Plex Media Server: Difference between revisions

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|Logo=Plex_logo.svg}}

Plex Media Server is media server software, with associated clients, allowing users to host their own media server on their own hardware, in a Netflix-style interface. Originally forked from XBMC in 2007, the software allows users to specify their own existing media as source, such as movies, music, and photos~~, and have this~~ easily accessible on various clients, including a web client that works on regular computers.

Plex Media Server is media server software, with associated clients, allowing users to host their own media server on their own hardware, in a Netflix-style interface. Originally forked from XBMC in 2007, the software allows users to specify their own existing media as source, such as movies, music, and photos. Plex is easily accessible on various clients across multiple platforms, including a web client that works on regular computers.

==Consumer impact summary==

For much of its existence, Plex has offered a free ~~service~~ and a paid service. The paid service ~~has featured such capabilities as~~ multiple users, whereas the free service was limited to one user. ~~Until~~ April of 2025, both the paid and free tier of the server software allowed for users to access their media remotely (i.e. on a different network than their local/home one) on any client, assuming that the technical aspects had been configured correctly. ~~Many~~ users were disappointed ~~with the decision~~ to ~~revoke~~ free access to the remote streaming function and then ~~sell~~ it back to them.

For much of its existence, Plex has offered both a free and paid service. The paid service allowed for multiple users on the server, whereas the free service was only limited to one user. Up until April of 2025, both the paid and free tier of the server software allowed for users to access their media remotely (i.e. on a different network than their local/home one) on any client, assuming that the technical aspects had been configured correctly. However, many users were disappointed to find out that Plex revoked free access to the remote streaming function and then tried selling it back to them.

==Incidents==

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===Revocation of free remote access (''April 2025'')===

In April of 2025, an announcement was made<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 Mar 2025 |title=Important 2025 Plex Updates |url=https://www.plex.tv/blog/important-2025-plex-updates/ |archive-url=https://~~archive~~.is/~~zsSN1~~ |archive-date=~~15 Aug 2025~~ |access-date=15 Aug 2025}}</ref> noting various changes. Of note, remote access would no longer be a free feature, and would require a ~~remote access pass~~ subscription. In addition, prices of the existing Plex Pass were increased.

In April 2025, an announcement was made<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 Mar 2025 |title=Important 2025 Plex Updates |url=https://www.plex.tv/blog/important-2025-plex-updates/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260218193554/https://www.plex.tv/blog/important-2025-plex-updates/ |archive-date=18 Feb 2026|access-date=15 Aug 2025}}</ref> noting various changes. Of note, remote access would no longer be a free feature, and would require a Remote Watch Pass subscription. In addition, prices of the existing Plex Pass were increased.

The change also affected users who had previously paid the one-time Android or iOS in-app activation fee. Rather than grandfathering those users into continued remote playback, Plex stated that they would only receive an extended trial of the new Remote Watch Pass subscription.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 Mar 2025 |title=Important 2025 Plex Updates |url=https://www.plex.tv/blog/important-2025-plex-updates/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260218193554/https://www.plex.tv/blog/important-2025-plex-updates/ |archive-date=18 Feb 2026 |access-date=8 Mar 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=29 Apr 2025 |title=Extended Trial Availability for Remote Watch Pass |url=https://support.plex.tv/articles/extended-remote-watch-pass-trial/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260324043300/https://support.plex.tv/articles/extended-remote-watch-pass-trial/ |archive-date=2026-03-24 |access-date=8 Mar 2026}}</ref> Plex's support articles for the legacy Android and iOS one-time activations also state that these in-app purchases cannot be refunded.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Unlocking or Activating Plex for Android |url=https://support.plex.tv/articles/203868088-unlocking-or-activating-plex-for-android/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260407202447/https://support.plex.tv/articles/203868088-unlocking-or-activating-plex-for-android/ |archive-date=2026-04-07 |access-date=8 Mar 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Unlocking or Activating Plex for iOS |url=https://support.plex.tv/articles/205556278-unlocking-or-activating-plex-for-ios/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260402104121/https://support.plex.tv/articles/205556278-unlocking-or-activating-plex-for-ios/ |archive-date=2026-04-02 |access-date=8 Mar 2026}}</ref>

===Banning media servers hosted on Hetzner (''September 2023'')===

In September 2023, Plex sent out an email to all customers on Hetzner IP addresses, stating that "the IP address associated with a Plex Media Server on your account appears to come from a service provider that hosts a significant number of Plex Media Servers that violate our Terms of Service"<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-14 |title=Anyone else get this Plex notice? : r/Plex |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/16iqwf4/anyone_else_get_this_plex_notice/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-15 |website=Reddit}}</ref>. In this email, they announced that they were blocking Hetzner IP ranges, starting from October 12th.

In September 2023, Plex sent out an email to all customers on Hetzner IP addresses, stating that "the IP address associated with a Plex Media Server on your account appears to come from a service provider that hosts a significant number of Plex Media Servers that violate our Terms of Service."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-14 |title=Anyone else get this Plex notice? : r/Plex |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/16iqwf4/anyone_else_get_this_plex_notice/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-15 |website=Reddit |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250504045724/https://old.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/16iqwf4/anyone_else_get_this_plex_notice/ |archive-date=4 May 2025}}</ref> In this email, they announced that they were blocking Hetzner IP ranges, starting from October 12th.

==Consumer friendly alternatives==

[https://jellyfin.org/ Jellyfin]

==See also==

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 |Logo=Plex_logo.svg}}
-Plex Media Server is media server software, with associated clients, allowing users to host their own media server on their own hardware, in a Netflix-style interface. Originally forked from XBMC in 2007, the software allows users to specify their own existing media as source, such as movies, music, and photos, and have this easily accessible on various clients, including a web client that works on regular computers.
+Plex Media Server is media server software, with associated clients, allowing users to host their own media server on their own hardware, in a Netflix-style interface. Originally forked from XBMC in 2007, the software allows users to specify their own existing media as source, such as movies, music, and photos. Plex is easily accessible on various clients across multiple platforms, including a web client that works on regular computers.
 ==Consumer impact summary==
-For much of its existence,  Plex has offered a free service and a paid service. The paid service has featured such capabilities as multiple users, whereas the free service was limited to one user. Until April of 2025, both the paid and free tier of the server software allowed for users to access their media remotely (i.e. on a different network than their local/home one) on any client, assuming that the technical aspects had been configured correctly. Many users were disappointed with the decision to revoke free access to the remote streaming function and then sell it back to them.
+For much of its existence, Plex has offered both a free and paid service. The paid service allowed for multiple users on the server, whereas the free service was only limited to one user. Up until April of 2025, both the paid and free tier of the server software allowed for users to access their media remotely (i.e. on a different network than their local/home one) on any client, assuming that the technical aspects had been configured correctly. However, many users were disappointed to find out that Plex revoked free access to the remote streaming function and then tried selling it back to them.
 ==Incidents==
@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 ===Revocation of free remote access (''April 2025'')===
-In April of 2025, an announcement was made<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 Mar 2025 |title=Important 2025 Plex Updates |url=https://www.plex.tv/blog/important-2025-plex-updates/ |archive-url=https://archive.is/zsSN1 |archive-date=15 Aug 2025 |access-date=15 Aug 2025}}</ref> noting various changes. Of note, remote access would no longer be a free feature, and would require a remote access pass subscription. In addition, prices of the existing Plex Pass were increased.
+In April 2025, an announcement was made<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 Mar 2025 |title=Important 2025 Plex Updates |url=https://www.plex.tv/blog/important-2025-plex-updates/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260218193554/https://www.plex.tv/blog/important-2025-plex-updates/ |archive-date=18 Feb 2026|access-date=15 Aug 2025}}</ref> noting various changes. Of note, remote access would no longer be a free feature, and would require a Remote Watch Pass subscription. In addition, prices of the existing Plex Pass were increased.
+The change also affected users who had previously paid the one-time Android or iOS in-app activation fee. Rather than grandfathering those users into continued remote playback, Plex stated that they would only receive an extended trial of the new Remote Watch Pass subscription.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 Mar 2025 |title=Important 2025 Plex Updates |url=https://www.plex.tv/blog/important-2025-plex-updates/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260218193554/https://www.plex.tv/blog/important-2025-plex-updates/ |archive-date=18 Feb 2026 |access-date=8 Mar 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=29 Apr 2025 |title=Extended Trial Availability for Remote Watch Pass |url=https://support.plex.tv/articles/extended-remote-watch-pass-trial/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260324043300/https://support.plex.tv/articles/extended-remote-watch-pass-trial/ |archive-date=2026-03-24 |access-date=8 Mar 2026}}</ref> Plex's support articles for the legacy Android and iOS one-time activations also state that these in-app purchases cannot be refunded.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Unlocking or Activating Plex for Android |url=https://support.plex.tv/articles/203868088-unlocking-or-activating-plex-for-android/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260407202447/https://support.plex.tv/articles/203868088-unlocking-or-activating-plex-for-android/ |archive-date=2026-04-07 |access-date=8 Mar 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Unlocking or Activating Plex for iOS |url=https://support.plex.tv/articles/205556278-unlocking-or-activating-plex-for-ios/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260402104121/https://support.plex.tv/articles/205556278-unlocking-or-activating-plex-for-ios/ |archive-date=2026-04-02 |access-date=8 Mar 2026}}</ref>
 ===Banning media servers hosted on Hetzner (''September 2023'')===
 {{Main|Plex banning servers hosted on Hetzner}}
-In September 2023, Plex sent out an email to all customers on Hetzner IP addresses, stating that "the IP address associated with a Plex Media Server on your account appears to come from a service provider that hosts a significant number of Plex Media Servers that violate our Terms of Service"<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-14 |title=Anyone else get this Plex notice? : r/Plex |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/16iqwf4/anyone_else_get_this_plex_notice/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-15 |website=Reddit}}</ref>. In this email, they announced that they were blocking Hetzner IP ranges, starting from October 12th.
+In September 2023, Plex sent out an email to all customers on Hetzner IP addresses, stating that "the IP address associated with a Plex Media Server on your account appears to come from a service provider that hosts a significant number of Plex Media Servers that violate our Terms of Service."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-14 |title=Anyone else get this Plex notice? : r/Plex |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/16iqwf4/anyone_else_get_this_plex_notice/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-15 |website=Reddit |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250504045724/https://old.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/16iqwf4/anyone_else_get_this_plex_notice/ |archive-date=4 May 2025}}</ref> In this email, they announced that they were blocking Hetzner IP ranges, starting from October 12th.
+==Consumer friendly alternatives==
+[https://jellyfin.org/ Jellyfin]
 ==See also==