Remote-access Guide

how to allow remote access plex

by Name Luettgen Published 1 year ago Updated 1 year ago
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Enable access to your Plex Media Server from outside your local network so that you can reach it when away from home or for sharing content with family or close, personal friends. You can do this under Settings > Server > Remote Access in Plex Web App.Mar 27, 2019

Full Answer

How do you setup Plex?

Setting Up and Installing the Plex Media Server

  • Choosing a Server—the Server Requirements. Plex Media Server can run on Windows, Mac, or Linux computers—some people use their every-day computer, others have a dedicated computer.
  • Plex Media Server Performance Considerations. ...
  • Downloading the Plex Media Server. ...
  • Installing and Running the Plex Media Server. ...

Do I need a VPN for Plex remote access?

· 4y You shouldn't need a VPN to share via Plex, assuming you are sending the content over SSL which is the vast majority of use cases. Just to speak generally, if you were to send data to someone over the VPN it would be the people on the other end receiving the data in an unencrypted format.

How to access Your Plex library from a remote computer?

  • Set a static IP address on your Plex server
  • Enable remote access in the Plex web console
  • Take note of the IP address and port (32400) that the Plex server uses
  • Enable forwarding on your router to the appropriate IP address and port
  • Access your Plex server through the correct public IP address and port number

How do you enable remote desktop access?

To enable remote connections on Windows 10, use these steps:

  • Open Control Panel.
  • Click on System and Security.
  • Under the “System” section, click the Allow remote access option ...
  • Click the Remote tab.
  • Under the “Remote Desktop” section, check the Allow remote connections to this computer option.

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How do I enable remote access on Plex?

To do so:Open Plex Web App and make sure you're signed in to your Plex account on the server under Settings > Server > General.Go to Settings > Server > Remote Access.If needed, toggle the Show Advanced button to ensure the appropriate options are visible.Enable the Manually specify public port checkbox.More items...•

How do I access Plex server from another computer?

To open the Plex Web App from a different device than the server computer while still on the same network: Open a browser window. Type http://server.local.ip.address:32400/web into the address bar (e.g “http://192.168.1.5:32400/web”) The browser will connect to the server and load Plex Web App.

How do I give someone access to my Plex server?

Enter the username or email address of the person you want to share your library with, and click on the user when it pops up. In the next window, choose which libraries you share with others. To share all of them, select your server and click Save. Or select only the libraries you want to share, then click Save.

Do you need Plex pass for remote access?

It's not true. All users can stream remotely providing you've configured your Plex Server correctly. Head to Settings > Remote Access > Enable Remote Access to set it up. In this regard, the Plex Pass is only useful if you're going to be in a place with no internet—it lets you save content directly onto your device.

Is Plex remote access safe?

Plex has teamed up with Let's Encrypt to provide our users with high-quality secure certificates for your media servers, at no cost to you. There's no need to set up VPNs and no need to create and install your own certs. You can safely and securely connect to your media no matter where you are.

Why can't I access my Plex server?

Verify that your Server is listed on your Devices page. Disable any VPN on your computer or router. Disable any proxies being used on your computer or router. Make sure you aren't requiring secure connections on the server while using an app that doesn't support them (see below)

Can anyone access my Plex server?

Enable access to your Plex Media Server from outside your local network so that you can reach it when away from home or for sharing content with family or close, personal friends. You can do this under Settings > Server > Remote Access in Plex Web App.

How many people can you share your Plex account with?

Up to 15 members can be in a Plex Home. For Plex Pass users that includes a combination of both Managed Users as well as regular Plex accounts that are invited.

Can multiple people use Plex?

Plex Home allows you to set up a group of users that all use Plex together. For instance, there might be a family of users (parents and children) that all use Plex on various devices connected to the same Plex Media Server in their house. The Plex Home feature is intended for people that physically live together.

How do I remotely access a server?

Remote Desktop to Your Server From a Local Windows ComputerClick the Start button.Click Run...Type “mstsc” and press the Enter key.Next to Computer: type in the IP address of your server.Click Connect.If all goes well, you will see the Windows login prompt.

How do I use my phone as a remote for Plex?

An Android, Windows Phone 8, BlackBerry or Java mobile device....Setup is quick and simple!Step 1: Install Vectir PC Server. ... Step 2: Install Vectir Mobile Client App. ... Step 3: Install Plex Remote Profile. ... Step 4: Connect and control Plex!

What is the difference between Plex and Plex premium?

Plex Pass. Plex is available both as a free service and a premium tier it calls Plex Pass. While free tier doesn't bill you monthly, there's a $5-per-platform activation fee if you want to use the Plex Android and iOS apps. The Premium tier costs $5 per month, $40 per year or $120 for a lifetime pass.

How do I view shared libraries in Plex?

Granting AccessUsername or Email. Enter the username or email address for the Plex account you wish to grant access and click continue. ... Select the Server. Plex Media Servers associated with your Plex account will be available. ... Set Restrictions and Inviting to Home (Plex Pass required) ... Pending Access.

How do I transfer Plex from PC to Mac?

2:387:48Move a Plex Library Between PC & MAC - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd download. The latest version of the plex. Media server for your platform. In this case I am on aMoreAnd download. The latest version of the plex. Media server for your platform. In this case I am on a PC. And I'm moving my mac library from OS X to or Mac OS from OSX to PC in this case Windows 7.

How to check if Plex is disabled?

While logged into your Plex Media Server’s web control panel, select the Settings icon from the upper right toolbar. Within the Settings menu select, the “Server” tab.

How to set up static IP address on Plex?

You’ll need to identify your Plex Media Server computer on the network and then look for an option in your router to create a “static IP”, “static lease”, or “DHCP reservation” to permanently associate the Plex Media Center with a given IP address. Below you can see an example of what adding a static IP address looks like, via our DD-WRT router.

How to port forward on Plex?

First, let’s turn on the manual port mode in Plex. To do so navigate to Settings > Server > Remote Access (as we did in the previous section of the tutorial).

What does the control panel indicate on Plex?

In addition to telling you that the server is accessible, the control panel will also indicate the internal IP address and port number of the Plex Media Server on your local network as well as external, or public, IP address and port number.

Can you use Plex Media Server on a TV?

If you primarily use Plex Media Server for watching content on your local network (like streaming your favorite shows to your HDTV or smartphone), you may not have given much though to the benefits of remote access. RELATED: How to Set Up Plex (and Watch Your Movies on Any Device)

Can you watch Plex on your phone?

One of the greatest things about the Plex Media Server platform, however, is the ease with which you can access your media from anywhere. With remote access enabled and properly configured, you can watch your favorite TV shows anywhere you have internet access: on your phone while you’re sitting in a waiting room, on your laptop while you’re vacationing, or even on a smart TV at a friend’s house.

Can you disable remote access on Plex?

During the initial setup of the Plex Media Server, the setup wizard prompts you to enable or disable remote access. While the default state is enabled, you may have opted at the time to disable remote access, or perhaps you inadvertently disabled it while messing around with the system settings later on. Regardless, it’s easy enough to check the status of remote access and enable it if it is currently disabled.

How to set up remote access on Plex?

Now that you've locked in your Plex server's IP address and set up port forwarding, you can configure your remote access settings on your Plex server using the following instructions: Click "Settings" in the Manage section. The Settings screen appears. Click "Server" in the upper right corner of the Settings screen.

How to reserve IP address for Plex?

Here are the instructions for how to reserve an IP address for your Plex server in a Netgear router: Open your Web browser and navigate to routerlogin.com. This is the portal for your Netgear router. Click the "Advanced" tab on the home page, and then click "Setup" beneath WPS Wizard on the left side of the screen.

How to set up a 32400 port?

Click "Server" in the upper right corner of the Settings screen. Click "Remote Access" on the left side of the screen. Click the orange "Enable Remote Access" button on the right side of the screen. Click to place a check mark to the left of Manually Specify Public Port, and then enter "32400.". Click the orange " Retry" button to the right ...

Can you use Plex Media Server from home?

Remote access is disabled by default, and if the feature doesn't turn on when you initially enable it, you'll need to configure some settings on your router before you can access content on your Plex Media Server from outside of your home network.

Can you remotely access Plex Media Server?

Remote access is disabled by default, and if the feature doesn't turn on when you initially enable it, you'll need to configure some settings on your router before you can access content on your Plex Media Server from outside of your home network.

What is Plex

When we talk about Plex we refer to an application that we can install on our devices. Its mission is to allow us to centralize multimedia files in one place. For example movies and series and be able to watch them from another device.

How to configure Plex to enter from the Internet

This function will allow us to connect to our Plex server from anywhere , simply by having access to the Internet. We will not have to pay anything additional and it is an option that undoubtedly expands the possibilities of only limiting ourselves to having access from the local network.

Why access Plex remotely

We have explained how we can access Plex remotely and view all the content. However, you may be wondering what this feature is really for or how it improves to, for example, storing videos directly in a memory.

Why is Plex not working?

There are many instances where several bugs are induced into the Plex application which causes it not to work as expected. Software all around us get updates every once in a while and sometimes these updates are not compatible with Plex. Hence its engineers roll out an update targeting this issue solely.

Why is Plex server error?

This usually occurs because Plex is a heavy application with numerous parameters going on simultaneously. If any one of these gets into an error state or load a bad configuration, it might be unusable.

Why does Plex Media Server buffer?

This scenario usually occurs when your internet connection is not sound which forces the server to use less bandwidth in order to provide access to the media.

What is plex media?

Plex is a client-server media stream and software suite. It has a Plex Media Server desktop application which is available on Windows, Ubuntu, and macOS. This applications allows you to organize different media files in your computer and allows players over the internet to access them if given the correct credentials.

What happens if you don't have a stable internet connection?

The same scenario also applies to the requesting computer; if you do not have a stable internet connection, you will not be able to request and stream media efficiently. First, you should check the number of devices running on your network (both the server and requesting computer).

Does a plex router need NAT?

If these are not enabled or have different configurations set than required, Plex Remote Access will not work.

Does Plex update itself?

Normally, Plex’s web application updates itself over time as you use it. The case is different in case of Ubuntu or other platforms where Plex is running. Below is the method on how to update Plex on an Ubuntu machine. You can easily google other methods for updating if you have it running on another platform.

How to invite someone to plex?

In the invitation box that pops up, enter the email address your friend used to register for Plex. If they have not yet registered for Plex, you can send it to their primary email address (they’ll be prompted to create a Plex account when they accept your invitation via email). Click “Next” once you’ve entered their email.

What happens if you accept a Plex invite?

Once the invitation is accepted, if you return to the main Plex screen you’ll see that J’s library has defaulted to our library and his previously empty dashboard is populated with media from our server.

What happens when someone shares a Plex library?

When someone shares a library with you, you receive both an email notification as well as a notification within your Plex dashboard. Let’s look at two scenarios, one where the Plex library shared with you is your only library and one where the Plex library shared with you exists alongside your own library.

How to add friends on Plex?

To get started log into your Plex account and look for the profile icon in the upper right corner. Click on it and select “Users”. On the left hand side of the resulting menu, select “Friends”.

Where is the server selection menu in Plex?

While logged into your Plex Media Server control panel or using any Plex Media Server app (like Plex for iOS), you just click on the server selection menu, seen below and located in the upper left corner of the web control panel , and pick from the other available servers.

Can you use Plex Media Server outside of home?

Advertisement. Second, you need to ensure your Plex Media Server is accessible outside your home network. While its practically impossible to set up Plex so you can’t access it within your home network, sometimes you need to do a little troubleshooting to ensure you can access it when you’re away from home.

Can you switch between Plex servers?

Although switching between the two servers is great if you’re in the mood for some aimless browsing, it’s not even a necessary step. The Plex search function will scan both your own library and all the libraries shared with you. If we search for the term “war”, for example, you can see that the first search result is located on our server but the next three results are located on our friend’s server:

How to make Plex Media Server secure?

What precautions? Make a strong password for your Plex account. Make sure the computer you are running the Plex Media server is up to date on security patches and anti-virus. Make sure it's behind a firewall of some type, and only the ports needed to be open are open. Make sure the computer user account the Plex Media Server service runs under cannot log into the desktop. Disable any remote desktop software (Windows Remote Desktop, Linux SSH, VNC, etc. (or at least any remote access from the Internet - I keep SSH on my Linux server available, but VPN into my network to use it).

What is plex media server?

The Plex Media Server is smart software that makes playing Movies, TV Shows and other media on your computer simple.

What happens if someone takes over your Plex account?

An d if for some reason someone does happen to take over your Plex account, the worse thing they could do is delete you media and mess up your server. Nothing critical. It's not like they are getting your password for your bank account.

Does Plex take forever to load?

At least for me, for some reason on regular Plex apps such as the Windows 10 app, the iPhone app, or the web app, it always takes forever for search results and library pages to load but actually streaming a show doesn't take much time to load at all .

Is plex server safe?

If you take the proper precautions , it's just as safe as Facebook, Twitter, or Reddit is. The only thing it's really missing is MFA , but otherwise, it's safe. And if someone does happen to get control of your Plex server, that's really all that they have control over. I have not heard of any vulnerabilities in Plex that allows someone to take control of the entire server.

Which iPhone is good for plex?

Apple iPhone (X and Xs): An excellent mobile platform for Plex. Basically every file-type I have tried to stream from Plex streams using direct play. Plex does not have perform any transcoding (file conversions) because the iPhone essentially can play everything. ------.

Why is the risk not the open port itself but the program which is listening on the port?

The risk is not the open port itself but the program which is listening on the port because the program is what enables security holes.

Does Plex use SSL?

Plex uses their own certificate to create an SSL connection to the plex server. This is a good thing so the communication between the client and the server is encrypted and not even your ISP is able to look into your traffic if they want to.

Does Plex take forever to load?

At least for me, for some reason on regular Plex apps such as the Windows 10 app, the iPhone app, or the web app, it always takes forever for search results and library pages to load but actually streaming a show doesn't take much time to load at all .

Is plex secure?

IMO, you are already pretty secure what plex natively provides. You can set the "secure connections" to "required" but then you will not be able to access the server with an IP address in your own network.

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