My Android phone is asking for a 4-character code, but it doesn’t tell me where to get the code. How do I get the code that allows me to logon to Plex with my phone?
(I tried to upload an image of my phone screen, but I keep getting error messages that do not say what the problem is.)
Open https://plex.tv/link in a browser
You might be asked to sign-in with your Plex account and will then get an option to enter the 4 characters / digits.
I am getting this screen after I logon. I received an email message about a logon on a new device, but I only looked at the subject. I didn’t open the message because the logon was expected. Now that I opened the email, I see there is a link in it. (Why don’t they put that link on the phone screen?)
So, now I have another problem. I am getting the same screen asking for a code in the browser. Somehow, everything I open is asking for a code without telling me how to get the code. Even the app to get a code wants a code.
I suppose we were talking about two different things…
Usually you only get those codes I was referring on the big-screen apps (those which tend not to have a great keyboard or other input methods). The screen will present a 4-character code with the link – you can then open that URL in your browser and enter the 4-character code from your TV screen.
You seem to be seeing a user switching screen.
Have you by chance been added to a friend’s Plex Home (instead of being simply added as a friend to share their media)?
I think he’s seeing a two-factor authentication code.
so many different 4-digit / character codes 
@neognat : could you try one more time uploading a screenshot? I suppose this might be quite helpful in resolving what you’re actually looking at.
I tried uploading a screenshot and I’m still getting an unspecified error.
This page “Link | Plex” which I think is supposed to provide a code is actually asking for a code. It is on a Windows 11 PC, not the phone. I get a very similar screen on the phone. Plex is otherwise working normally on the PC. I am logged on as usual in another browser tab.
Go to Settings → Users & Sharing. Is there a green lock next to your username?
If so, you’ve a PIN protected account. You need to enter the four digit pin code to complete the login process. If you forgot the code, click on Edit PIN. You’ll see Forgot? on the next screen. Click on it to start the recovery process.
I do not have a PIN-protected account.
What details do you see when you open the users & sharing options?
https://app.plex.tv/desktop/#!/settings/users-sharing
Does your account have the subtitle Admin and the little 
icon next to it?
When hovering over the account line… do you see a little red 
at the right side (where it says Edit PIN in FordGuy61’s screenshot)?
I have an admin account and there is no red X at the right.
This really looks like the screen we see when a new device is being activated. The phone might be new because it’s running in Firefox for the first time. The phone has had the Plex Android app for a long time and it’s running normally. Firefox on the PC, on the other had, is not new and Plex has been running in it for years.
Am I using the wrong app? Does the ‘/link/’ link provide a code or ask for a code? It is asking for a code. I thought it was supposed to give me a code to register the new program running in Firefox on the phone.
You get a code in the app that’s to be linked – which you can then enter on Link | Plex
If you’re not getting that and haven’t been added to a friend’s Plex Home / added a login PIN to your account… that leaves us with @SwiftPanda16’s suggestion… Did you enable some kind of 2FA w/ Plex so the login screen is asking for an authenticator’s code?
I am getting the code entry screen on both sides. I am not seeing a screen that displays a code. That’s the problem. I’m supposed to enter a code that I don’t have. This is very confusing and brings us back to my original question: How (or perhaps where) do I get a code to make Plex work in my phone’s Firefox browser?
No. I don’t have 2FA active and I haven’t changed the Plex login or my password. I was able to logon okay in the phone’s browser. It asked for the code after a successful logon. I can think of two recent changes: 1) I changed my Plex Pass to lifetime, and 2) The PC has a recent upgrade to Windows 11.
I bought the phone in March, so it’s somewhat new, but has been working with the Android app. I just wanted to run Plex in Firefox. If I can’t, that’s okay.
As we’re ruling this out one pin at a time…
This is definitely not the Pin / Link code related to signing into a Big Screen device and as per your feedback, there’s no 2FA code in the game.
Can we briefly get back to your earlier response to FordGuy61’s post
Is that statement based on “you haven’t knowingly set a PIN” or did you get to verify that in your account settings?
For anything else we’ll need either a screenshot or the exact wording on the message asking for that code.
I did verify that I do not have a PIN-protected account in my account settings.
The screen on my phone says this: “Link Account / To link your account, please enter the 4-character code displayed on your app.” This, I believe, is the app that should display the code.
The screen on my computer says this: “Link Account / To link your account, please enter the 4-character code displayed on your app.” This, I believe, is correctly requesting the code that should be displayed on my phone, but isn’t.
I have tried to post a screenshot many times, but I keep getting this error message: “Sorry, there was an error uploading that file. Please try again.” I went to a Windows 10 computer and tried it, thinking it might be a Windows 11 problem. It also didn’t work there. I’m willing to try something else if you have any suggestions.
Like I said, though, this is as important as the amount of time we’re spending trying to solve it. I don’t really need the browser app to work on my phone. Maybe it’ll work after a reboot or something.
Let’s try that.
This is the expected message if you’re opening Link | Plex in a browser. It’s supposed to be used to enter the code displayed on a dedicated Plex app (e.g. on your TV or a streaming box).
You should not see that if you’re trying to access your server using Plex through your browser (https://app.plex.tv/desktop) or say the desktop app “Plex for Mac/Windows”).
Using the native Plex app on a mobile device (such as Android mobile) you should see the same login options as when using the browser. The only situation I can imagine where Plex might offer you the “big screen” option is if you’ve set your mobile app to use the TV layout (Settings > Experience > Application Layout → TV Mode)
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