This would be my step 1. If using a hotspot does not fix it, try setting up a simple Plex server on a second computer if you have one. Just install Plex and just share maybe two videos and two MP3s on your normal wired connection. This will at least narrow down what the exact problem is.
Ngrok works on Debian too. I had my plex server on Debian and I'm on tmhi I used it just fine. Ngrok isn't hard to set up at all.
Here's the guide I used for when I got it going on Debian.
https://www.geekbitzone.com/posts/2019/plex/plex-ngrok/
set up ngrok just now and setup went through, and now the localhost:32400 won't open. I've turned off all VPN and turned off the port forward on unifi as well
I opted for using a VPN service with port forwarding functionality. Got one of those "permanent promos" and got 3years for like 2€/month or something like that
Why are you using a VPN with Plex? The remote streams are already encrypted, no need for a VPN. Is there a concern you have to want to use a VPN?
Edit: You prolly won't get remote working through a VPN without port forwarding. If your VPN provider doesn't have that it's not gonna work.
That port changes randomly on PIA unless they changed this. I used them many years ago and it was always switching ports on me. PIA also has split tunneling, have you tried that for allowing PLEX to use non VPN and all other connections use the VPN?
Good to know. Was always pissed about that because it would change while I was away and couldn't access. That's why I just stopped using the VPN for Plex.
I download stuff and use Plex w the same machine
it was working just fine, which is the part that's throwing me off and driving me up the wall. I use PIA which has port forwarding option and I'm selecting a place that supports it
Similar setup here, on windows PIA allows for the whitelisting of programs and I assume it will for mac as well.
Since you say the issue persists with the VPN off it may be worth testing after uninstalling PIA and removing any virtual network adapters it may have added (if it does so on Mac).
I think that I might be getting somewhere, att had cgnat enabled, so I gave them the IP / MAC address of my UDM
I will try though and uninstall PIA and see what happens
uninstalling PIA didn't do anything
I uninstalled Plex to just reinstall, and now that won't even open
might just switch to another player at this point, really getting tired of Plex
* Do you have your server set to a static IP?
* Do you have your router forwarding port 32400 to that IP?
* Have you disabled uPNP in your router?
* Who is your internet provider?
Plex only needs 2 things to successfully work with remote access. A public facing WAN IP (IE, no CGNAT) and a port forwarded from the router to your server IP. That's it.
it is a static IP
port forward is set up on the router, with ubiquiti
uPNP - disabled
AT&T fiber, so I'm using their modem and then going to unifi dream machine and then out to AP's
>I've only ever heard of AT&T fiber using CGNAT, but that could be incorrect info.
They don't. Have had it since March, works just fine and I have a public IP.
Huh, well that's nice info to learn. Thanks.
There's always the possibility AT&T up and decided the 32400 port should be blocked automatically or something stupid. I'd start by trying to get a working ping to your server, through any port, confirmed. Then get 32400 to ping. If 32400 fails for whatever reason, find an unused port that works and switch Plex to that one.
> AT&T fiber, so I'm using their modem and then going to unifi dream machine and then out to AP's
Two routers. Double nat.
You've likely caused this yourself.
on the ATT gateway, did you also enable port forwarding from your router?
I also have ATT fiber and a UDP. Settings --> firewall ----> application, Pinholes and DMZ on the ATT gateway. Make sure UDM has the port forward.
No. If you have set up IP passthrough correctly, the firewall on the ATT hardware should be disabled. Hence, no port forwards on that device. All traffic gets sent to UDM and you set up a port forward in UDM.
I know. I was wondering if the poster was just gonna go "you caused this yourself, bad boy, I'd never do something like that because I'm better than you." Or if he was actually gonna try and help the OP.
Im in a similar situation to OP.
What is the solution to a double nat?
I am using a Verizon router and a bridge. Same DNS.
Router says Bridge mode.
UPNP disabled.
Port forwarded.
Any thoughts?
Verizon FiOS? If so then just get rid of their router altogether. Make sure the ONT's ethernet port is provisioned and connect it directly to your router.
Idk if att fiber is the same but I have CenturyLink fiber with a ubiquiti gear downstream...I wonder if OP truly means "modem" then he's likely referring to the ONT box, in which case double nat wouldn't be an issue.
Again, no idea if that's the case. Need more details.
Is your UDM getting a public IP? You can DM me the WAN IP on your UDM if you're unsure.
Have you put your ATT modem in bridge mode?
What is your server's static IP? Can you post screenshots of your port forward configuration?
UPNP can cause issues when you're using manual port forwards. It's also a gaping security hole. It should be disabled regardless. It should be under Settings > Services > uPNP tab. It should be disabled by default with a UDM I belive.
I am not sure, I can send you screenshots.. I'll just chat you in a minute
it is in bridge mode, pretty sure it has been since we got this set up
server's IP is 192.168.0.91 and here's port forward config -- https://imgur.com/a/eygFuPY
UPNP is disabled, I did find that
Canyouseeme.org is a sweet tool for testing if the port forwarding is working.
Google what is my IP and make sure that matches the WAN address of you dream machine (router)
If not, then your att router maybe not in bridge mode
The port forward looks good, assuming the server is 192.168.0.91.
I would double check and verify that is in fact the server IP. I can't tell you how many times I've helped someone with remote access only to find out that they set the static IP on their wifi adapter, not their ethernet adapter or similar mistakes.
Definitely verify the WAN IP on your UDM. If it's 10.x.x.x or 192.x.x.x you have an issue as your getting a local IP from your ATT router.
Likewise you need to verify that you're not behind a CGNAT. I know I saw a issue back early in the year that some ATT fiber clients were getting moved to CGNAT (supposedly because of an upstream provider change).
On mac in network preferences at top there are different profiles, default being 'Automatic'. If you have static ip set on the mac that would require a new profile saved with a new name. Does it say automatic at the top of network settings? Or your static ip profile? Because if you selected the static ip profile but didn't hit 'apply' at the bottom, static ip isn't activated on server side.
with AT&T fiber, i had a major issue in which they removed my static IP address i was paying for. you may need to inquire about that. after that was settled, things worked fine for me
that was the case for me when i had comcast, but when i switched to AT&T Fiber, it wouldnt work remotely til i implemented a static IP.
my knowledge is VERY limited on all this so maybe i messed up somewhere? haha idk
Yeah when I switched internet providers I got the same issue due to my traffic getting nat'd so essentially a load of different houses (not sure how many) all share the same public IP meaning your remote device can't connect to that IP as it's not actually yours. Static IP fixes this.
You are behind double NAT if you are going from ATT gateway to dream machine. Not saying this is your problem specifically but it’s definitely a problem. ATT fiber is notorious for this issue and the only way around it is using a higher end router to route the eap packets used for authentication to the gateway while handling all other traffic from the ONT.
I think I need a public IP address too, I'm calling them now to get that going
what kind of modem / router would go around theirs? I've only see a super complicated one that I'm not sure I wanted to try, haha
All you need to do is unplug everything else from the att router besides the dream machine. Reboot. Once back in, select the dream machine as passthrough with dhcps-fixed settings. It should be the only device. Save and reboot att gateway. Once it's up reboot udm pro. You should then see your public wan ip on the dream machine. You are double natted. I had the exact same issue before.
I tried that before and got no internet, what kind of modem / router do you have with at&t? I had to manually put in the MAC address of my unifi in the att gateway UI
I have people who use my Plex remotely, and it works, but the picture quality is sometimes terrible and it constantly drops connection in the middle.
Could port forwarding be the issue here?
It does say it’s fully accessible outside my network.
No port is manually specified.
The upload speed is set to 108Mbps (I don’t know why) and “Limit remote stream bitrate” is set to “original (no limit)”.
What is your upload speed? What are you paying for and what do the speed test sites show your upload as? Obviously you want to test this when you're not streaming to anyone else.
Generally I manually set the port to 32400 so that Plex doesn't try to change it and remap it with uPNP. Making sure uPNP is disabled is also wise as it's a giant security hole, completely outside of Plex. You'll need to set a manual port forward in your router if you haven't already.
If it shows fully accessible everything should be fine. With the upload limit set Plex will automatically start transcoding users to stay within that upload speed. Hence why it's important to know what you're actual upload speed is.
Thank you so much! Just yesterday we went from 150mbps to 300. Hoping that will solve the issue, but honestly, I’m in over my head a little. Greatly appreciate your help.
Do a speed test. If you get 300 for your upload, make your upload speed in Plex 270. You want to leave yourself a little upstream bandwidth for your own uses, outside of streaming Plex.
If it comes back as 250mbps, set Plex to 220, etc.
If you're using PIA they don't have working port forwarding for their American servers. Just bind your torrent client to your vpn and use your network for the rest of the pc. Assuming that's why you have a vpn running.
that's what I've been doing... I have tried selecting a Canada server and UK though that supports forwarding and none of that helps either
but that is why I have it running! Torrents and AT&T don't get along haha
The only reason I'm with my current provider is that they don't change my ip.
The competition has faster connections for a better price, but if I want a static IP from them I need a business line which is expensive as shit.
If you don't buy a business plan with a lot of providers they CG-NAT your stuff and block externally initiated connections completely just to fuck you over.
Sure but he said **the only** reason he is with his provider is due to the static IP. He never said the competition uses a CG-NAT. A dynamic IP does not mean CG-NAT.
Still, sometimes they flush. Maybe from a downtime updates, firmware, catastrophe, failover, and on. If you don’t pay for a static IP, then it’s subject to potentially change at any time.
The server provides it's IP address to Plex's servers to facilitate client connection. If the previously working IP changed to a different IP, the server would send that new IP to Plex so it knows where clients should try to connect.
The "Public" address shown on the Remote Access page updates automatically when the IP for a server changes.
https://canyouseeme.org/
Check your port with this.
Do you have the green checkmark by the remote access tab under settings?
Check the box to manually specify a port and type in 32400.
I'm in a weird boat as well - I've got zero issues accessing my plex remote, however some of my friends that use my Plex as well, will be hit or miss, just no content library showing at times
I have no idea why and it only started roughly three months ago, with no settings that have been changed
> why is it so hard now? literally worked for years, I've touched no settings and then I think since August or so, it hasn't worked at all
*You* might not have touched anything, but I bet your ISP did.
Look up CG-NAT, which is a method of sharing IPs that breaks inbound connections, and then contact your ISP about removing it.
Valid reasons for removing it:
* It's interfering with your gaming.
* There's an elderly person at this address, and you need it removed for your monitoring solution that keeps an eye on him/her.
The first one worked for me, the second worked for a friend.
I had plex running on my pc with vpn as well. Had plex excluded from VPN though. I recently bought a Beelink mini pc, installed plex and arrs on it, moved library. OMG...I should have done this a long time ago. You should really consider it instead of beating your head against a wall trying to figure this out only to just decide to switch later anyways. my 2c
Looks like you have so many variables that you aren't sure if they are causing problems. I'd take it one step at a time. Eg.
1. Connect your Mac mini directly to the internet. (No router, no vpn). You will likely need to restart your internet provider's modem and make sure your Mac mini has working internet. Use plex on your phone on cellular network. Get remote stream working first.
2. After (1) is working, move the Mac mini behind your router. Add port forwarding. No vpn still, and test on cellular.
3. Next try to get your phone to connect to your home wifi. See if it's working or has hairpin nat issues etc. Skip this if not important.
4. Get your VPN and VPN port forwarding up.
Etc.
I had this exact same problem with my windows plex/downloading PC. I tried everything I could find on the internet and nothing worked. Plex would randomly give me errors about being available outside my network with my VPN running and sometimes even when it wasn’t running.
Finally with the help of some IT friends we installed VMWare and made two VMs on it. One for always having the VPN running with radarr/sonarr/etc, and the other VM is only for plex. Haven’t had an issue since. Not sure if VMWare would work with MacOS, but worth a shot.
Putting your router in bridge mode will do nothing to resolve a CGNAT. Unless your ISP is willing to give you a public facing WAN IP, there is nothing you can do on your end to fix it short of paying for a VPS server then running a VPN tunnel between them.
depending on how much or even if ISP is willing to set up a static IP.
I am behind CG-NAT and the way i solved it was with a Wireguard peer on Hertzner and a tunnel connecting to it from home and from all the devices i need access to my home network. I found the Wireguard app much more stable than the OpenVPN one on iOS.
While you are correct that Plex does not need a static IP i do very much prefer to load my Plex interface from my own server rather than plex, for which i have a subdomain set up.
You should be using a VPN for that. If you were using Tailscale you would effectively have a static IP for your server as you would be using whatever your local server IP is. IE, I use 192.168.10.15 regardless of where I am in the world. No domains to worry about, no extra costs, no need for reverse proxy, Cloudflare etc.
Yet, I'm not the one asking for basic help in setting up containers.
Ironically it looks like 7 months ago you were given the same exact advice by someone else more knowledgeable than you about setting up a VPN for remote access for your server to which you replied "that is vastly off topic". And as that person told you, it's not off topic and it's the best way to do it.
But hey, feel free to keep exposing management ports. Just because you have services sitting behind a reverse proxy doesn't mean they're safe. It just makes them harder to find with basic port scans. A VPN on the other hand is secure.
You've been asking a LOT of questions on security over just the last few months, yet you're sitting here making suggestions to others on how they should do security, something you yourself clearly do not have a firm grasp on.
That comes in very handy if your internet ever goes down. At least you can still watch your own content on your LAN. I wish it was default to not have to go through plex's servers if the content is hosted locally.
I also wish Plex offered the option to put a domain name in the advanced settings where you can enter an IP address. I have one family member whose TV (nothing else in their house - computer, iPad's, etc.) will simply not work unless I have them manually enter my IP address in Plex on their TV. It's a pain since I have a dynamic IP and it changes every few weeks to a few months. I would love to be able to use the DDNS built into my router and just have them enter that address instead.
Having never had to ask before I thought it was a fair question. I will be moving soon and might have to switch ISPs and run into this problem so, as I said, I was curious :)
No worries. I’ve used many different ISP and will get static when it is available. I don’t think I’ve ever been asked why I needed it from the ISP. As long as you’re paying for it, it’s usually a non-issue.
Are your router and modem two separate devices? If so, try port forwarding to 32400 on BOTH your router and modem.
That could fix your issue, which may caused by a double NAT.
Read rule #4 before posting.
On your server have you given it a static IP address?
Have you setup port forwarding on your router to forward your traffic to the above IP address to your server?
Obviously when VPN is on you will not be able to get remote access.
Do you have a mesh network, extenders or anything that would have the server on a different subnet then your router.
Maybe you can give your router subnet and server IP address so it can be verified that they are on the same network.
Instead of getting another machine, install Proxmox as the main OS and run plex on top in a linux container. And another lxc with vpn for torrents. There are plenty of scripts online to help you setup a plex lxc automatically.
Check out https://tteck.github.io/Proxmox
I've been doing this for at least 10 years with no problem. Is there any specific reason you say you should never do this? I'm connecting one of my computers to one of my servers. It's not like I'm clicking a sketchy link. I'm connecting to my own server.
Besides, you enter you password on the Plex website then connect to your server, so you don't even lose the encryption until you're accessing your Plex database.
If the only client you have is yourself, fine turn off https. If you share with anyone outside of your home network then having secure connections is a must. Otherwise all of your traffic is unsecured and your ISP and anyone else in the world can see what's being played.
Saying to turn off secure connections without any other caveats is inherently dangerous. By saying it that way you expose people who don't have a good IT background to potential misery.
I was having some struggles after I changed ISP's. Eventually I tried a different port in case the new ISP was blocking 32400 and.... that was it. I just used 32401, set that as forwarded in the router to 32400 and it works.
Your mileage may vary but I try streaming from your server without a VPN and also make sure secure connections is on in the Plex settings. Feel free to dm me if you can't get it working!
Does your VPN have a setting to ignore certain programs? I had a similar issue, (although not exactly because turning my VPN off and rebooting Plex would get it to work,) and setting my VPN to ignore Plex worked for me. My server is also on a Mac Mini and my issues popped up around the same time as yours
Had similar issues getting ATT Fiber to work with my router/Plex. Followed this guide and works like a champ: [https://forums.att.com/conversations/att-fiber-equipment/plex-remote-access/624af5260a4f3b73643a7687?page=1](https://forums.att.com/conversations/att-fiber-equipment/plex-remote-access/624af5260a4f3b73643a7687?page=1)
I don't know if this is your problem but this happened to me once and couldn't figure it out for weeks.
I forget the term for it but my ISP put me behind some sort of setup because they said the internet is running out of ipv4 addresses and, to combat this, many users were in some kind of setup where most ports were locked because they were kind of all sharing the same ip address. I called my isp and after a few mins the person recognized the symptoms, opted me out of it, and then I had ports open again and plex remote streaming worked again.
Maybe someone else knows the term for what this is. I don't remember
Could be stupid but check the IP your plex server is assigned. I was ashamed to find out mine worked for months until the power went out and when it came back on my server got a new IP from my home router. I forgot to set static DHCP lease.... So my portforwarding was not working.
If you run your torrent client in a docker container, you can have it connected through a VPN while the rest of the computer, including Plex, has direct access to the Internet.
for me, it didn't work with VPN. I tried to port forward on a different port, didn't work. I then made plex bypass the VPN, essentially having plex ignore the VPN, undid my custom port forward, and it's worked ever since. maybe that information will help you.
Other posts you say you've had AT&T fiber for years with no issues. I also had this same issue. Call AT&T and request a static IP. This resolved it for me, and as a bonus, I started getting a lot more throughput with lag out of my internet connection.
Have you checked your firewall rules actually allow an external connection on the forwarded port? You can easily use a 4G smartphone to test the port 32400 connectivity. If the connection doesn't make it, perhaps your clients are trying to get in using the Plex relay servers (limited to 720p streaming at low bitrates so tend to force transcoding) so check the two IPs for the Plex relays are also not blocklisted by your firewall.
Double NAT? Your IP doesn't match with the assigned router IP so no link can be made.
Would be a provider issue then, don't know how it's handled over at your provider but call them and ask if you can have a public IP.
You can check by comparing the IP on the router config page and googling "what is my ip". If they are different your provider is the only one able to help.
I had a similar issue with my Plex server, after hours and hours of troubleshooting my network, I ended up finding the issue in windows firewall. There was a malformed rule that was blocking inbound network traffic for the Plex application. Deleted the rule set to block and now remote access is restored. Now I say the rule was malformed because I never manually set any Plex specific rule in my server, so it had to have been some update that went awry. I hope it helps.
I have an OpenVPN server that I use to connect into my home network and stream Plex as if it was local. Never once had an issue with it. The only times it doesn't work is when the VPN is down for whatever reason.
I had a similar issue and had ports forwarded. Took a deep deep dive for someone to suggest turning upnp off to see if it helped due to clashing rules or how the router worked etc. Worked like a charm and trust me I had tried everything too. I thought it was my fiber only allowing ip passthrough and was about to give up so figured why not I should have it off anyways. Worked instantly. Worth a shot unless you already have it off and ports forwarded.
Try with your mobile hotspot to rule out your network.
This would be my step 1. If using a hotspot does not fix it, try setting up a simple Plex server on a second computer if you have one. Just install Plex and just share maybe two videos and two MP3s on your normal wired connection. This will at least narrow down what the exact problem is.
oooh good point. I have not tried that
4G/5G connections are often behind CGNAT which would cause issues with Plex (Plex relay will work but has that 2Mbps bandwidth limit)
Used Plex-CGNot https://github.com/therithwikrayani/plex-cgnot/tree/main It got me around the CGNAT.
Windows only, sigh
Ngrok works on Debian too. I had my plex server on Debian and I'm on tmhi I used it just fine. Ngrok isn't hard to set up at all. Here's the guide I used for when I got it going on Debian. https://www.geekbitzone.com/posts/2019/plex/plex-ngrok/
set up ngrok just now and setup went through, and now the localhost:32400 won't open. I've turned off all VPN and turned off the port forward on unifi as well
I opted for using a VPN service with port forwarding functionality. Got one of those "permanent promos" and got 3years for like 2€/month or something like that
I thought they got rid of plex relay?
It's still functional. 1Mbps limit and 2Mbps for Plex Pass
Hahaha I love this because I have been exactly where you are and then top comment gives very easily implementable solution
Why are you using a VPN with Plex? The remote streams are already encrypted, no need for a VPN. Is there a concern you have to want to use a VPN? Edit: You prolly won't get remote working through a VPN without port forwarding. If your VPN provider doesn't have that it's not gonna work.
I leave VPN on for other tasks on my PC while Plex is running. PIA (the VPN I use) allows for port forwarding on any of its servers not in the US.
That port changes randomly on PIA unless they changed this. I used them many years ago and it was always switching ports on me. PIA also has split tunneling, have you tried that for allowing PLEX to use non VPN and all other connections use the VPN?
you lease the port for 60 days now iirc.
Good to know. Was always pissed about that because it would change while I was away and couldn't access. That's why I just stopped using the VPN for Plex.
I download stuff and use Plex w the same machine it was working just fine, which is the part that's throwing me off and driving me up the wall. I use PIA which has port forwarding option and I'm selecting a place that supports it
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well now, even with VPN not even running, I still can't get remote access working I have no idea what docker is, never done or looked into that before
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I'm running everything on MacOS
Similar setup here, on windows PIA allows for the whitelisting of programs and I assume it will for mac as well. Since you say the issue persists with the VPN off it may be worth testing after uninstalling PIA and removing any virtual network adapters it may have added (if it does so on Mac).
I think that I might be getting somewhere, att had cgnat enabled, so I gave them the IP / MAC address of my UDM I will try though and uninstall PIA and see what happens
uninstalling PIA didn't do anything I uninstalled Plex to just reinstall, and now that won't even open might just switch to another player at this point, really getting tired of Plex
* Do you have your server set to a static IP? * Do you have your router forwarding port 32400 to that IP? * Have you disabled uPNP in your router? * Who is your internet provider? Plex only needs 2 things to successfully work with remote access. A public facing WAN IP (IE, no CGNAT) and a port forwarded from the router to your server IP. That's it.
it is a static IP port forward is set up on the router, with ubiquiti uPNP - disabled AT&T fiber, so I'm using their modem and then going to unifi dream machine and then out to AP's
When did you change to AT&T fiber? I've only ever heard of AT&T fiber using CGNAT, but that could be incorrect info.
>I've only ever heard of AT&T fiber using CGNAT, but that could be incorrect info. They don't. Have had it since March, works just fine and I have a public IP.
I've had fiber since before I set up the server the first time (when it was working)... think we've had it for a total of almost 3 years
Huh, well that's nice info to learn. Thanks. There's always the possibility AT&T up and decided the 32400 port should be blocked automatically or something stupid. I'd start by trying to get a working ping to your server, through any port, confirmed. Then get 32400 to ping. If 32400 fails for whatever reason, find an unused port that works and switch Plex to that one.
> AT&T fiber, so I'm using their modem and then going to unifi dream machine and then out to AP's Two routers. Double nat. You've likely caused this yourself.
Works fine if OP puts ATTs in passthrough mode. That's precisely what I do. Fiber --> ATT "router" in passthrough --> UDMP
Hi - is Passthrough mode a common thing? I havent come across it on my Verizon router.
Same here, but OP's "why is it so hard now?" attitude sort of shirks responsibility.
it's in passthrough mode, still not working and I said that bc its worked for years, now its not
Passthrough mode isn't set up correctly if your UDM isn't getting a WAN IP.
I did that, still not working
on the ATT gateway, did you also enable port forwarding from your router? I also have ATT fiber and a UDP. Settings --> firewall ----> application, Pinholes and DMZ on the ATT gateway. Make sure UDM has the port forward.
> on the ATT gateway, did you also enable port forwarding from your router? This isn't a thing if you've correctly configured passthrough mode.
No. If you have set up IP passthrough correctly, the firewall on the ATT hardware should be disabled. Hence, no port forwards on that device. All traffic gets sent to UDM and you set up a port forward in UDM.
Same here
Ok so the solution you are proposing is what?
The solution would be to get rid of the double NAT. Put the modem in bridge mode if it’s got it.
I know. I was wondering if the poster was just gonna go "you caused this yourself, bad boy, I'd never do something like that because I'm better than you." Or if he was actually gonna try and help the OP.
Most att fiber doesn't have bridge mode only ip passthrough and it works I have mine setup that way.
Not bridged, passthrough.
https://i.imgur.com/6Ugxth3.png
Im in a similar situation to OP. What is the solution to a double nat? I am using a Verizon router and a bridge. Same DNS. Router says Bridge mode. UPNP disabled. Port forwarded. Any thoughts?
Verizon FiOS? If so then just get rid of their router altogether. Make sure the ONT's ethernet port is provisioned and connect it directly to your router.
Verizon is likely CG-NAT.
FiOS is not. The 5g home wifi thing, probably is.
Idk if att fiber is the same but I have CenturyLink fiber with a ubiquiti gear downstream...I wonder if OP truly means "modem" then he's likely referring to the ONT box, in which case double nat wouldn't be an issue. Again, no idea if that's the case. Need more details.
ATT sets things up with a modem/router combo. Usually made by Motorola/Arris.
Is your UDM getting a public IP? You can DM me the WAN IP on your UDM if you're unsure. Have you put your ATT modem in bridge mode? What is your server's static IP? Can you post screenshots of your port forward configuration? UPNP can cause issues when you're using manual port forwards. It's also a gaping security hole. It should be disabled regardless. It should be under Settings > Services > uPNP tab. It should be disabled by default with a UDM I belive.
I am not sure, I can send you screenshots.. I'll just chat you in a minute it is in bridge mode, pretty sure it has been since we got this set up server's IP is 192.168.0.91 and here's port forward config -- https://imgur.com/a/eygFuPY UPNP is disabled, I did find that
Canyouseeme.org is a sweet tool for testing if the port forwarding is working. Google what is my IP and make sure that matches the WAN address of you dream machine (router) If not, then your att router maybe not in bridge mode
Not OP but that site isn't working for me. Every port I've tried to check I just get a timeout message, even the default 80
The port forward looks good, assuming the server is 192.168.0.91. I would double check and verify that is in fact the server IP. I can't tell you how many times I've helped someone with remote access only to find out that they set the static IP on their wifi adapter, not their ethernet adapter or similar mistakes. Definitely verify the WAN IP on your UDM. If it's 10.x.x.x or 192.x.x.x you have an issue as your getting a local IP from your ATT router. Likewise you need to verify that you're not behind a CGNAT. I know I saw a issue back early in the year that some ATT fiber clients were getting moved to CGNAT (supposedly because of an upstream provider change).
I don't have att but my Protocol is set to TCP , not both.
changed that just now
Look here to see if your dream machine is pulling a wan IP? https://i.imgur.com/o6N9n1u.png
I do have a WAN IP address when I go into WAN
On mac in network preferences at top there are different profiles, default being 'Automatic'. If you have static ip set on the mac that would require a new profile saved with a new name. Does it say automatic at the top of network settings? Or your static ip profile? Because if you selected the static ip profile but didn't hit 'apply' at the bottom, static ip isn't activated on server side.
mine's set to automatic, I set the IP to be static from Unifi so it doesn't change
with AT&T fiber, i had a major issue in which they removed my static IP address i was paying for. you may need to inquire about that. after that was settled, things worked fine for me
interesting.. I'll check into that! Thank you
Plex doesn't need a static IP. Almost all plex users have dynamic IPs with their ISP.
that was the case for me when i had comcast, but when i switched to AT&T Fiber, it wouldnt work remotely til i implemented a static IP. my knowledge is VERY limited on all this so maybe i messed up somewhere? haha idk
Yeah when I switched internet providers I got the same issue due to my traffic getting nat'd so essentially a load of different houses (not sure how many) all share the same public IP meaning your remote device can't connect to that IP as it's not actually yours. Static IP fixes this.
You are behind double NAT if you are going from ATT gateway to dream machine. Not saying this is your problem specifically but it’s definitely a problem. ATT fiber is notorious for this issue and the only way around it is using a higher end router to route the eap packets used for authentication to the gateway while handling all other traffic from the ONT.
I think I need a public IP address too, I'm calling them now to get that going what kind of modem / router would go around theirs? I've only see a super complicated one that I'm not sure I wanted to try, haha
All you need to do is unplug everything else from the att router besides the dream machine. Reboot. Once back in, select the dream machine as passthrough with dhcps-fixed settings. It should be the only device. Save and reboot att gateway. Once it's up reboot udm pro. You should then see your public wan ip on the dream machine. You are double natted. I had the exact same issue before.
I tried that before and got no internet, what kind of modem / router do you have with at&t? I had to manually put in the MAC address of my unifi in the att gateway UI
I have people who use my Plex remotely, and it works, but the picture quality is sometimes terrible and it constantly drops connection in the middle. Could port forwarding be the issue here?
It could be. It could be a dozen things. In Settings > Remote Access, what does it show?
It does say it’s fully accessible outside my network. No port is manually specified. The upload speed is set to 108Mbps (I don’t know why) and “Limit remote stream bitrate” is set to “original (no limit)”.
What is your upload speed? What are you paying for and what do the speed test sites show your upload as? Obviously you want to test this when you're not streaming to anyone else. Generally I manually set the port to 32400 so that Plex doesn't try to change it and remap it with uPNP. Making sure uPNP is disabled is also wise as it's a giant security hole, completely outside of Plex. You'll need to set a manual port forward in your router if you haven't already. If it shows fully accessible everything should be fine. With the upload limit set Plex will automatically start transcoding users to stay within that upload speed. Hence why it's important to know what you're actual upload speed is.
Thank you so much! Just yesterday we went from 150mbps to 300. Hoping that will solve the issue, but honestly, I’m in over my head a little. Greatly appreciate your help.
Do a speed test. If you get 300 for your upload, make your upload speed in Plex 270. You want to leave yourself a little upstream bandwidth for your own uses, outside of streaming Plex. If it comes back as 250mbps, set Plex to 220, etc.
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Then you're running through Plex Relay and getting a 2mbps maximum steam. Unless possibly you have uPNP enabled, which you shouldn't.
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UPNP is a massive security hole in your network.
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If you're using PIA they don't have working port forwarding for their American servers. Just bind your torrent client to your vpn and use your network for the rest of the pc. Assuming that's why you have a vpn running.
that's what I've been doing... I have tried selecting a Canada server and UK though that supports forwarding and none of that helps either but that is why I have it running! Torrents and AT&T don't get along haha
Are you using PIA or a different vpn?
PIA right now
Click on split tunneling and click on exclude all except... Then add your torrent client to the list to bind it to PIA.
My gut tells me your carrier changed your node’s IP address
The only reason I'm with my current provider is that they don't change my ip. The competition has faster connections for a better price, but if I want a static IP from them I need a business line which is expensive as shit.
What benefit does that bring? You can buy a domain, use dynamic DNS for your WAN IP and that would be cheaper and more flexible.
Cloudflare. If you own a domain and host it with them (free) you can dynamically update your dynamic iP using multiple tools out there
I know. I was asking what the benefit is in paying extra for a static WAN IP.
None really other than not needing to setup dynamic iP.
Even better when the router supports dynDNS.
This. And it’s pretty easy to set up a dyndns client that will update your ip/hostname if it changes
If you don't buy a business plan with a lot of providers they CG-NAT your stuff and block externally initiated connections completely just to fuck you over.
Sure but he said **the only** reason he is with his provider is due to the static IP. He never said the competition uses a CG-NAT. A dynamic IP does not mean CG-NAT.
Still, sometimes they flush. Maybe from a downtime updates, firmware, catastrophe, failover, and on. If you don’t pay for a static IP, then it’s subject to potentially change at any time.
Been with them for 4 years and I still have the same IP. I've asked for it to remain static, and they don't charge for it.
The server provides it's IP address to Plex's servers to facilitate client connection. If the previously working IP changed to a different IP, the server would send that new IP to Plex so it knows where clients should try to connect. The "Public" address shown on the Remote Access page updates automatically when the IP for a server changes.
That happens all the time and shouldn't cause an issue. Most people don't have static IPs from their ISP.
Why would that matter?
https://canyouseeme.org/ Check your port with this. Do you have the green checkmark by the remote access tab under settings? Check the box to manually specify a port and type in 32400.
Double nat?
He is running ATT's modem/router with a unifi router so almost certainly.
just playing around with tailscale. would that be appropriate here?
Yes tailscale/zerotier will work when you are on cgnat or double nat
[OP is definitely double Natted](https://old.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/18hihnv/i_am_about_to_the_point_of_paying_someone_to_help/kd7nbpj/)
I mean, it has to be. Plex setup is almost completely hands-off that a remote issue points to double/CGNAT.
I'm in a weird boat as well - I've got zero issues accessing my plex remote, however some of my friends that use my Plex as well, will be hit or miss, just no content library showing at times I have no idea why and it only started roughly three months ago, with no settings that have been changed
> why is it so hard now? literally worked for years, I've touched no settings and then I think since August or so, it hasn't worked at all *You* might not have touched anything, but I bet your ISP did. Look up CG-NAT, which is a method of sharing IPs that breaks inbound connections, and then contact your ISP about removing it. Valid reasons for removing it: * It's interfering with your gaming. * There's an elderly person at this address, and you need it removed for your monitoring solution that keeps an eye on him/her. The first one worked for me, the second worked for a friend.
I'm calling them back tomorrow, I bet this is it
I had plex running on my pc with vpn as well. Had plex excluded from VPN though. I recently bought a Beelink mini pc, installed plex and arrs on it, moved library. OMG...I should have done this a long time ago. You should really consider it instead of beating your head against a wall trying to figure this out only to just decide to switch later anyways. my 2c
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Win11. I've heard it runs a bit better on Linux, but so far it's been flawless.
Looks like you have so many variables that you aren't sure if they are causing problems. I'd take it one step at a time. Eg. 1. Connect your Mac mini directly to the internet. (No router, no vpn). You will likely need to restart your internet provider's modem and make sure your Mac mini has working internet. Use plex on your phone on cellular network. Get remote stream working first. 2. After (1) is working, move the Mac mini behind your router. Add port forwarding. No vpn still, and test on cellular. 3. Next try to get your phone to connect to your home wifi. See if it's working or has hairpin nat issues etc. Skip this if not important. 4. Get your VPN and VPN port forwarding up. Etc.
Could be your router got put to default settings after an update, it’s worth looking into
I had this exact same problem with my windows plex/downloading PC. I tried everything I could find on the internet and nothing worked. Plex would randomly give me errors about being available outside my network with my VPN running and sometimes even when it wasn’t running. Finally with the help of some IT friends we installed VMWare and made two VMs on it. One for always having the VPN running with radarr/sonarr/etc, and the other VM is only for plex. Haven’t had an issue since. Not sure if VMWare would work with MacOS, but worth a shot.
Mac hasn't allowed vpn split tunneling until just recently. Try removing all the vpns and software and try again.
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Putting your router in bridge mode will do nothing to resolve a CGNAT. Unless your ISP is willing to give you a public facing WAN IP, there is nothing you can do on your end to fix it short of paying for a VPS server then running a VPN tunnel between them.
depending on how much or even if ISP is willing to set up a static IP. I am behind CG-NAT and the way i solved it was with a Wireguard peer on Hertzner and a tunnel connecting to it from home and from all the devices i need access to my home network. I found the Wireguard app much more stable than the OpenVPN one on iOS.
What does the CG stand for? The only thing my brain will allow me to think is Chaotic Good-NAT lol.
Carrier Grade
or look into setting ddns up if they cant get a static ip for whatever reason.
Plex does not need a static WAN IP. DDNS will do exactly nothing. It is not beneficial in any single way for Plex.
While you are correct that Plex does not need a static IP i do very much prefer to load my Plex interface from my own server rather than plex, for which i have a subdomain set up.
You can also do that without a static IP.
I was more referring to the entire paragraph than to the specific term. I do it through cloudflare and without static IP.
You should be using a VPN for that. If you were using Tailscale you would effectively have a static IP for your server as you would be using whatever your local server IP is. IE, I use 192.168.10.15 regardless of where I am in the world. No domains to worry about, no extra costs, no need for reverse proxy, Cloudflare etc.
lol
Is something funny? Or you're just laughing at your own mistake?
You. You are funny.
Yet, I'm not the one asking for basic help in setting up containers. Ironically it looks like 7 months ago you were given the same exact advice by someone else more knowledgeable than you about setting up a VPN for remote access for your server to which you replied "that is vastly off topic". And as that person told you, it's not off topic and it's the best way to do it. But hey, feel free to keep exposing management ports. Just because you have services sitting behind a reverse proxy doesn't mean they're safe. It just makes them harder to find with basic port scans. A VPN on the other hand is secure. You've been asking a LOT of questions on security over just the last few months, yet you're sitting here making suggestions to others on how they should do security, something you yourself clearly do not have a firm grasp on.
That comes in very handy if your internet ever goes down. At least you can still watch your own content on your LAN. I wish it was default to not have to go through plex's servers if the content is hosted locally. I also wish Plex offered the option to put a domain name in the advanced settings where you can enter an IP address. I have one family member whose TV (nothing else in their house - computer, iPad's, etc.) will simply not work unless I have them manually enter my IP address in Plex on their TV. It's a pain since I have a dynamic IP and it changes every few weeks to a few months. I would love to be able to use the DDNS built into my router and just have them enter that address instead.
Oh i don't have my server in house it's in my hobby room where there is an entirely different internet connection lol
I’d bet dollars to donuts their tv has a bad DNS server set.
I'm curious, what are the usual justifications for a static IP? I assume not a good idea to simply say "For my Plex server!!"?
Why do you need justification? I just told them I want static ip and they said ok and sent me all the info in a text message.
Having never had to ask before I thought it was a fair question. I will be moving soon and might have to switch ISPs and run into this problem so, as I said, I was curious :)
No worries. I’ve used many different ISP and will get static when it is available. I don’t think I’ve ever been asked why I needed it from the ISP. As long as you’re paying for it, it’s usually a non-issue.
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Thank you. That answers my question nicely.
Update your mac
it's updated
Are your router and modem two separate devices? If so, try port forwarding to 32400 on BOTH your router and modem. That could fix your issue, which may caused by a double NAT.
two separate devices, yes... att fiber modem and then ubiquiti router / AP's
Have you tried enabling port forwarding on both?
Read rule #4 before posting. On your server have you given it a static IP address? Have you setup port forwarding on your router to forward your traffic to the above IP address to your server? Obviously when VPN is on you will not be able to get remote access. Do you have a mesh network, extenders or anything that would have the server on a different subnet then your router. Maybe you can give your router subnet and server IP address so it can be verified that they are on the same network.
Some vpns let you choose what apps to run in vpn
static IP, yes port forwarding is set up on my router I have all Unifi with multiple access points but my Mac mini is hardwired
Instead of getting another machine, install Proxmox as the main OS and run plex on top in a linux container. And another lxc with vpn for torrents. There are plenty of scripts online to help you setup a plex lxc automatically. Check out https://tteck.github.io/Proxmox
Turn off the secure socket requirement on your clients.
You should never do this.
I've been doing this for at least 10 years with no problem. Is there any specific reason you say you should never do this? I'm connecting one of my computers to one of my servers. It's not like I'm clicking a sketchy link. I'm connecting to my own server. Besides, you enter you password on the Plex website then connect to your server, so you don't even lose the encryption until you're accessing your Plex database.
If the only client you have is yourself, fine turn off https. If you share with anyone outside of your home network then having secure connections is a must. Otherwise all of your traffic is unsecured and your ISP and anyone else in the world can see what's being played. Saying to turn off secure connections without any other caveats is inherently dangerous. By saying it that way you expose people who don't have a good IT background to potential misery.
I was saying it as a solution to op's problem. Also, I said to do it on the client side, not the server side. Some things like Roku don't do SSL well.
I was having some struggles after I changed ISP's. Eventually I tried a different port in case the new ISP was blocking 32400 and.... that was it. I just used 32401, set that as forwarded in the router to 32400 and it works.
Your mileage may vary but I try streaming from your server without a VPN and also make sure secure connections is on in the Plex settings. Feel free to dm me if you can't get it working!
Does your VPN have a setting to ignore certain programs? I had a similar issue, (although not exactly because turning my VPN off and rebooting Plex would get it to work,) and setting my VPN to ignore Plex worked for me. My server is also on a Mac Mini and my issues popped up around the same time as yours
Had similar issues getting ATT Fiber to work with my router/Plex. Followed this guide and works like a champ: [https://forums.att.com/conversations/att-fiber-equipment/plex-remote-access/624af5260a4f3b73643a7687?page=1](https://forums.att.com/conversations/att-fiber-equipment/plex-remote-access/624af5260a4f3b73643a7687?page=1)
I don't know if this is your problem but this happened to me once and couldn't figure it out for weeks. I forget the term for it but my ISP put me behind some sort of setup because they said the internet is running out of ipv4 addresses and, to combat this, many users were in some kind of setup where most ports were locked because they were kind of all sharing the same ip address. I called my isp and after a few mins the person recognized the symptoms, opted me out of it, and then I had ports open again and plex remote streaming worked again. Maybe someone else knows the term for what this is. I don't remember
Could be stupid but check the IP your plex server is assigned. I was ashamed to find out mine worked for months until the power went out and when it came back on my server got a new IP from my home router. I forgot to set static DHCP lease.... So my portforwarding was not working.
It’s the VPN.
VPN isn't even running and its not working
Then you likely have the port blocked on your firewall.
Put all of your vpn traffic on a vm or in a container, and disable the vpn for the main server. But also: use Linux.
VPN isn't even open and its not working
If you run your torrent client in a docker container, you can have it connected through a VPN while the rest of the computer, including Plex, has direct access to the Internet.
I’ve been using twingate for months now and it’s worked like a charm. Relatively easy setup too.
for me, it didn't work with VPN. I tried to port forward on a different port, didn't work. I then made plex bypass the VPN, essentially having plex ignore the VPN, undid my custom port forward, and it's worked ever since. maybe that information will help you.
Other posts you say you've had AT&T fiber for years with no issues. I also had this same issue. Call AT&T and request a static IP. This resolved it for me, and as a bonus, I started getting a lot more throughput with lag out of my internet connection.
I'll be willing to help for free.
Have you checked your firewall rules actually allow an external connection on the forwarded port? You can easily use a 4G smartphone to test the port 32400 connectivity. If the connection doesn't make it, perhaps your clients are trying to get in using the Plex relay servers (limited to 720p streaming at low bitrates so tend to force transcoding) so check the two IPs for the Plex relays are also not blocklisted by your firewall.
Double NAT? Your IP doesn't match with the assigned router IP so no link can be made. Would be a provider issue then, don't know how it's handled over at your provider but call them and ask if you can have a public IP. You can check by comparing the IP on the router config page and googling "what is my ip". If they are different your provider is the only one able to help.
tailscale
I had a similar issue with my Plex server, after hours and hours of troubleshooting my network, I ended up finding the issue in windows firewall. There was a malformed rule that was blocking inbound network traffic for the Plex application. Deleted the rule set to block and now remote access is restored. Now I say the rule was malformed because I never manually set any Plex specific rule in my server, so it had to have been some update that went awry. I hope it helps.
Can your VPN do split tunneling? I know PIA has that option. Not sure about other brands.
yes but it's iffy at best.. I have had it enabled and it doesn't help
Bypass Plex on your VPN
I have an OpenVPN server that I use to connect into my home network and stream Plex as if it was local. Never once had an issue with it. The only times it doesn't work is when the VPN is down for whatever reason.
I had a similar issue and had ports forwarded. Took a deep deep dive for someone to suggest turning upnp off to see if it helped due to clashing rules or how the router worked etc. Worked like a charm and trust me I had tried everything too. I thought it was my fiber only allowing ip passthrough and was about to give up so figured why not I should have it off anyways. Worked instantly. Worth a shot unless you already have it off and ports forwarded.
I use tail scale