Shouldn't Plex work, offline?

[@amateurwizard]

As much as we all love Plex when you look closely they've been doing some pretty anti-consumer things

[@tmtmolokwane6357]

Exactly I mean why have they gone out of their way to make it nearly impossible to work offline....

[@shadow.banned]

@@tmtmolokwane6357 It is pretty suspect how aggressively they refuse to enable easy offline/local access.

[@s.k.vigneshkarthikeyan2887]

Maybe this helps www.howtogeek.com/303282/how-to-use-plex-media-server-without-internet-access/

[@willywonka1585]

@@s.k.vigneshkarthikeyan2887 that has not worked for me and ive done it multiple times. ROKU devices refuse to let me into the plex library when the internet is down. Im starting to fucking hate plex. is there anything better ?

[@christopherbongers313]

Plex does not work offline, They have gone to crap. @@tmtmolokwane6357

[@Weeem]

I had this once, so when my internet came back I figured out how to connect via the WAN without any problems. Assuming your LAN DHCP has IP range 10.10.0.1-255 and your plex server is on 10.10.0.11 1) in web interface, create a new bookmark (e.g. PLEX LAN) which points directly to your server (e.g. 10.10.0.11:32400/web) 2) In plex settings, do: Settings | Network | List of IP addresses and networks that are allowed without auth In there, enter your LAN IP range in the following format: 10.10.0.0/24 That's it. Any time the internet goes out you use the PLEX LAN bookmark instead and it'll work

[@LeonCC]

@Bytemybits Yes the nvidia shield does work offline it asks to access the server locally like the iOS devices do and then it will play anything in the library

[@joemann7971]

Good to know. I have a shield tv. I use it even on a smart tv that has plex simply because the shield tv is more reliable, and quicker.

[@plexnbrown760]

Remember you can enable dnla in settings. Maybe ‘I’m old’ but I still have devices that have dnla ability. Dnla loads poster art as well

[@Clarence-Homelab]

Open VLC, go to UPnP in the left menu, access your Plex content... Profit. :)

[@Pro4TLZZ]

DLNA is disabled with Plex home I think

[@DanielLopez-up6os]

@@Pro4TLZZ That might be a new thing then, but with atleast the PLEX i have DLNA works great with my circa 2013 smart TV.

[@SjaakSchulteis]

You have to manually turn dnla on.

[@spragzpc1]

Whats going on here. I use the fire tv with plex & no internet connection all the time , you have to go into application an launch the plex app

[@cerusa827]

100% agree. It's crazy you can't use Plex on your own network without internet. I've opened a ticket with them a few months ago and they didn't give anything helpful.

[@RobLansdown]

Any device that can "see" DLNA servers can browse Plex's library folders and play the files. The DLNA option needs to be switched on in the Plex server's settings. I guess there might be an issue if the device can't Direct Play.

[@tonymuto7294]

The main Plex servers do all of the administrative housekeeping stuff. They maintain the database of users. They authenticate the users when they log in. They point the users to the servers that they are authorized to use, and they tell the servers which libraries each user is authorized to access. Your Plex server only stores your media and then streams it to the clients. The reason that your phone worked is because it can still access the main Plex servers over the 4G or 5G network.

[@robertt9342]

Plex really needs to streamline and fix some of these issues. When your internet goes down, is specifically when you want to access the libraries.

[@JakeSDN]

You need to enable offline use.

[@robertt9342]

@@JakeSDN . Yep, that’s why I said streamline. The ability to access this locally during an internet outage shouldn’t have to be something you would need to configure after finding out after the incident. The current solution is poorly implemented and there is always room for improvement.

[@shadow.banned]

@@robertt9342 There should be one single checkbox for this. One. Bizarre how there isn't.

[@nitroburner77]

@@shadow.banned I believe these inconveniences are to dissuade piracy, allowing Plex greater distribution ease than the likes of Kodi/XMBC. Removing plug-ins was another bummer.

[@DMXENOMORPH]

Roku Works without internet. States very intently that it has no internet but allows you to use it, plus I have had no problems connecting multiple Roku devices without internet connection.

[@zeer0squared]

Grammar police here: It should be "moot point", not "mute" point. 7:05

[@thommerlin]

oh man I am glad I wasn't the only one who caught that... huge common misunderstanding of what the word "moot" is truly defined. It really means its debatable or arguable, not that its not an issue as some perceive it to mean.

[@kenzieduckmoo]

its a moo point. It's like a Cow's opinion. It's moo.

[@zeer0squared]

@@kenzieduckmoo Big "Friends" fan, myself. Classic Joey.

[@BlaineEvans]

FYI, it's "moot point," not "mute point."

[@raiscl]

as Joey (friends) would say... it’s a Mooo point. :)

[@JimLigon]

@@raiscl LMFAO!

[@shoebucket]

also, an-TEN-uh. Rather than an-TAN-uh

[@YISTECH]

To fix this you need DLNA enabled, and the devices you want offline access to, their ips to be added manually under network settings of your plex server. A bit of a setup, but kinda suprised to see DLNA wasn’t enabled out of the boxg

[@guillaumeausset8254]

" I don't blame plex " Well you should because it's 100% Plex's fault

[@s.k.vigneshkarthikeyan2887]

WTF not blaming plex !!!!

[@Trez1313]

Our roku works when the internet drops and it does drop weekly. As long as the rokus stay connected to my wireless network, then Plex and DS Video continue to operate.

[@jerseystechlife1143]

I have the Roku premiere plus and a Roku tv and both work without the internet being available.

[@TheThompsonBlend]

@Byte My Bits, You should go back and test with Managed Users and parental controls (with pins on adult accounts). Since PLEX puts all the auth in the cloud, then you are locked out except on the last account that was accessed (and that's only if you have it set to auto log into the last account accessed). In my experience is that PLEX sucks in this situation. When we were without power/internet in 2017 for 2 weeks we lost any recognizable usage of plex when we needed it most (we had a generator for power, but still no internet. This is a huge failing on PLEX and has left be on the verge of dropping the platform because of it.

[@pierrepretorius8023]

Hi Jason. Samsung smart tv also works perfectly off line. With our constantly disconnecting and slow internet coupled with our continuous electricity that switched over from area to area in South Africa, i have basically become the expert of running plex off line. Thanks for great content.

[@jaredreid5335]

Which Samsung TV do you have? Does not for offline on my Samsung Frame

[@bismark231]

if you dont have internet connection, on fire tv you can go too setting tab and application, choosing your app to launch from there, for smart tv like samsung it has a field in settings that you can put local address of your server, and it would work fine without internet, but for other devices like xiaomi or nvidia shield, they dont have the field to fill in the address.

[@aaronhinton92]

My Roku works with Plex when my internet is out. But it takes like a full minute for the app to give up on trying to connect to the internet before it shows the local content.

[@TyroSean]

The request to access devices on your local network is an iOS 14 feature - it asks on all apps (which request the access) on first use after the update

[@EvilAdjuvant]

I have a Nvidia Sheild Pro that I bought new in 2022 and NO it does NOT work offline. I've added my local IP range to "List of IP addresses and networks that are allowed without auth" and it still will not work if the internet goes down. It doesn't even work on the Shield TV Pro itself if I launch the Plex App there. I've tried via the web interface, my Xbox One, and my Android Phone. None of them will work if the internet goes down. Am I doing something wrong, or does it just not work there?

[@P4NCH1]

It should! I had that issue with the Home page not loading without Internet and, although you can browse your local libraries directly, it's somewhat annoying not be able to see the "in progress" and "recently added" lists of the home page.

[@10resslerj3]

On the Xbox and other devices it will work if you configure manual servers in the apps settings.

[@CRUZOPS]

My plex live TV has been stopping play within 3 minutes of playing. I have nvidia shield. The problem started when Plex added Free Live TV Channels that I never use. I tried changing many settings in the quality of the video but nothing worked. I ended up canceling my Plex pass account.

[@Anti-socialSocialClub]

My LG tv running WebOs won't even load Plex when the internet is down. I've messed around with a bunch of settings on the server but to no avail. Totally bollox

[@ArchangelMerlin]

The Xbox plex app has an alternate server selection in the settings area to point to a local network address and it should work offline.

[@CrankyCoder]

I had an issue where even IOS wouldn't work. If you have plex home configured you MUST have internet. No matter what. I ended up having to disable plex home just to get local network playback to work in the browser.... unfortunately you can't disable it until internet is back. So for 2 days I had no internet, my media was locked away.

[@akshayraiker6735]

does plex just uses internet to connect and then Strems it locally without using the the bandwidth or uses the internet while playing locally I m totally confused

[@shadow.banned]

I just want Plex to access my router's USB external drive, like Infuse. Infuse shows it without even asking. I don't understand why this very basic task is so complicated and inaccessible through Plex. I remember XBMC being able to do this but maybe I'm remembering it wrong... What other Apple TV app should I use to access my router's SMB/DLNA?

[@wibble4321]

Did you turn off mobile data on the iPhone to check whether it was also using that to access Plex.Tv?

[@DanDAmbrosia]

That was the first thing I thought as well.

[@whocares3132]

I use EMBY for this. Ive got an EMBY pass and transcoding working just fine. No need to log into a remote authentication server. Life's awesome.

[@nahsi_at_yt]

jellyfin.org/

[@jonathan.sullivan]

So Jason caused the Plex Authentication issues the other day.

[@TecraTube]

i see what you did there

[@terynq9427]

I'm not sure what's different in my setup, but I frequently lose internet connection. A few months ago my city experienced a power outage that lasted two days. I fired up my generator and although we were without internet, we utilized apple tv and roku to watch movies and shows I had stored locally. Maybe its just case by case?

[@hamsterwolf]

Why not also run kodi just point it at your nas. It also has options for live tv and isn't as internet reliant.

[@nebulousJames12345]

Also to note, watch-together on local network does not work without internet. Shield pro works offline.

[@ProphetBeal]

having lost my internet connection a lot over the last few years (stupid comcast). Some of the Plex apps (Roku and Xbox) sometimes need you to manually enter the IP of your local server. In the Plex app settings there is a Manual connection where you can enter your IP address

[@adrianwiuk]

Have they fixed the Apple TV yet? That will happily start without internet connectivity but the Plex app wouldn't work without phoning home first. It's almost 2 years since I ditched Plex for emby, and I have zero regrets. emby is just as good now, if not better for some things.

[@heyitsburt]

I have a Roku and it works all the time... Wife will be watching a movie or TV show and everyone looses internet and complains and she smiles and says Im good cause its all local

[@kruegdude]

You address the biggest pain point I have with Plex. Their monetization efforts, along with their multiuser authentication, created an architecturally complex system that they solved by creating a design that assumed most use cases would have a connection to the internet and that Plex.tv would be reachable at all times. My “edge” case use case of running Plex in my RV causes me no end of frustration to the point of my wanting to created my own iOS client to do the connection and playback. That or some fancy shortcuts, I’m still in the research phase. Anyway, I’ve gone from loving the opener source Plex to despising the closed sourced version. Sigh. And yes, I’ve tried Ebby, and deleted it almost immediately as not ready for prime time. Thanks for addressing this issue, Bill

[@nahsi_at_yt]

Try jellyfin.org/

[@lost4468yt]

Jellyfin has been there for a while IMO.

[@acid3x]

If you go into settings on the fire stick and "manage applications" you can launch and force stop an app. I've tried it with my plex server when our internet was out and it only worked until I had to re-login to plex and it couldn't do the handshake with the website. I put in my local netmask into the plex server network settings and that got it working again.

[@subagon]

I have a small NUC computer running Plex, a 5TB USB drive of content, and a router (for wifi) in my RV so everyone can watch their own content on Plex. The entire process is always a pain to get working. What should be as simple at home with an internet connection is 10X more difficult when I'm in my RV. I would welcome any suggestions for an alternative solution. BTY, Chromecast doesn't work from iPhones or iPads if you don't have an internet connection. A Shield will work offline. However, (from memory) it will only allow you to login to Plex using the last account that was connected to Plex when there was an active internet connection. The same is true for a Roku device.

[@TechD87]

So one of the additional things that I lose when my internet goes out is all of my Managed Users. I've been able my content via the Roku (several ranging from Roku Stick, Ultra, and several TVs) and I believe my LG WebOS smart TV interface.

[@skurge101]

On the shield and most tv clients there is an option (buried inconspicuously in the settings) to connect to manual servers...so if you know the IP address of your server you can use it to connect locally and work pretty much as intended. iPhones and indeed all phones can access the internet even when your local WiFi is down so that may be why it worked as ‘normal’?

[@Super80sMan]

Just switched to Emby partly because of the fact that Plex is very wonky without Internet. Profile switching and media syncing don’t work offline at all, which is ridiculous.. Emby is pretty much completely self contained and can function just fine with no Internet, except for obvious things that have to have Internet by design, like metadata retrieval when adding content. However, it’s not just that. Emby is more stable for me than Plex. The server almost never crashes, which Plex has always done for me random. Hardware transcoding is more reliable and seems to be less resource intensive. The apps all load much faster and provide better actor information. And you can completely control your server from within the Emby app if you want.

[@nahsi_at_yt]

Jellyfin is much better than emby

[@Super80sMan]

@@nahsi_at_yt Well, we all have opinions.

[@Sebastien-II]

Without internet, you loose Plex user auth. Then any user can go to settings menu. etc... I was among first users, but i gave up Plex and change to Jellyfin for privacy concerns.

[@MarkEscobar81]

Usually if my internet goes out I just go to the plex settings and click allow insecure connections and everything works fine.

[@3pw00d]

You did per device testing but you didn't comment on secure settings. I can't speak about live TV as I don't use it but for playing local content your server and (all?) client software should have settings on handling of secure convective l connections...ie. only secure or prefer secure or allow unsecured connections on same network...etc. unsecured connections should work when internet down.

[@berndeckenfels]

Maybe you should Test with dead Rouges (tcp timeout) and tcp quick rst to avoid timeouts.

[@marcesw35]

I have done brought down my Plex server for various reasons, but I was able to play all my content just fine on my Vizio tv with the built-in app as long as my Unifi switch was working etc... On your phone, you have a cellular connection. I find that strange that you were able to get to your plex server because the server isn't connected to the gateway when you turn it off. Try going outside your home and with your internet turned off and see if it all still works.

[@SagefulSolutions]

I think that “powering down” gambit was for comedic effect. He just unplugged the coax cable or phone line that was going into his modem and left the router running.

[@chefbennyj]

It probably looks to the internet to see if you have a premium/premiere subscription to load the proper items you pay for.

[@Snipedog1978]

The Apple TV does not work like the I phone I have tried it when I had no internet, the app tries to connect to the internet first and if it didn’t find it just acted like xbox

[@joshuasweet688]

If you set up manual connections on the Xbox, it will work without the internet.

[@jennerate1206]

Only if your router is still powered on, providing your network a default gatway to communicate through, otherwise it will still fail. Turning your router off also turns the network off, so this isn't really a proper test of internet outage. He basically scuppered his whole network.

[@joshuasweet688]

@@jennerate1206 any device on the network will not see the plex server with the router/switch disconnected.

[@bsawyers26]

From my understanding local access without internet does not work if you have home users enabled?

[@johnieM19]

Ps4 is the same. It does have a DLNA option yet I dont know how to use it. It's something to consider.

[@KittFanNr1]

On your FireTV you may can run Plex via adb 🤔

[@66heywood]

Plex has been working offline with no plex pass on my dads old computer with 2000 movies. He lives in the middle of nowhere. Of course no transcoding, but when you live in the middle of nowhere having 2000 movies to pick from on movie night is nice.

[@kittylou5459]

I have found since introducing their api, so PLeX is always calling home. That’s when the issues started with all their apps. It now refuses to work when you lose internet. It’s a royal pain in the back side. Their ApI crashes once a month now, this month it’s been twice we have had outage. Apple TV PLeX app will not work when you lose net. You say third party when these where created by PLeX. It’s all down to their API.

[@jamesyoungblood1176]

So here is my dilemma. Every one of you are talking about when you lose internet connectivity. I think there is some information that is retained that is allowing Rokus to still work with the local content as long as you simply lost connectivity. I am dealing with my girlfriend's house where they don't have internet at all. I have setup her server, wireless router, and Rokus at my house with internet access and they work fine. I take them to her house and I get the multiple playback error on about 60% of the content. I bring it back to my house, it works fine. Take it back, same issues. So, any suggestions???

[@andrewenglish3810]

@Byte My Bits You didn't mention this in your video, but under Settings -> Network .. do you have your preferred network interface setup? And does your LAN Networks have your home network IP/24? I don't have any issue accessing Plex on my FireTV Stick 4K or Cube 2019 when my internet has been wonky or not working. You should also update the 'List of IP addresses and networks that are allowed without auth' if you do authentication with your plex pass account.

[@cheddar07]

If anyone has Roku and uses plex, make sure you go into the plex app network options and set it to local if you dont do this then you will be told there is not connection to your server.

[@wakeupcanadians]

But if you want to use your android bot of fire cube it don't work unless you have plex running when it goes out

[@CarlosPerez-xx9gl]

Hi, do you know if it is possible to use Plex as a sort of Ip-Camera visualizer through a plug-in? That would make plex the ultimate media/nvr server. I have my ip-cameras to record on my NAS and add that library into plex, so I can watch those recorded videos through my plex server on any of my devices, but watchin live ip-cameras is not possible so far.

[@IsmaelLa]

The RokuTV from TCL I have does work offline great and the AppleTV 4 too.

[@mightymjc10]

Using a 2019 Shield Pro does work with no internet. I didn't even have to unhook the internet, I just have flakey internet and watch my content when it goes down.

[@Gray-ze9er]

I have a relatively new Samsung Smart TV and it works perfectly offline. Though I should mention it only lets the admin account access in offline mode (that is if you have multiple users).

[@MrJFreiman]

I'll leave to test this out on my other smart devices. Good tip/insight. Thank you!

[@adammatthiesen6203]

Yeah. The weird glitches in plex is what led me to switching to emby.... Emby can run in a 100% offline status, as long as you reconnect every month or so to sync the premium status. (I have a lifetime key) the only thing that gives attitude in a offline mode is live TV guide, since it can't connect and it's dumb...

[@jkirk99]

Plex for roku works fine offline. you just have to enter the address for your server in settings/manual connections. server discovery is flaky at best.

[@nbalagopal]

I switched to Emby coz it allows you to setup a completely local server. Even the licensed version needs internet only to verify your key and then you can be completely independent of their servers

[@winstonscentraltechnology4238]

it can work on the firetv perfect without internet you just have to launch it from the applications after going to settings

[@DougS2K04]

Recently switched to Jellyfin because of Plex's server authentication downtime. With Jellyfin there is no server authentication like Plex has so no downtime EVER. Also all the features and apps are free with no pay wall.

[@carsonhardie565]

I thought there were settings in plex to setup for this kind of issue like turning off Authentication for Local devices and making some network changes

[@YISTECH]

there are, by the looks of it he’s just testing it out the box

[@undrpaidtekmnky143]

Late to the party, but my Roku TV has zero issues functioning without an internet connection(as well as a secondary Roku TV). We go through regular outages where I live and being able to access my Plex server is the only thing that keeps me sane sometimes lol

[@joelcrocker1094]

Jason the files have to be cased on the server all ready when the internet is off

[@IanPowell1985]

Plex and shield still work with modem disconnected.

[@shockracer]

Could you please test or find the best devices to cast or use to watch plex on your TVs? I went with Plex to dump play stores and other media providers because they wouldn't allow you to cast to a TV do to DRM.

[@pyromike25]

I am considering getting an Nvidia Shield TV Pro and plugging in a USB hard drive with my Plex content on it. I have monthly data limits on my home internet and want to be able to use my Nvidia shield Plex to access those media files without the internet. Is this possible?

[@mitchells7747]

The xbox does have a feature where you manually specficfy the Plex IP address inside the Plex app on xbox. I use it when my internet goes out all the time.

[@caboose2016]

Roku works, I had to enable something on my server, I dont remember what it was though...also, its very very sluggish in loading local content on roku with no internet

[@kazz3r24]

Last time I checked, it does work on the Xbox if you manually enter your server's IP into the app settings. There's room for 2 servers I believe.

[@brutus6574]

I ran into this last month when my neighbor had work done on his yard and cut my coax line on a Friday afternoon. The Roku Plex App would not load. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes and it eventually did load and was able to access the local Plex server. Any time the kids hit the home button by accident it was another 20 minute wait. This was not an "enjoyable" weekend. Was able to access some of the media thru a Roku Media app that uses DLNA by enabling DLNA on Plex Server. It worked but navigation is stone age

[@Katnenis]

Hi.. I am using WD My Home for Plex.. I am trying to set Movie pre-roll videos. Can you guide me on that???

[@MrVoltog]

Plex used to work without an internet connection, full stop. I don't know why they changed the model over.

[@FabricioMTL]

NVIDIA shield does play Plex without internet and other AndroidTV.

[@DrGonzo4life]

Plex App on LG smart TV's does not work offline

[@AskIveSolar]

Ran into this issue recently while traveling with a Roku and Plex installed on a raspberry pi. Roku requires internet or a network of the same name. So in ur situation I think Roku would work.

[@eglinfo1]

Did you have internet on your phone?

[@layer0730]

Roku works fine offline. I have 3 TCL Roku tvs... no problems.

[@troyy2307]

Yup, roku works fine. I have a roku ultra, a tcl roku tv and a roku soundbar and they all work fine with plex with no internet.

[@redneckrestoration9385]

Roku seems to work fine. It says you are offline and asks if you want to continue.

[@Banner1986]

Nvidia shield works without internet just fine. We never meant to test it - we just lost internet for 45 mins and never skipped a paw patrol beat for the kiddos From a fellow Kansan- howdy!

[@UnarmedPug]

It works as long as the device is already logged into Plex. Figuring this out is the reason I still have 2 Roku Ultras despite having upgraded the TVs they were attached to. I leave them turned on and logged into my and my wife's account at all times (you can't switch users or launch Plex with no internet), even when the TVs are off. I suspect it would also have worked for your Xbox, though I doubt you'd want to leave that on all the time. But the Nvidia Shield I'm sure would work the same way.

[@DaveSomething]

I had an apple IIc that would put "thinking..." on the screen... always gave me a laugh.

[@keithcroshaw]

Hey, great video. With managed users turned on, I couldn't even get past the user selection screen when the internet is down or their authentication server is down... Very silly Plex...

[@tommytomtomtomestini3894]

Pondering setting up a plex server, how is the scrapers compared to Kodi? ... Kodi works, most of the time, but sometimes it just brainfarts and identifies the movie wrong. You can manually override that, so its not a biggie, but still.

[@maplenerd22]

As long as your files are named by following their convention, then it does a good job.

[@SteveDarner]

We watch TV series from my server, on the Roku. When the internet drops out, the show will continue to play. Until it gets to the end of the episode and tries to continue. Then it bombs out.

[@cg6030]

Can confirm Shield and Roku work without internet. I can even use live tv, but I am using an internal card rather than an HDHomeRun

[@Zyzienzergling]

I also got dnla working on my smart tv.

[@edgardoirizarry9997]

It does works offline. On your plex settings allow direct access and assign your Plex IP address and port number. When you have internet it will work fine and when you lose internet it will still connect locally but it takes a little longer to load the content.

[@edgardoirizarry9997]

For your Amazon Fire TV, the home screen tells you you cant connect to any apps. You will have to go to settings, manage applications and then launch plex from there, you need to have direct connection setup as well. It will work just fine. This applies to all other devices like Xbox and Playstation. I have done it and worked offline for me.

[@rokibuca]

of course, need internet you put just file on the plex server but plex provide all other info from sites like IMDB

[@lopez8971]

I moved and have been having internet issues. My HD Homerun app works great solo but Plex kicks us off all the time. The old home didn't have issues before and the wife is getting a little frustrated. This helps me see why, now we just have to get Plex to patch this issue.

[@Bozar069]

Last time my internet was down my Roku, Firesticks, and tablet worked fine but without managed users. There were some settings I messed around with to allow unsecured local connections IIRC.