Server Version#: 1.19.4.2935
Player Version#:8.7.0.20853
So it seems my android phone had a plex client update yesterday.
And the one of the most used features i have been using for years seems to have been removed.
You connect to a device that you can bring up a remote on. up/left/right/down Ok and back
Is only list what was fixed or new , nothing about removing perfectly working features i have been using for years.
What is going on with plex ?
I’m not sure if it’s changed, but I see the option under the casting menu. So first connect to the other player, then bring up the cast menu again and there should be an “open remote” option.
Open remote is completely gone with the latest update android version 8.7.0.20853, so i uninstalled it & downloaded the previous version 8.6.0.20351
https://downloads.plex.tv/Kepler/kepler-arm64v8a-googlePlay-stdExo-8.6.0.20351-e97d660a.apk
and voila the remote feature is back and working
You are correct. I was using 8.6. It is missing in 8.7. Let me check if this was intentional.
Thank you, gargamelo. Your post fixed my remote problem too.
It looks like it was an intentional change. The remote was a rarely used feature and it was dropped in the 8.7 update. It was accidentally left out of the release notes.
I constantly use the remote feature of the app. Can the feature be reintroduced? Because the navigation in the Android app is lacking in my opinion, also it’s easier to scroll through options on my tv when watching with multiple people and trying to pick something to watch.
You can make a feature request to add it back.
Ok, but what does that have to do with the remote?
I use plex media player as the client and connect to it with the plex Android app. Using the “open remote” feature when the Android app is connected to the plex media player client allows me to scroll through my library on my tv. Like you would with netflix and other major streaming services.
With the removal of the remote feature in the Android app, plex media player’s view does not update until I select a movie/show from the library. Which is fine if I know exactly what is going to be watched, but doesn’t help if there are multiple people and they do not know what I have available on my plex server.
I hope this explanation helps clear up how I use plex and why the remote feature in the Android app is still useful.
Ok, I get it. That’s what it was meant, for but as I said, it wasn’t being used very often.
I get that it was not being used by a majority of users, but I do not find that a compelling argument for its removal. Was the feature causing issues in maintaining the codebase? Was it preventing other features from being implemented? If not, why was a feature that already worked and wasn’t causing an issue removed?
There were known bugs with the feature. You may not have noticed them but they were there. Also, the code still needed to be maintained and updated whenever changes to Plex Companion are made. The clients being controlled must also maintain/update the code to be controlled.
Just keeping code around because it works for some is also not enough reason to keep.
To be clear, I didn’t make this decision. It was a company decision. I believe it was also removed from the iOS app.
As an alternative, there are apps that will act as just a remote for your computer. You could control PMP directly.
I did not come across any bugs when I was using the feature, so I cannot speak to that. As for maintaining, that does make sense. But still knowing this, it does not make it less frustrating that a feature I was using last week was removed. Especially since it was left out of the release notes.
As for alternative apps, that means I need two apps on my phone to access content from one Plex server. Since I use mobile sync to have music stored on my device as well as a few episodes of the show I’m watching I’ll still need the official plex app alongside the extra app to act as a plex media player remote.
When you have multiple devices involved, things get complicated. Other alternatives.
I’m also disappointed that this feature was removed. We should definitely open a feature request to get it back. I don’t think the suggested options left by MovieFan.Plex are fair suggestions for people - especially those that pay for Plex Pass. His suggestions are basically:
Lame…
This was a particularly useful feature. It’s disappointing it was removed and not noted in the update.
I really get the feeling that Plex is wanting to be an embedded app provider only and to move away from desktop applications.
They have slowly been removing any features used by their long-time loyal community members (10-foot UI, Remote Control, High-end audio, HDR etc.). Essentially alienating the high-end customer base.
In my opinion, it is a mistake… If I cannot get high end video, audio etc. from Plex, there are loads of other streaming services that can give me sub-par quality data.
I am looking to get an Xbox Series X in the near future to cover my Entertainment front-end needs and move away from an HTPC, but I do kind of feel like we are being forced to do this by Plex if we want to use their product, very Apple of them 
I call BS, show the data that isn’t wasn’t used? You have removed a feature that has no replacement except for paying customers to pay some third party to do something so freaking simple? As a developer with extensive enterprise development I get dealing with technical debt, this feature is far from that… Also, help me understand how I can now log out of my kids account and into mine to watch content? I’m starting to regret my migration away from Kodi…
[quote=“collettj, post:18, topic:638686”]
Plex is not going to be sharing that, but know that Android is one of the more popular Plex clients. Removing this feature was not made on a whim and not decided by 1 individual person who just didn’t want to maintain the code.
Bring up the sidebar and click on the user in the top left corner. That brings up the user picker.
I also want the remote future. It is a family this to sit in the living room going trough the media and deciding what to watch. With the Live TV that can not be streamed from your phone or tab it is also a good thing to have if you have the remote to start it directly from the TV. So i would say the remote is a must have for the Live TV and multiple users taking family time to watch together.
FYI: Don’t have supporting articles with features removed.
https://support.plex.tv/articles/201358263-controlling-the-remote-player/
