59.74 -P 4 -w 100M -R
Connecting to host 209.145.59.74, port 5201
Reverse mode, remote host 209.145.59.74 is sending
[ 4] local 10.0.0.3 port 62773 connected to 209.145.59.74 port 5201
[ 6] local 10.0.0.3 port 62774 connected to 209.145.59.74 port 5201
[ 8] local 10.0.0.3 port 62775 connected to 209.145.59.74 port 5201
[ 10] local 10.0.0.3 port 62776 connected to 209.145.59.74 port 5201
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[ 4] 0.00-1.00 sec 9.38 MBytes 78.5 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 0.00-1.00 sec 1.91 MBytes 16.0 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 0.00-1.00 sec 14.3 MBytes 120 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 0.00-1.00 sec 3.73 MBytes 31.2 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 0.00-1.00 sec 29.4 MBytes 246 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 1.00-2.00 sec 21.8 MBytes 183 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 1.00-2.00 sec 7.66 MBytes 64.3 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 1.00-2.00 sec 38.8 MBytes 326 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 1.00-2.00 sec 8.82 MBytes 74.1 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 1.00-2.00 sec 77.0 MBytes 647 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 2.00-3.00 sec 23.0 MBytes 193 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 2.00-3.00 sec 9.71 MBytes 81.5 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 2.00-3.00 sec 23.2 MBytes 195 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 2.00-3.00 sec 12.1 MBytes 101 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 2.00-3.00 sec 68.0 MBytes 571 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 3.00-4.00 sec 24.3 MBytes 204 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 3.00-4.00 sec 11.1 MBytes 93.1 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 3.00-4.00 sec 25.2 MBytes 211 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 3.00-4.00 sec 12.9 MBytes 108 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 3.00-4.00 sec 73.5 MBytes 616 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 4.00-5.00 sec 25.5 MBytes 214 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 4.00-5.00 sec 11.2 MBytes 94.1 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 4.00-5.00 sec 25.0 MBytes 210 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 4.00-5.00 sec 13.6 MBytes 114 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 4.00-5.00 sec 75.4 MBytes 633 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 5.00-6.00 sec 30.2 MBytes 253 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 5.00-6.00 sec 12.2 MBytes 102 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 5.00-6.00 sec 23.6 MBytes 198 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 5.00-6.00 sec 15.1 MBytes 127 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 5.00-6.00 sec 81.1 MBytes 681 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 6.00-7.00 sec 30.5 MBytes 256 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 6.00-7.00 sec 14.8 MBytes 124 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 6.00-7.00 sec 22.1 MBytes 186 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 6.00-7.00 sec 16.6 MBytes 140 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 6.00-7.00 sec 84.1 MBytes 705 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 7.00-8.00 sec 23.4 MBytes 195 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 7.00-8.00 sec 13.4 MBytes 112 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 7.00-8.00 sec 21.2 MBytes 177 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 7.00-8.00 sec 16.4 MBytes 137 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 7.00-8.00 sec 74.4 MBytes 622 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 8.00-9.00 sec 31.4 MBytes 264 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 8.00-9.00 sec 16.4 MBytes 138 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 8.00-9.00 sec 23.5 MBytes 198 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 8.00-9.00 sec 19.5 MBytes 164 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 8.00-9.00 sec 90.9 MBytes 765 Mbits/sec


[ 4] 9.00-10.00 sec 26.5 MBytes 222 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 9.00-10.00 sec 18.1 MBytes 152 Mbits/sec
[ 8] 9.00-10.00 sec 21.1 MBytes 177 Mbits/sec
[ 10] 9.00-10.00 sec 18.7 MBytes 156 Mbits/sec
[SUM] 9.00-10.00 sec 84.4 MBytes 707 Mbits/sec


[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth Retr
[ 4] 0.00-10.00 sec 272 MBytes 229 Mbits/sec 2396 sender
[ 4] 0.00-10.00 sec 249 MBytes 209 Mbits/sec receiver
[ 6] 0.00-10.00 sec 242 MBytes 203 Mbits/sec 1621 sender
[ 6] 0.00-10.00 sec 120 MBytes 100 Mbits/sec receiver
[ 8] 0.00-10.00 sec 272 MBytes 229 Mbits/sec 3519 sender
[ 8] 0.00-10.00 sec 242 MBytes 203 Mbits/sec receiver
[ 10] 0.00-10.00 sec 263 MBytes 220 Mbits/sec 1662 sender
[ 10] 0.00-10.00 sec 141 MBytes 118 Mbits/sec receiver
[SUM] 0.00-10.00 sec 1.03 GBytes 880 Mbits/sec 9198 sender
[SUM] 0.00-10.00 sec 751 MBytes 630 Mbits/sec receiver

iperf Done.