Sl00kMar 19, 2025

Plex is locking remote streaming behind a subscription in April

https://programming.dev/post/27204525

Plex is locking remote streaming behind a subscription in April - programming.dev

> We are also changing how remote playback works for streaming personal media (that is, playback when not on the same local network as the server). The reality is that we need more resources to continue putting forth the best personal media experience, and as a result, we will no longer offer remote playback as a free feature. This—alongside the new Plex Pass pricing—will help provide those resources. This change will apply to the future release of our new Plex experience for mobile and other platforms.

Show threadJasSmith
I’m seeing a lot of negativity but I think they offer a great service and deserve to be paid for their work. I bought a lifetime pass many years ago and I almost feel guilty how much value I have received over that time.
Mar 20, 2025 at 9:56amWeb
Show threadprofessionalvirginMar 20, 2025
ur getting what u paid for, why the guilt
Show threadJasSmithMar 20, 2025
I feel like I’m getting more than what I paid for. I understand it was a legal contractual exchange. I’m merely commenting on the value I’ve received relative to what I paid. Especially given the continued improvements over time.
Show threadUncut_LemonMar 20, 2025

You need an internet connection to connect to a offline LAN Plex server… Just so unessessery, otherwise it doesn’t find your server (I was quite confused on that one, when that started happening) Plus having to pay for multiple user accounts, all just seemed like it was heading towards user extortion. It also lacked hardware transcoding at that point in time, which isn’t a huge issue, but did make it harder to run if you had a client that didn’t support a specific codec.

While jellyfin requires zero internet to be functional and login, supported hardware transcoding before plex and has multiple user accounts usage out of the box, at zero cost.

Show threadremonMar 20, 2025

You need an internet connection to connect to a offline LAN Plex server

Not true.

Show threadUncut_LemonMar 21, 2025
If you say so, but my clients started refusing to locate my Lan server, but worked fine once I logged into my Plex account. I’ve never struggled since moving to jellyfin. No chance I’ll ever go back to Plex
Show threadremonMar 21, 2025
I might be a problem if you are logged out of your plex account while offline. But I didn’t have to login for years on either of my clients. You can also give special access to local IP addresses on LAN to ignore authentication. But yeah, that’s a bit hidden in the settings.
Show threadJasSmithMar 20, 2025

One does not need an internet connection for offline use. Check this if you’re having issues.

One does not need to pay for multiple user accounts. As per this update, they are actually removing the one-time fee for non family member mobile apps. Now it’s all free, provided the server owner has a Plex Pass.

Plex has been supporting hardware transcoding since 2017.

[HowTo] Use Plex with No Internet

I’ve seen far too many posts regarding “can’t connect to Plex with no internet”, and an uprising/outcry always ensues. It eventually settles down, but the lack of single point resources can be frustrating. I’ve been there, no internet - can’t google anything from a computer so a phone will have to do, but navigating through results and trying “solutions” can be daunting. I’m creating this How-To to help alleviate those posts and help everyone access their servers when the net is down. Couple of ...

Plex Forum
Show threadUncut_LemonMar 21, 2025

Lol, I’m the server owner, so I am expected to pay to allow multiple accounts. Which is my exact complaint.

I had issue with offline usage, and found, with time, it only got worse. My lan clients eventually stopped showing my server unless I logged into my Plex account first. Maybe things changed since, my experience, Plex became overly dependant on a connection to their servers.

To little to late, I’ve since moved to Jellyfin, which solved my frustrations. I have no interest in moving back to Plex.