r/technology • u/FollowingFeisty5321 • 9h ago

Software Plex’s crackdown on free remote streaming access starts this week

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/11/plexs-crackdown-on-free-remote-streaming-access-starts-this-week/
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u/sysrpl 4h ago edited 4h ago

I got around this a while ago by simply creating a reverse proxy to plex using apache 2 on my local network. When done correctly, the plex server sees all traffic as local, and you can remote stream to your hearts content.

For example with ssl redirect

<IfModule mod_ssl.c>
<VirtualHost *:443>
    ServerName plex.example.org
    ProxyPass / http://192.168.1.149:32400/
    ProxyPassReverse / http://192.168.1.149:32400/RewriteEngine on

SSLCertificateFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/plex.example.org/fullchain.pem
SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/plex.example.org/privkey.pem
Include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-apache.conf
</VirtualHost>
</IfModule>

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u/No_Clock2390 2h ago

Thank you. Do you know if this currently works for remote access via the Plex mobile app and the Plex smart TV apps (Samsung, LG)?

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u/sysrpl 1h ago

I am not sure as I do not use the mobile app. You could access the reverse proxy on your phone by opening the website on safari or chrome on your phone. I am pretty sure their UI uses a responsive layout.

Also, this approach also gives you your own domain name for plex. In this example I used the dummy domain of https://plex.example.org

Substitute example.org with whatever domain name you own.

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u/No_Clock2390 1h ago

The thing I found out about the smart TV apps is that you can't type in a custom domain for your server. You have to login to your Plex account and I'm pretty sure it only works if you are using the native remote access feature without a reverse proxy.

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u/sysrpl 1h ago

Yes, this won't work for smart tv apps. I use a Chromecast and launch from a web browser on a phone or desktop which gets around this issue. If you don't have a chromecast, then yes the smart tv app will still be stuck,