I used the one click install for Plex and it set up as expected, however remote access doesn’t work, I can se the library on my plex clients, and web, but it’s always saying “ Not available outside your network” and no matter what settings I change I can’t get it to work. It tries Plex relay connection trying to stream but it’s super laggy and glitchy. I’m even on my home network and it’s not recognizing it
7 replies
tomspark wrote:
Two separate things are happening, and the 'laggy even at home' part is the key clue. SparkBox runs Plex inside a Docker network, so Plex can't tell which clients are local — that's why even home devices get bounced to the slow relay. Two settings fix the bulk of it. In Plex - Settings - Network: 1) LAN Networks: add your home subnet, e.g. 192.168.1.0/24 (match whatever your router uses — check a phone's IP if unsure). This tells Plex 'these are local, stream direct, skip the relay.' 2) Custom server access URLs: add http://<your-NAS-LAN-IP:32400 — so Plex hands clients the real address instead of its internal Docker one. Save, restart your Plex apps, and local playback should go direct and smooth immediately. For true OUTSIDE-the-house access: Plex needs port 32400 reachable from the internet — turn on UPnP on your router, or manually forward TCP 32400 to your NAS. Then Settings - Remote Access should flip to green. One catch: if your ISP uses CGNAT (no real public IP — increasingly common), classic Plex remote access can't work, and Tailscale is the clean fix. Tell me how Remote Access looks after the port-forward and we'll take it from there.
AntoxicDWA wrote:
Still does not work with any of those settings
tomspark wrote:
Sorry it's still fighting you — let's win the at-home smoothness first, since that one we can definitely fix. The usual culprit is the LAN Networks value not quite matching your network. Check your phone's WiFi details for its IP (something like 192.168.1.45), then in Plex - Settings - Network make sure LAN Networks reads that range as 192.168.1.0/24, and the Custom access URL is http://<that same 192.168 NAS IP:32400. Save, then fully close and reopen the Plex app (not just back out of it). Play something and tell me two things: is it smooth now, and does it still say 'Not available outside your network'? We'll sort outside access after that — it usually comes down to your internet provider, one step at a time.
AntoxicDWA wrote:
Ok local playback is smooth now and playing original quality. All set, now the outside network let’s tackle that. Also just for reference, my version of Plex does not have LAN Networks in settings so it must be an older version you’re referring to. The IP from the sb proxy I see in my remote access settings page on plex so I am assuming we need something with that, idk though
tomspark wrote:
That's the win I wanted — smooth and original quality means direct play is working. (No worries on LAN Networks; newer Plex tucks it away, the Custom URL did the real job.) Outside access has one gatekeeper: your internet provider. Try this first — on your router turn on UPnP (or forward port 32400 to your NAS), then in Plex - Settings - Remote Access tick 'Manually specify public port', set it to 32400, and hit Retry. If it still won't go green, tell me your internet provider: some (Starlink, T-Mobile or Verizon 5G home, Visible) share one address across many homes and block this entirely, and there Tailscale is the clean fix — no port forwarding, works anywhere. Let me know what Remote Access shows after that, plus your provider, and we'll land it.
AntoxicDWA wrote:
It seems like the issue is that the container is provided through sb-proxy and it’s docker setting for network mode setting to host instead. How can I get it remote without tailscale? Also is there a way to change the network mode? I want family members to use this but not have to use tailscale or anything just a normal plex remote connection
tomspark wrote:
Good news — you don't need to touch the network mode for this. Even as-is, Plex's port 32400 is already passed straight through to your NAS, so a normal port-forward works fine and your family won't need Tailscale or anything special. Two steps: on your router, forward port 32400 (TCP) to your NAS's IP address. Then in Plex - Settings - Remote Access, tick 'Manually specify public port', set it to 32400, and hit Retry — it should flip to green. If it still won't go green, the cause is almost always your internet provider: some share one public address across many homes, which blocks this entirely no matter what you do. What provider are you on? That's the one thing that decides whether the normal route can work for you.