R9000 : Plex server : Not available outside your network
I'm not sure whether this is a Plex issue or a Nighthawk issue, so I'm posting in both community forums.
Does anybody have external access to the Plex server on their Netgear Nighthawk X10 R9000 wireless router?
My router is running Router Firmware Version V1.0.5.24 and Plex version 1.19.5.3112-b23ab3896 Sep 29, 2020. Plex works beautifully in-network; i.e. inside the home. However, I cannot access the Plex server outside of my home network. In the Plex Web App, the server's Remote Access tab says Not available outside your network. The interesting thing is that it shows my Public IP address for both the Private and Public addresses.
I've followed all the Plex troubleshooting guides I could find, and I've confirmed that I'm not having issues with Double-NAT, and I'm not on Xfinity, so I'm not experiencing any xFi issues. I've toggled UPnP off and on, but to no avail. I've also (for kicks) tried manually specifying the default public port. (Of course, since my Plex server is running on the router, I can't forward 32400/TCP to itself.)
Any ideas? I'd love to hear from anyone that has their external Plex configuration working.
With regards to the troubleshooting guide, I've confirmed that UPnP is on (I toggled it off and then on again, just in case). Since my server is the router, itself, I cannot configure manual port forwarding to it. The router does not allow a target of itself for forwarded ports. Because it's the router, it has a static IP address. What I find interesting is that Plex shows both the internal/private and external/public addresses as the same (instead of 192.168.1.1 for internal and the public IP for external). Lastly, when I curl ifconfig.co or hit myexternalip.com or any other public IP reporting site, I get the same IP address assigned to my router's WAN port, so I'm fairly certain I'm not dealing with a double-NAT issue.
I've got a Gig connection on Spectrum; the cablemodem is a Motorola E31T2V1 in bridged mode, if anyone thinks it matters.
I'm really lookig forward to any information that will allow me to access my Plex server media from outside my home network.
Re: R9000 : Plex server : Not available outside your network
Hi @plemans , I keep losing my post. Let me try it without the code blocks and screenshot.
I hadn’t tried accessing my Plex Media Server (PMS) from outside until last weekend, so I can’t say if remote access to the PMS content ever worked. Considering the present issues, I would guess it never did. I’m now fairly certain that I’m looking at a router configuration issue, rather than a Plex issue.
When I run a portqry from inside my home network, the router is listening on 32400/tcp. However, when I run the equivalent netcat from outside my home network, the router is not listening on 32400/tcp. Therefore, it makes sense that the Plex content is unavailable remotely.
I'm still suspicious of the IP address configuration in the Plex Media Server - R9000 Remote Access tab. It shows that the Private IP address is the same as the Public IP address. Since the router is hosting the PMS, the Private IP address should be 192.168.1.1, not the Public IP address bound to the router's WAN interface.
I'm well beyond my warranty period, so I can't get support from Netgear. /sigh
Re: R9000 : Plex server : Not available outside your network
No signs here of a workable open port 32400/TCP on the WAN/Internet interface on the R9000, too. Must admit have rolled back to regain shell access (of course).
Have you tried a simple factory reset and reinstall?
No, I haven't tried a factory reset. I spent way too much time last week on this. I may try a reset next week.
With so many video sources availble (Fire TV Recast, Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, etc.), I may just consider the Plex solution a home-only solution; after all, I've had this capability for years, and I only tried it out last weekend. I also have a Plex Media Server on my Shield TV Pro, but I never tried using it, because I keep an always-on VPN connection on it, so I know I'd be looking at a double-NAT situation on it. Maybe, I'll turn off the VPN, since I don't use the other video source often, or maybe I'll install a Plex Media Server on one of my Fire TV Sticks.
I hate to let this thing beat me, but I've got options, so I'm not going to get consumed by it. LOL Thanks for your support!
No signs here of a workable open port 32400/TCP on the WAN/Internet interface on the R9000, too. Must admit have rolled back to regain shell access (of course).
But do you have remote access to your Plex media content?
"Rolled back to regain shell access." SSH shell access? How do you get that? I've often wished I had command-line access to the router for quick, simple actions.
No signs here of a workable open port 32400/TCP on the WAN/Internet interface on the R9000, too. Must admit have rolled back to regain shell access (of course).
But do you have remote access to your Plex media content?
"Rolled back to regain shell access." SSH shell access?
How do you get that? I've often wished I had command-line access to the router for quick, simple actions.
Head to https.//netgear.com/support then R9000, Downloads ... show previous versions. Fetch V1.0.5.8 when I have it right, unzip the archive, and manually upload it using the R9000 Web UI. Following the reboot, access the router from a web browser e.g. http.//routerlogin.com/debug.htm or http://192.168.1.1/debug.htm where you can temporarely enable telnet access.
