Plex integration: "Unable to play '[track]' - the connection to Plex was lost"

  • 1 December 2021
  • 40 replies
  • 2990 views
T
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Sonos version: 11.2.13

Plex version: 1.25.0.5282 (same issue encountered with 1.24.x.x)

Plex running in Docker container on an HP MicroServer serving music stored on same server. Plex app works fine and can browse/stream music from internal LAN and from outside LAN. Sonos app can browse music on Plex fine.

Until recently, I’ve been able to stream Plex music to SONOS without issues. It stopped working a couple of days ago. A new Plex update became available today and I’ve tried that with no success.

 

Problem description:

I believe the following are related issues as they started at the same time.

Variant 1:

Using the SONOS appFind and select track from Plex. When Sonos attempts to play track it reports error:

Unable to play track '<track name>' - the connection to Plex was lost.

Variant 2:

Using the Plex web app, the cast locates SONOS boxes but when trying to connect reports:

Playback Error
An error occurred loading the media being played on "<sonos device>".

 

Expected behaviour:

SONOS plays music as expected. Plex app is able to connect to and stream music to SONOS device.

 

Troubleshooting so far:

  • No errors detected in Plex logs
  • Tried rebooting all network devices
  • Tried reauthorising Plex with Sonos
  • Tried removing/re-adding Plex in Sonos (including removing app approval in Plex)

As far as I can tell, my network is fine. I was able to play tracks the other day and can’t play anything now. Plex app works as it should so don’t think the problem is there. I’ve run out of ideas to try now, and have been unable to get through to the support chat

Does SONOS or anyone else have any idea where I can go from here?

Thanks in advance.

40 replies

Ken_Griffiths

Chiming in to say I have the same issue as described above. It’s intermittent: from the Sonos app (S2 everything) I can browse music from Plex and start an album. Sometimes the whole album will show the error, one after another. Sometimes just a few songs, then randomly it will start playing one. Sometimes no issue.

I’m not on Plume, but Unifi.

Maybe try the Sonos system setup in SonosNet mode by wiring one Sonos device to your primary unifi Hub/Router and see if that may perhaps resolve the intermittent issue for you.

C

Chiming in to say I have the same issue as described above. It’s intermittent: from the Sonos app (S2 everything) I can browse music from Plex and start an album. Sometimes the whole album will show the error, one after another. Sometimes just a few songs, then randomly it will start playing one. Sometimes no issue.

I’m not on Plume, but Unifi.

Corry P
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Hi @Ken_Griffiths 

Fantastic! Glad to hear it! Thanks for updating the thread.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
Ken_Griffiths

We are unable to reproduce this issue. This is good for other users, but it makes it harder for us to help you all here.

@Ken_Griffiths - I’m told you have a different issue than the others - no NAT Loopback will prevent Plex from working.

@pwt & @timmyc - Could you please let me know your current Plex server network settings.

Just to briefly mention, I did liaise with Plume support over the (on-going) NAT loopback issue and now with the latest Plex server update too and assistance from Plume, I have Plex now working on all platforms including Sonos and can at last enjoy my Plex lifetime pass.

Great for when travelling/camping around the UK to be able to access my home music/media library and play to the Roam (or Move). So all’s well that ends well.👍

Corry P
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Hi @pwt  

Yes, still not working for me. Latest versions of everything.

That’s unfortunate. If you happen to find anything out about what’s going on, please update us here. Thanks.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
pwt
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Hi @timmyc 

I’m glad to hear that the issue, for you at least, now seems to be resolved - thanks for sharing those details, and for updating us all here.

Is anyone still able to reproduce this issue after reboots and updates?

Yes, still not working for me. Latest versions of everything.

4 x P:5 | Sub | 4 x P:1 | 3 x Connect | 2 x Boost | Connect:Amp | 2 x One | Amp | Move | Port
Corry P
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Hi @timmyc 

I’m glad to hear that the issue, for you at least, now seems to be resolved - thanks for sharing those details, and for updating us all here.

Is anyone still able to reproduce this issue after reboots and updates?

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
T
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Apologies for the delay responding.

I’ve just tested this issue again and I can no longer reproduce this either, despite the problem persisting for months previously with various versions. Seems like something has changed in the Plex/Sonos integration or something that was cached has expired (I’d restarted everything multiple times previously to no avail).

For reference, I’ve been running Plex in a Docker container on an Ubuntu server. External port access and NAT hairpinning are all fine.

I forgot to note what version of Plex I was running before, but it started working there. I’ve just updated to 1.25.6.5577 (which only has ‘preferred’ and ‘required’ as secure connection options) and it works in Plex internally (e.g. 192.168.x.x), in Plex externally (e.g. 80.x.x.x), via app.plex.tv and from Sonos. i.e. all seems to work everywhere so looks to have been resolved. For me, at least…

pwt
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My tier 2 colleague is now trying with the official Plex container as he wasn’t utilising it. 

Which made no difference. Still unable to reproduce.

@pwt would you mind creating a new test container with a new instance of Plex in it and test if that fails too?

I can do that, but not for some time, because I need to test using my remote Sonos S1 system, which is installed at a different property.

If I get time, I might flip my local S1 system onto a different network to the Plex server, and use that for testing.

I do appreciate you & your colleagues taking time to look into this.

4 x P:5 | Sub | 4 x P:1 | 3 x Connect | 2 x Boost | Connect:Amp | 2 x One | Amp | Move | Port
Ken_Griffiths

We are unable to reproduce this issue. This is good for other users, but it makes it harder for us to help you all here.

@Ken_Griffiths - I’m told you have a different issue than the others - no NAT Loopback will prevent Plex from working.

Thank-you for looking into this issue @Corry P. that’s much appreciated👍. I will continue to press Plume to have the option to enable ‘Nat Loopback’ on their router. Plume have been canvassed about the issue previously and by others too, so I’ll see how that goes.

There are other ways to play the same music on Sonos, so it’s not a bother, other than perhaps the time spent trying to eventually get to the crux of the matter.

Corry P
Userlevel 7
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My tier 2 colleague is now trying with the official Plex container as he wasn’t utilising it. 

Which made no difference. Still unable to reproduce.

@pwt would you mind creating a new test container with a new instance of Plex in it and test if that fails too?

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
Corry P
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Thanks. Just to check: you’re testing using an S1 Sonos system?

If so, this is really odd. It used to work perfectly, but stopped doing so several months ago, despite no changes in networks or other relevant configuration settings -- other than normal software updates to Sonos and Plex.

I did wonder if it might be as simple as a certificate expiry, but if you’re not able to reproduce the issue, it’s not that.

Yes - S1.

My tier 2 colleague is now trying with the official Plex container as he wasn’t utilising it. 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
pwt
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Hi @pwt

It’s in a container, running with ‘--net=host’, so it should behave from a networking perspective as if it’s running directly on the host.

And we’re doing the same. We still can’t reproduce the issue - though it seems related to SSL. 

Hopefully, more information will come to light soon. Until then, being unable to reproduce, we’re unable to continue.

Thanks. Just to check: you’re testing using an S1 Sonos system?

If so, this is really odd. It used to work perfectly, but stopped doing so several months ago, despite no changes in networks or other relevant configuration settings -- other than normal software updates to Sonos and Plex.

I did wonder if it might be as simple as a certificate expiry, but if you’re not able to reproduce the issue, it’s not that.

4 x P:5 | Sub | 4 x P:1 | 3 x Connect | 2 x Boost | Connect:Amp | 2 x One | Amp | Move | Port
Corry P
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Hi @pwt

It’s in a container, running with ‘--net=host’, so it should behave from a networking perspective as if it’s running directly on the host.

And we’re doing the same. We still can’t reproduce the issue - though it seems related to SSL. 

Hopefully, more information will come to light soon. Until then, being unable to reproduce, we’re unable to continue.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
pwt
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Hi @pwt 

Thanks for that. Yes, we tested a speaker on a mobile hotspot connecting via LTE to the Plex server. Our Plex settings match yours, and Strict TLS doesn’t appear to make any difference.

Are you running the native Plex server, or on a Docker Container?

It’s in a container, running with ‘--net=host’, so it should behave from a networking perspective as if it’s running directly on the host.

4 x P:5 | Sub | 4 x P:1 | 3 x Connect | 2 x Boost | Connect:Amp | 2 x One | Amp | Move | Port
Corry P
Userlevel 7
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Hi @pwt 

Thanks for that. Yes, we tested a speaker on a mobile hotspot connecting via LTE to the Plex server. Our Plex settings match yours, and Strict TLS doesn’t appear to make any difference.

Are you running the native Plex server, or on a Docker Container?

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
pwt
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We are unable to reproduce this issue. This is good for other users, but it makes it harder for us to help you all here.

...

@pwt & @timmyc - Could you please let me know your current Plex server network settings?

Thanks.

Did you test access from an S1 system to an external Plex server, i.e., one on a different network to the Sonos system? I have no issues when my Sonos systems are on the same network, with either S1 or S2.

Note also that all the native Plex clients connect without problems when remote.

I’ve attached the network and remote access settings as screenshots below. I have port 32400 on my router forwarded to the Plex server.

Now, looking at the ‘Strict TLS configuration’ setting (an option I don’t remember seeing in the past), I’m wondering whether relaxing this would fix the problem. Unfortunately, I can’t test it at the moment.

 

4 x P:5 | Sub | 4 x P:1 | 3 x Connect | 2 x Boost | Connect:Amp | 2 x One | Amp | Move | Port
Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

We are unable to reproduce this issue. This is good for other users, but it makes it harder for us to help you all here.

@Ken_Griffiths - I’m told you have a different issue than the others - no NAT Loopback will prevent Plex from working.

@pwt & @timmyc - Could you please let me know your current Plex server network settings? Thanks.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @pwt and @Ken_Griffiths 

Thanks for those diagnostics - I’ve forwarded them to our engineers who will investigate the issue.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
Ken_Griffiths

Others online have suggested to me to actually bridge the Plume pods as Wifi access points and switch back to using the ISP router instead, which is a VM Hub-6ax and should support NAT loopback (perhaps). It appears others have had success with this, but I prefer to stick with the Plume service at the moment because of other things that their service provides - I can still use the Plex service with Sonos through the native Plex App - it’s only the Sonos in-built plex service that does not work for me.

I think I’m just going to have to live with the issue, but would be nice if Sonos/Plume could resolve the matter and allow the service to work in the same/similar way as the Plex App itself. I have written to Plume Support too in the (now-distant) past.

Ken_Griffiths

Researching online has led me to think the issue is possibly related to my router in my own case, which is ‘Plume WiFi’ and the suggestion from others, is that my router does not support ‘NAT Loopback’ and that is blocking the Sonos service from working. 

A passing observation: Unless the Plume is in bridge mode you’ll be in double NAT. Forwarding inbound traffic therefore wouldn’t work, at least without jumping through some extra hoops.

The ISP supplied router is in ‘modem mode’. So no bridge/double-NAT.

ratty

Researching online has led me to think the issue is possibly related to my router in my own case, which is ‘Plume WiFi’ and the suggestion from others, is that my router does not support ‘NAT Loopback’ and that is blocking the Sonos service from working. 

A passing observation: Unless the Plume is in bridge mode you’ll be in double NAT, assuming there’s an ISP router. Forwarding inbound traffic therefore wouldn’t work, at least without jumping through some extra hoops.

Ken_Griffiths

Exact same  issue/error message for me too @pwt 

Diagnostic: 380152644

I have plex pass and have forwarded TCP port 32400, using UPnP (and have tried the port manually forwarded too). The online server access/share is confirmed on the Plex server as working and has the green check-mark.

The Plex server software is bang up-to-date on the NAS .

The native Plex App works absolutely fine for me both locally and remotely and finds all my Sonos products on the LAN. I can ‘connect’ to a Sonos room and play tracks from my plex server library with no issues at all from the Plex app itself.

The same NAS (plex) library is accessible locally too as a Sonos (SMB) library aswell and that sharing method works fine via a Sonos App Library share. 

I can goto a track/album in the Plex native App and play it on a Sonos Room and see the track/Album in the Sonos App room queue and all plays fine, but as soon as I go via the in-built Plex service in the Sonos App (even selecting the same track/album) I always get the error message ‘the connection to Plex was lost’. I can browse the Albums and on selection the Album tracks will even all load to the chosen room queue but then it just doesn’t play.

Researching online has led me to think the issue is possibly related to my router in my own case, which is ‘Plume WiFi’ and the suggestion from others, is that my router does not support ‘NAT Loopback’ and that is blocking the Sonos service from working. I just haven’t been able to confirm this with anyone. Nor can I find a way (yet) to resolve the matter.

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pwt
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Hi @timmyc 

Would you please submit a diagnostic and reply here with the number given immediately after recreating this issue? Thanks. 

Thanks for taking a look at this.

Here’s a diagnostic from my S1 system, connecting to a remote Plex server: 517105511

This diagnostic is taken just after a search in Plex for an album (successful), followed by three unsuccessful attempts to play a track from the album with the error message: “Unable to play 'Breakwater House' - the connection to Plex was lost.”

4 x P:5 | Sub | 4 x P:1 | 3 x Connect | 2 x Boost | Connect:Amp | 2 x One | Amp | Move | Port
Corry P
Userlevel 7
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Hi @timmyc 

Would you please submit a diagnostic and reply here with the number given immediately after recreating this issue? Thanks. 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein

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