this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2025
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407
Plex has paywalled my server! (lemmy.giftedmc.com)
submitted 19 hours ago by haui_lemmy@lemmy.giftedmc.com to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
211 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I tried testing a movie from my home server in plex through firefox and repeatedly got this message, even after reloading.

I knew that they had paywalled the apps on mobile and streaming from outside the network but now they have also blocked watching your own movies through your own hardware.

I do get the point that making software should be able to sustain people but I dont see the move of plex as a fair thing to do. Yes, they have made great software but taking your home server hostage feels like the wrong move.

Even a pop up that says "we need you to donate please" would have been fine. make it pop up before every movie, play donation ads before any movie but straight up disabling the app is kinda cruel.

Anyway, i have switched to jellyfin and it is insanely good. please give it a try. you can run it alongside plex with not issues (at least i had none) and compare the two.

In any case, good luck. Let me know if you need help.

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[–] AtariDump@lemmy.world 40 points 16 hours ago (44 children)

In this thread:

  1. An OP that doesn’t understand how their network is working
  2. People rushing to suggest a solution that they fawn over because it’s open source. I have yet to see anyone recommend Emby.
  3. “Tailscale will solve all your problems!” Great - how do I make that work on an LG TV that’s 100 miles away?
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[–] Kirk@startrek.website 135 points 19 hours ago (9 children)

Jellyfin is great, but in defense of Plex, they announced that remote streaming would require one of the two parties to have a Plex pass was coming back in March so I don't know if it's fair to say they are holding anything hostage.

[–] ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.world 53 points 19 hours ago (3 children)

I started down the Jellyfin path after they made that announcement. It's super easy to install, and in many ways the UI is nicer than Plex. But I ran into challenges getting my server safely accessible for users outside my LAN. And I haven't had the time to look into that further.

Would be great if there was a clean, easy way to set up the webserver portion so it's as easy to share content entirely as Plex. But I get they are a volunteer project with a lot on their plate.

[–] easydnesto@sh.itjust.works 18 points 18 hours ago (4 children)

I have had great success with tailscale in this regard.

[–] Buelldozer@lemmy.today 13 points 15 hours ago (5 children)

The same tailscale that announced last week that they are going to start charging?

https://tailscale.com/kb/1251/pricing-faq

[–] HyperfocusSurfer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 8 hours ago

It's kinda the same as it was before, as far as I can see, for the personal plan. Looks like they've just added more the ability to add more than 3 users for a fee.

[–] Bubs@lemm.ee 11 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (1 children)

Took a quick look at the free tier,

  • 3 users
  • 100 devices
  • Basically all tailscale features

That seems pretty reasonable to me. Main account and two accounts to share. With just friends and family, I doubt most people will reach the 100 device limit.

[–] morriscox@lemmy.world 7 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

Creating a tailnet using a custom domain is considered for business use.

Well, that sucks for me. I was planning on using my domain name.

[–] death916@lemmy.death916.xyz 1 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

The tailnet domain doesn't really matter that much if you have your own. I just use tailscale IP for everything that's not in adgaurs with a host name already

[–] DarkDarkHouse@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 7 hours ago

Or even just use the tailnet domain you can generate.

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[–] Jason2357@lemmy.ca 4 points 13 hours ago

I’m willing to recommend Tailscale because I run headscale and it does basically everything a selfhoster needs. When the free version is passable, it’s harder to enshitify the commercial version.

[–] Archer@lemmy.world 5 points 14 hours ago

Says personal is still free? Not seeing what you’re saying

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[–] sudo@programming.dev 6 points 15 hours ago (3 children)

But I ran into challenges getting my server safely accessible for users outside my LAN

FWIW:

  1. vps + domain (optional?)
  2. connect vps to home server with wireguard (eg Tailscale)
  3. reverse proxy on the VPS forwarding to jellyfin (eg Caddy)

Obviously not as trivial or seamless as Plex. Also I wouldn't try to complicate this setup by using docker for everything. But once its up you can basically host whatever you want on the WAN from your LAN.

[–] tehn00bi@lemmy.world 0 points 5 hours ago

So an additional 10 bucks a month….

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[–] hedgehog@ttrpg.network 15 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

If they’re calling it remote streaming when you’re on the same (local) network, that’s not exactly intuitive. I’d say OP’s phrasing was fair.

[–] CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works 27 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

OP has a misconfigured server and isn't connecting to their server over LAN.

[–] Opisek@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (1 children)

Just because the destination IP address is not a LAN address? That's not misconfiguration, that's a legitimate use of NAT reflection/loopback. If that's how it determines who is streaming remotely then just run it behind nginx that forgets to set the correct headers.

Edit: Apparently Plex centrally relays all the traffic? Self-hosted my 🍑, it's not self-hosted if you need to rely on their server.

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[–] gdog05@lemmy.world 6 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

But I keep hearing the value of Plex is that anyone can use it.

[–] Jimmycakes@lemmy.world 13 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Yes anyone can use it even people who don't know how to configure their server

[–] gdog05@lemmy.world 6 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

The OP might disagree from what I'm seeing.

[–] hedgehog@ttrpg.network 6 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

OP is also in the allegedly ultra rare camp of “successfully configured Jellyfin and lived to tell the tale.” Not what I’d expect of someone unable to configure Plex correctly. I’ve not set up a Plex server myself but my guess is it wasn’t clear that it was misconfigured - it did work previously, after all.

[–] gdog05@lemmy.world 3 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Well, with Plex constantly changing allowed abilities and such, it seems to me that this is the expected outcome.

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[–] FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au 13 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (12 children)

Are you saying that you’re on your home network with your Plex server and it won’t let you play your media without paying? That’s not true if so. You must be outside the network.

[–] haui_lemmy@lemmy.giftedmc.com -2 points 7 hours ago (3 children)

That is exactly the case. It is absolutely true and accusing me of lying is not okay.

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[–] ISolox@lemmy.world 29 points 15 hours ago (2 children)

Why anyone still uses Plex for new setups is beyond me.

[–] CrazyLikeGollum@lemmy.world 7 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

pretty much the only reason I still use Plex is because I like to be able to watch stuff during downtime at work and plex.tv isn't blocked on the work network while my private domain is.

And no, using a hotspot off my phone on a personal computer isn't an option, both because the security requirements of my job site prevent us from using personal devices in the main area where I work and because the building itself is a massive concrete structure that blocks most cell signals.

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[–] psychadlligoat@piefed.social 32 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (1 children)

Someone else already said it and you've already swapped but I'll say it in detail:

when setting the server connection up you selected "ServerName (long string of numbers)" and not "ServerName (your IP - SECURE)"

this routes your connection through the Plex servers and makes it not a local connection anymore. this is extremely easy to do and forget you've done because it barely impacts performance

[–] grue@lemmy.world 19 points 15 hours ago (2 children)

In other words, it's a dark pattern that tricks users into letting Plex MITM their connection.

[–] kogasa@programming.dev 9 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

It gets around port forwarding/firewall issues that most people don't know how to deal with. But putting it behind a paywall kinda kills any chance of it being a benevolent feature.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 6 points 14 hours ago

Labeling it as "SECURE" (implying the other option is insecure) is enough to make it seem underhanded to me.

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[–] curbstickle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 38 points 19 hours ago (5 children)

Remote, yes, they announced you need Plex pass one side or the other for it to work.

Local, no, that shouldn't happen. Your device isn't reaching your Plex server locally.

To work around the remote issue, you can VPN to your local network.

But you're better off in the long haul with Jellyfin as you're doing now.

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[–] lambalicious@lemmy.sdf.org 23 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Plex has paywalled my server!

Skill issue tbh.

[–] haui_lemmy@lemmy.giftedmc.com -4 points 6 hours ago

Yeah but not on my end.

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