Plex - FAQ¶

What are the best settings for the Plex app?¶

Plex "helpfully" sets your picture quality to a very low 2 Mbps. That's a huge shame!!! To get the best possible quality for Plex make sure to use the proper settings for Direct Play.

• For video set ‘Adjust Automatically’ to (Off)
• For video set ‘Remote Streaming Quality’ to Maximum (Original)
• For video set ‘Auto Match Resolution’ to (Off) if available
• For video set ‘Auto Match Frame Rate’ to (Off) if available
• For audio set ‘Remote Streaming Quality’ to (Original) if available
• Make sure the option ‘Allow Direct Play’ is set to (On)

Another thing is VPN's; sometimes VPN's can cause playback issues. To make sure that it isn't your VPN, just turn it off and try playing something. If it works after you turned it off, then the issue is your VPN. I will also mention that you do not need to use a VPN, but you are free to.

Things to consider:

• Browsers cannot stream 4K. We recommend always using a dedicated Plex app for your device.
• If you have a video with 7.1 audio and you experience buffering, please see if there is another audio track available. The 7.1 can cause buffering if the device doesn’t support it natively.
• If you use subtitles and you experience buffering, check if the option (Burn In) is not enabled and try to use SRT files instead of PSG.

Why can I only watch one minute of content on the Plex Mobile app?¶

You can unlock the mobile apps (Android app, iOS app, Windows Phone app, and Windows app) using one of the two following methods:

• The mobile apps offer one-time in-app purchases (per platform, per app store account) that unlock the app to remove playback limitations when streaming from Plex.
• Sign up for a Plex Pass (all mobile apps will be unlocked for the duration of your Plex Pass). Note: Paying the in-app-purchase does not give you Plex Pass benefits.

Note: Unlocking the app on one platform (Android/iOS/Windows) will unlock the app for all devices on the same platform as long as the devices use the same app store account (Google/Amazon/Apple/Microsoft).

Playback Error? - Multimedia file format not supported¶

For TV’s from 2017 or older when you see the “Playback Error” or “Playback Error – Multimedia file format not supported” message. Please use the following settings for your Plex app:

• Settings > Advanced > Allow Insecure Connections: Always
• Settings > Advanced > Prefer Insecure Connections: Always

Do the servers have Plex Pass?¶

All of our servers have a Plex Pass which allows you to automatically download subtitles, watch premium trailers, sign up for mobile sync and much more! Check out all the benefits that come with a Plex Pass

I don't see your server or I can't see any libraries, what do I do?¶

There are two methods to fix the issue:

• Re-login to your Plex app, if that doesn't work you might have to clear the cache of the Plex app or reinstall the app.
• Reset your Home Screen Customization.
  • Use Gear Icon (Top Right) to open the settings menu
  • Navigate to General under the Web Client section
  • Select Show Advanced
  • Select Reset Customization Selecting the last option will direct you back to the Plex Web Setup screen, where you will be prompted to select a server, media providers, and customize your navigation sidebar.

Note: Using this option will reset all customization changes made in the app, including source/home screen ordering. If you have access to multiple Plex Media Servers, you will then be prompted to select a preferred server as well as the initial sources to display in the Navigation Sidebar.

My TV won't connect to the server¶

Starting from September 30, 2021, some older smart TVs (some Samsung, LG, Vizio, Hisense, and other unsupported TV platforms) will no longer be able to use secure connections to communicate with Plex Media Servers. These devices are no longer supported by their manufacturers, and won’t be receiving an update needed to continue making secure connections to a personal server.

If your smart TV app has trouble connecting to the server after September 30th, please make sure that the app is set to allow insecure connections: On the TV app*;
Settings > Advanced > Allow Insecure Connections is set to Always.

Note that this configuration does allow for the possibility of unencrypted communication (over the internet, when playing remotely) between the TV app and the server, but connections will remain secure for those apps and platforms that support them. To continue to stream securely, we encourage you to consider upgrading your Plex experience with one of several updated and affordable devices, such as Google Chromecast, Roku Express, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Nvidia TV Shield or any other Android TV Box.

Note: on some older TV apps the equivalent setting can be found under Settings > Main > Allow fallback to insecure connections. This should be set to Always.

Does subtitles cause buffering issues?¶

There have been multiple reported issues with .ASS and .PGS subtitle on LG and Samsung TV. These subtitles are not supported and they have to be burned into the video, which causes buffering and lag."

Please use the following settings for your Plex app:

• Settings > Subtitle > Burn Subtitle > Set to "Never"