Plex Showing Local Playback as Remote

[pre5ton]

Hoping the experts here can help me. I have been working to get Plex operating through Gluetun so that it can be accessed remotely, as my ISP complicates things (T-Mobile). I was able to get Plex remote access working without issues, but realized today that local streaming is showing as being remote. I added "FIREWALL_OUTBOUND_SUBNETS=192.168.1.0/24" to the docker-compose and "route plex.tv 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.1" to the openvpn config file, but it's still showing local playback as remote.

LOGS

|       |   └── Allowed networks:
|       |       ├── 0.0.0.0/0
|       |       └── ::/0
|       └── DNS filtering settings:
|           ├── Block malicious: yes
|           ├── Block ads: no
|           ├── Block surveillance: no
|           └── Blocked IP networks:
|               ├── 127.0.0.1/8
|               ├── 10.0.0.0/8
|               ├── 172.16.0.0/12
|               ├── 192.168.0.0/16
|               ├── 169.254.0.0/16
|               ├── ::1/128
|               ├── fc00::/7
|               ├── fe80::/10
|               ├── ::ffff:7f00:1/104
|               ├── ::ffff:a00:0/104
|               ├── ::ffff:a9fe:0/112
|               ├── ::ffff:ac10:0/108
|               └── ::ffff:c0a8:0/112
├── Firewall settings:
|   ├── Enabled: yes
|   ├── VPN input ports:
|   |   └── 32400
|   └── Outbound subnets:
|       └── {192.168.1.0 ffffff00}
├── Log settings:
|   └── Log level: INFO
├── Health settings:
|   ├── Server listening address: 127.0.0.1:9999
|   ├── Target address: cloudflare.com:443
|   ├── Read header timeout: 100ms
|   ├── Read timeout: 500ms
|   └── VPN wait durations:
|       ├── Initial duration: 6s
|       └── Additional duration: 5s
├── Shadowsocks server settings:
|   └── Enabled: no
├── HTTP proxy settings:
|   └── Enabled: no
├── Control server settings:
|   ├── Listening address: :8000
|   └── Logging: yes
├── OS Alpine settings:
|   ├── Process UID: 1000
|   └── Process GID: 1000
├── Public IP settings:
|   ├── Fetching: every 12h0m0s
|   └── IP file path: /tmp/gluetun/ip
└── Version settings:
    └── Enabled: yes
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO [routing] default route found: interface eth0, gateway 172.19.0.1 and assigned IP 172.19.0.2
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO [routing] adding route for 0.0.0.0/0
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO [firewall] setting allowed subnets...
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO [routing] default route found: interface eth0, gateway 172.19.0.1 and assigned IP 172.19.0.2
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO [routing] adding route for 192.168.1.0/24
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO TUN device is not available: open /dev/net/tun: no such file or directory; creating it...
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO [pprof] http server listening on [::]:6060
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO [dns over tls] using plaintext DNS at address 1.1.1.1
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO [http server] http server listening on [::]:8000
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO [healthcheck] listening on 127.0.0.1:9999
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO [firewall] allowing VPN connection...
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO [openvpn] OpenVPN 2.5.6 x86_64-alpine-linux-musl [SSL (OpenSSL)] [LZO] [LZ4] [EPOLL] [MH/PKTINFO] [AEAD] built on Apr 17 2022
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO [openvpn] library versions: OpenSSL 1.1.1q  5 Jul 2022, LZO 2.10
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO [openvpn] TCP/UDP: Preserving recently used remote address: [AF_INET]64.188.16.131:1194
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO [openvpn] UDP link local: (not bound)
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO [openvpn] UDP link remote: [AF_INET]64.188.16.131:1194
2022-08-03T01:32:15Z INFO [openvpn] [lax-180.windscribe.com] Peer Connection Initiated with [AF_INET]64.188.16.131:1194
2022-08-03T01:32:21Z INFO [healthcheck] program has been unhealthy for 6s: restarting VPN
2022-08-03T01:32:21Z INFO [vpn] stopping
2022-08-03T01:32:21Z INFO [firewall] removing allowed port 32400...
2022-08-03T01:32:21Z INFO [vpn] starting
2022-08-03T01:32:21Z INFO [firewall] allowing VPN connection...
2022-08-03T01:32:21Z INFO [openvpn] OpenVPN 2.5.6 x86_64-alpine-linux-musl [SSL (OpenSSL)] [LZO] [LZ4] [EPOLL] [MH/PKTINFO] [AEAD] built on Apr 17 2022
2022-08-03T01:32:21Z INFO [openvpn] library versions: OpenSSL 1.1.1q  5 Jul 2022, LZO 2.10
2022-08-03T01:32:21Z INFO [openvpn] TCP/UDP: Preserving recently used remote address: [AF_INET]64.188.16.131:1194
2022-08-03T01:32:21Z INFO [openvpn] UDP link local: (not bound)
2022-08-03T01:32:21Z INFO [openvpn] UDP link remote: [AF_INET]64.188.16.131:1194
2022-08-03T01:32:21Z INFO [openvpn] [lax-180.windscribe.com] Peer Connection Initiated with [AF_INET]64.188.16.131:1194
2022-08-03T01:32:27Z INFO [openvpn] RESOLVE: Cannot resolve host address: plex.tv: (Try again)
2022-08-03T01:32:27Z INFO [openvpn] OpenVPN ROUTE: failed to parse/resolve route for host/network: plex.tv
2022-08-03T01:32:27Z INFO [openvpn] TUN/TAP device tun0 opened
2022-08-03T01:32:27Z INFO [openvpn] /sbin/ip link set dev tun0 up mtu 1500
2022-08-03T01:32:27Z INFO [openvpn] /sbin/ip link set dev tun0 up
2022-08-03T01:32:27Z INFO [openvpn] /sbin/ip addr add dev tun0 10.118.218.28/23
2022-08-03T01:32:27Z INFO [openvpn] UID set to nonrootuser
2022-08-03T01:32:27Z INFO [openvpn] Initialization Sequence Completed
2022-08-03T01:32:27Z INFO [firewall] setting allowed input port 32400 through interface tun0...
2022-08-03T01:32:27Z INFO [dns over tls] downloading DNS over TLS cryptographic files
2022-08-03T01:32:28Z INFO [healthcheck] healthy!
2022-08-03T01:32:28Z INFO [dns over tls] downloading hostnames and IP block lists
2022-08-03T01:32:42Z INFO [dns over tls] init module 0: validator
2022-08-03T01:32:42Z INFO [dns over tls] init module 1: iterator
2022-08-03T01:32:42Z INFO [dns over tls] start of service (unbound 1.15.0).
2022-08-03T01:32:43Z INFO [dns over tls] generate keytag query _ta-4a5c-4f66. NULL IN
2022-08-03T01:32:43Z INFO [dns over tls] generate keytag query _ta-4a5c-4f66. NULL IN
2022-08-03T01:32:43Z INFO [dns over tls] ready
2022-08-03T01:32:44Z INFO [vpn] You are running on the bleeding edge of latest!
2022-08-03T01:32:44Z INFO [ip getter] Public IP address is 64.188.16.XXX (United States, California, Los Angeles)

Docker Compose

version: "3"
services:
  gluetun:
    image: qmcgaw/gluetun
    cap_add:
      - NET_ADMIN
    environment:
      - VPN_SERVICE_PROVIDER=custom
      - VPN_TYPE=openvpn
      - OPENVPN_USER=zhv1cdto-4
      - OPENVPN_PASSWORD=a2kn
      - FIREWALL_VPN_INPUT_PORTS=32400
      - OPENVPN_CUSTOM_CONFIG=/gluetun/custom.conf
      - FIREWALL_OUTBOUND_SUBNETS=192.168.1.0/24
      - OPENVPN_CIPHERS=aes-256-gcm
      - OPENVPN_AUTH=sha512
      
    volumes:
      - type: bind
        source: /srv/dev-disk-by-uuid-3a655689-0475-47aa-ad1a-77edd00d29b6/appdata/gluetun/custom2.ovpn
        target: /gluetun/custom.conf
    ports:
      - 32400:32400
    hostname: gluetun

OVPN Config

client
dev tun
proto udp
remote 64.188.16.131 1194
verify-x509-name lax-180.windscribe.com name

nobind
auth-user-pass

resolv-retry infinite

cipher AES-256-GCM
ncp-ciphers AES-256-GCM:AES-256-CBC:AES-128-GCM
auth SHA512

verb 2
mute-replay-warnings
remote-cert-tls server
persist-key
persist-tun
route plex.tv 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.1

key-direction 1
<ca>

[qdm12]

Hi there! Sorry for the extreme delay, I'm a bit lagging behind the popularity of this project 😸

What's the problem with the plex playback being as remote? How do you access your plex server?

If it's accessed through the vpn ip, then it should be as remote. If you access it through the port mapping, I'm not 100% sure how plex handles this remote detection.

From my personal experience, Plex shows as local playback despite being accessed very remotely through http proxies, even from outside my home. So it might just be plain wrong I guess.

A few additional notes:

• you should use a proxy with tls like caddy to have plex encrypted over https. Otherwise your plex clients to vpn ip data is not encrypted. Depending on your country/laws it can be useful to encrypt.
• If you're using Windscribe you can just use the native support in gluetun (see the wiki page on Windscribe) and pass additional openvpn options using OPENVPN_FLAGS.

[GamerKingFaiz]

I had sorta the opposite problem. All my traffic (even local) was going over the private VPS I set up with wireguard, meaning even when streaming on my local network, it would use ISP bandwidth. Interestingly Plex was categorizing it all as local still.

I fixed this by setting the following settings in Plex Server > Settings > Network (click show advanced):

1. Set "LAN Networks" to 192.168.0.0/16
   • This encompasses both my local network (192.168.1.0/24) and the Gluetun network (192.168.128.0/24)
2. Set "Custom server access URLs" to http://192.168.1.3:32400,http://1.2.3.4:32400
   • My local Plex is at http://192.168.1.3:32400
   • My VPS with Wireguard that Plex is tunneling through is at http://1.2.3.4:32400

Now local devices don't go out to the internet (no wasting bandwidth/data) and external devices can still access Plex (even though I'm behind a CGNAT). Mission success! Thank you Quentin for this software!