Plex unable to access internally but can access externally

[itchiTrigger]

Well codemaster, if it's someone who knows what he is talking about, its Joshua. Your in good hands. Post back when you get a chance to get the 2nd instance of PMS going in the new jail. I'd like to know how you make out with everything.

 

[jadechessink]

Hello Code master, under the remote access portion of plex media server settings, does it show that you are connected to public internet, if so can you see the advanced settings and put the public ip address and port into the web browser ( example: 123.456.789.101:32400/web/index.html), and if you are not getting anything from that, can you try and add https:// infront of it? a very recent update to plex turned on SSL which if enabled wont allow you to access the webgui ip without https:// in front of it.

 

[codemaster]

Hello Code master, under the remote access portion of plex media server settings, does it show that you are connected to public internet, if so can you see the advanced settings and put the public ip address and port into the web browser ( example: 123.456.789.101:32400/web/index.html), and if you are not getting anything from that, can you try and add https:// infront of it? a very recent update to plex turned on SSL which if enabled wont allow you to access the webgui ip without https:// in front of it.

Oh yeah that's right! I forgot about the SSL. I'll try that once I get home.

 

[itchiTrigger]

Why would that affect only his PLEX?? I had no SSL trouble at all?

 

[jadechessink]

Hey itchiTriGgeR, if the secure connection is set as required, you will see the issue codemaster is referring to, the fact that he can still access it from plex.tv and the time frame of his issue, makes this scenario the most likely. if his plex is up and running and he is able to access it from the website and it works 100% then that means that his server is functioning and it is properly reaching out to the internet, if there was an issue with plex or the network, this would likely not be the case, accessing his server from plex.tv auto negotiates the certificate for the secure connection. i could be 100% wrong here, but its a simple and good suggestion that codemaster has yet to try.

 

[codemaster]

Ok well here's some new interesting finds. When I put https:// in front of the ip address it comes up. However for some reason even though Plex is showing as being secure because of the lock next to my server the https:// is definitely crossed out.

 

[danb35]

The https:// is probably crossed out because of issues with the SSL certificate. If you click on the lock, it should explain what the issues are.

 

[jadechessink]

Hey codemaster, danb35 is correct, when the https is crossed out it means the the website is insecure, that is simply because the ssl certificate is not loaded, you dont have this issue when you go through plex.tv, as i posted previously, the website auto negotiates the certificate for secure connection.

 

[danb35]

Well, not exactly. If you're using https, your connection to the website is secure in that it's encrypted. However, your browser has some problems/concerns with the SSL certificate from the server. In the case of Plex, the concern is most likely that the cert was issued to *.somelonghexnumber.plex.direct, while you're accessing it with your IP address. The host names don't match (which in some contexts could mean that an attacker is trying a MITM attack), so your browser throws an error. There are a number of other issues that could result in seeing the https:// crossed out, but this is the most likely cause in this case.

 

[cyberjock]

Well, not exactly. If you're using https, your connection to the website is secure in that it's encrypted. However, your browser has some problems/concerns with the SSL certificate from the server. In the case of Plex, the concern is most likely that the cert was issued to *.somelonghexnumber.plex.direct, while you're accessing it with your IP address. The host names don't match (which in some contexts could mean that an attacker is trying a MITM attack), so your browser throws an error. There are a number of other issues that could result in seeing the https:// crossed out, but this is the most likely cause in this case.

That't not entirely correct either.

If you're using https, youre connection to the website is encrypted (but not necessarily secure). The reason why it may not be secure depends on what the problem with the SSL certificate.

Generally if your SSL cert isn't valid it is most commonly because either the cert is expired, the cert doesn't match the hostname you are trying to visit, or its a self-signed cert.

 

[codemaster]

Any ideas as to how I can resolve the https:// being crossed out issue? Still new to all of this.

 

[danb35]

There's nothing to resolve.

 

[itchiTrigger]

If you really hate it, you can change 'required' to 'preferred' in settings - Network

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[jadechessink]

Hey codemaster, you can go into plex, click settings, then server, then network, then change the secure connections setting to preferred instead of required.

 

[codemaster]

I'd like it to be "required". However, what's the main difference between changing it to preferred instead of required. Especially since the main reason for having SSL on is to be more secure so if it's only set as preferred why have it on if the connection won't be secure all of the time? Just wondering =)

 

[danb35]

The name on the certificate does not match, and will not match, the hostname or IP address of your Plex installation on your LAN. Therefore, if you're accessing your Plex Web server via SSL, you'll get the SSL error (line through https://, broken lock, red background, or whatever other indications your browser gives). This is fundamental to HTTPS, and I don't believe it can be bypassed, though this is something that would depend on your browser. It is, however, only cosmetic--your connection is still there and encrypted, and you can communicate as desired.

If you have "secure connections" set to "required", you can only connect to the Plex Web server via SSL, so you'll always have the SSL error. If you set it to "preferred", you'll be able to connect without SSL, and thus you wouldn't see that error.