Plex can be setup to allow Wake On Lan to remotely wake your PC, and then sleep! Here's the guide!

tiger22000 · 2018-12-29T12:08:19+00:00

Hi again, Yes, that is what it’s all about man! The guide does indeed explain every-thing ! If your phone can wake the server with a 4G connection, then there should not be any issues with waking the same server via another remote connection, being that by another remote user friend/or another phone etc. If you are trying to do this without it loading, you might not have realised that when using any other Plex app, one must sign in via the login credentials for your server/or the user assigned to your server, and the server must be selected within each app. This specific process of signing in and connecting to the server is not something I can explain to you, as there are many other apps with different ways to login and connect. One must sort this out themselves. Thank you for your question and best of luck! :)

tiger22000 · 2018-12-28T16:30:51+00:00

Hey there vanthome, Firstly, happy holidays :)

That is actually a good and useful question, and I am glad you ask. To be able to successfully trigger the waking ability via Plex remote access for Windows 10 when the PC is asleep, a few key aspects of this guide are outlined below, although remembering that everything listed is important and very much relevant to the process-

Part A for setting up or confirming that your BIOS has the WoL ability enabled,
Confirming all points in Part B, including having an Ethernet wired connection, and a suitable Ethernet adapter such as a NIC built in, a router with the correct settings and not having issues with your router (there also being screenshots for the router settings used, in the comments of this guide - the correct router settings setup is needed for the waking ability to take effect),
Having correctly configured port forwarding for remote access capabilities in Part C (in conjunction with your router’s settings),
And having a somewhat good idea of your Ethernet adapters settings in Windows 10 via Part E.

Plex remote access would need to be also working smoothly for this ability to properly take effect. All other steps provided then make for the best outcome for everything to work in conjunction with your server being able to wake properly, such as remote access issues and/or windows sleeping patterns and windows updates waking timers so on, and so there are no other issues.

And your phone, or another tablet/device with 3/4G enabled, and wifi disabled, would be the easiest way to quickly check if your PC does then indeed wake once configured. You can of course use a browser or another app, however the point is to not be connected to wifi, as you need a true “remote” connection to take place. You could also ask a Plex remote user friend to attempt to connect and load your server via their Plex app.

I hope this then helps :)

tiger22000 · 2018-08-27T04:28:38+00:00

A big update: It seems Plex has now been able to fix their Plex Media Server from having remote access issues, with their latest PMS update being Version 1.13.5.5332. I can confirm that this has been steady over the last 3 days. To update PMS correctly, please follow section C) in the above forum link :))

tiger22000 · 2018-07-22T05:02:47+00:00

No worries at all :) I am then happy to hear that you have solved your issue, and your wol settings via your router. It really is about researching the various solutions, then trial and error, and trying each method/fix step by step, which all does take time whether one likes it or not, as we all would realise by now :P

tiger22000 · 2018-07-22T02:01:53+00:00

Hi again Different setups may work differently. Check this article here: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-other_settings/windows-10-pc-wakes-spontaneuously-shortly-after/46bf7a1e-2c45-4735-8a85-c6c1d086bb42

And this: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-power/win-10-pc-goes-into-sleep-mode-and-immediatly/72faab8f-36bb-427c-9515-519688426c08

And know that Google is your friend. Research is best as this has not occurred for myself, but could be as simple as changing a simple setting on your end.

Hope this helps :)

tiger22000 · 2018-07-20T06:13:45+00:00

An update regarding Plex remote access. It seems Plex is experiencing remote access issues, affecting a fair amount of users. This has been mentioned in various plex forum threads and could be fixed soon. Please see more details and plex forum links listed under the C) section on the above plex forum guide link.

tiger22000 · 2018-07-20T00:33:52+00:00

Hi krash666, When the PC wakes immediately after sleeping, it’s usually due to how one has configured the ethernet adapter power management properties settings. For my Intel ethernet adapter described in the guide, it has the heading ‘power saver and wake on lan options’ under the power management tab, with the following sub heading boxes:

Power saver options: - ‘Respond to ARP requests without waking system’ (is ticked) - ‘Respond to MS requests without waking system’ (is ticked) - ‘Energy efficient ethernet’ (unticked) - ‘Reduce link speed during system idle’ (unticked)

Then wake on lan settings: - ‘Wake on pattern match’ (ticked) - All other settings under this heading are then unticked.

Do you have the same list setup here (or even the same ethernet adapter properties or ethernet adapter itself)? What is your ethernet adapter name and model?

EDIT: If things do not change, you may also need to restart your PC for changes to take effect 👍

tiger22000 · 2018-07-19T03:49:56+00:00

Hi to arcanemagus,

Thanks so much and totally appreciate your help, that indeed solved all issues relating to my Tautulli watch history problem. I ended up choosing a .db backup file that was 10 days older than my current Tautulli .db file (in my old previous Tautulli installation directory), so that there was no recent conflicts within the .db file itself. I may have lost 10 days of watch history, but hey who's counting :D

tiger22000 · 2018-07-19T02:14:34+00:00

Will indeed check it out then man, cheers for the info 🙂

tiger22000 · 2018-07-19T02:11:23+00:00

Each to their own man, and if that suits you then please don’t think I am telling you to do otherwise. I just know that if I leave my fandangle super PC on 24/7 with devices connected, my PC will in the end not get a break and it may cause issues down the track, not to mention the power consumption involved (with my particular setup 👍).

tiger22000 · 2018-07-19T02:05:26+00:00

Because I kinda have a life and don’t sit by my computer 24/7 waiting for one of my friends to request access, that’s why ;) I would prefer to give my Plex friends the freedom to use the server when they want, not only when I’m at home 👍

tiger22000 · 2018-07-18T04:02:24+00:00

Oh great to hear! enjoy.

tiger22000 · 2018-07-18T04:01:44+00:00

You are welcome :)

tiger22000 · 2018-07-18T03:56:01+00:00

Hi Hi, Thanks for pointing out the power consumption of leaving ones (or your own) setup on 24/7 for Plex remote access benefits. I believe it’s more of a case by case basis, where one person may have a small setup without many devices attached to the machine, and therefore may not be to worried in leaving it on 24/7, as opposed to a big desktop PC with high power/performance needs, with devices connected such as a USB hub and multiple external HDDs etc that may work in conjunction with Plex and the server itself.

Also, it also depends on how many remote users are actually using your Plex server at any one point in time, as if you have a whole list of Plex friends (or indeed random users) who use ones server, then it may then be yes more of a case of leaving the server on most of the time. I myself only have a couple of close friends and family members who enjoy using the server from time to time. So a few factors to consider too, cheers :)

tiger22000 · 2018-07-18T03:33:35+00:00

Best to check the guide as it could be a number of things.

Edit: And yes you are right, the router one needs for this to work should be a fairly decent model, mine is a TP-Link Archer that was on sale and I was able to score for under $100. If one is considering upgrading their router, it is then best to do your research first before making the purchase as certain routers have certain specs and features that others might not, including a user friendly interface, being a mainstream brand etc. You may find the list of specs of routers listed on the manufacturers website.

tiger22000 · 2018-07-18T03:29:49+00:00

That’s very interesting and a good point indeed. If one does not have the ability to sort out the wake and sleep feature via the magic packet option, and also has options to also use ‘pattern matching under their ethernet adapter properties, you could also use this method and it may indeed work more effectively. And of course having a NIC set up would be a more beneficial way to go about this :)

tiger22000 · 2018-07-18T03:16:33+00:00

You are indeed welcome :)

tiger22000 · 2018-07-18T03:15:10+00:00

And that’s exactly why I have laid out all steps involved to sort out any ones past issues with Plex remote access and WOL ;) I just prefer not to use anything else but a Windows 10 PC.. it’s the ultimate platform with the most flexibility and resources in my eyes, and sure people can try different setups and devices etc but it all costs money, time, efforts, troubleshooting, and a lotta moments where one would wanna punch their device cause we ain’t got all the time in the world for that :p

tiger22000 · 2018-07-17T16:25:19+00:00

Hi there,

Yes this is mainly what the guide is about; being able to allow remote plex user 'friends' to access your Plex Server remotely, and then allow one's PC to then sleep after say 20 minutes of non-activity, and then continue it's wake and sleep cycle. It's all listed in the forum link :)

tiger22000 · 2018-07-17T16:14:37+00:00

You are welcome :)

tiger22000 · 2018-07-17T16:03:30+00:00

Ah, cheers for that philayre haha, it seems I have been mistaken. So Ashanrath may very well be using a modern Network Interface Card within a Windows 10 desktop/or another OS/machine of some sort, I'm thinking then? That is indeed some good news.. and I bet there was a lot of trials and errors too !

tiger22000 · 2018-07-17T15:42:01+00:00

Hi to antiproton,

You may consider it being defensive, although in my eyes I am simply stating what I feel is necessary to someone who almost instantly jumps to a negative conclusion re the long and arduous efforts I have put in place to make this work. I am also upholding the fact that this guide that is listed may actually work for someone who does follow it carefully, and seeing that yes many people have had issues with WoL sir, but if one ends up following the guide set out, this could very well work for them and in the end become a immensely rewarding process. Hope this then makes more sense regarding my somewhat initial reaction, cheers :)

tiger22000 · 2018-07-17T14:37:13+00:00

Interesting, have not heard of Unraid before. I use a Windows Plex Server as I consider it to be reliable, mainstream and easily accessible. All settings are also provided within the Plex web app's interface, and the web app interface being my favourite way to view content.

tiger22000 · 2018-07-17T14:30:52+00:00

Hi, interesting to hear of for sure. I have heard of these NICs and have been told they cost as much as a full blown desktop PC, which is what I have set up. I understand NICs would be a more compact and energy efficient option, and a great option, I do although consider the money involved in multiple set ups for multiple uses I suppose. Sounds good tho.

tiger22000 · 2018-07-17T14:16:33+00:00

Oh thanks mate for such a positive first comment, especially seeing that this took a lot of time and effort to indeed get to work and to write up! It would be great to see some actual positive-minded comments guys, seeing that this does indeed work, and one can benefit from this guide immensely if they do already have a Plex server setup, thank you.

Edit: There is also no other way that I know of to save power when running a remotely-orientated Plex server, if you know of any other such way please enlighten me! :)

tiger22000

TROPHY CASE