Using Emby WITHOUT Internet

[DPILabs 2]

Hello,

I'm making the move over from using PLEX for years to Emby.

Plex has seemed to work well for me over the years but stopped dead trying to get it to work well on my Boat.

 

The issue is that we do not have internet connection on the boat. Hence why wanting a media server.

Unfortunately Plex needs to "Phone Home" every so often so it just breaks the whole system. The worst part is it just says some random error or won't load, when in fact it just needs to be logged back in, which needs internet.

 

A friend told me that Emby does not need internet connection.

I purchased an Emby premiere license and waiting for the activation code to arrive.

Just wanted to reach out on here to find out if anyone else is using Emby in an OFFLINE only style and what I may need to do or watch out for.

 

A couple of questions:

1. Can emby in Fact run 100% offline

2. Is there anything I need to do to get it ready for offline use

3. Will I ever get a stupid login error if offline

4. I understand I will need internet for downloading media art etc, but is it possible to have this data downloaded on a home machine that has internet and move the hard drive or something over to the "offline" server on my boat so will never have to have the boat server ever touch the web.

 

Thanks and hope emby works for me!

[Abobader 2952]

Hello DPILabs,

** This is an auto reply **

Please wait for someone from staff support or our members to reply to you.

It's recommended to provide more info, as it explain in this thread:

Thank you.

Emby Team

[GrimReaper 3320]

Hey up, 

Wrote a longish posts few months back, I reckon you'll find most of the answers there (click arrow top-right):

 

One thing worth of note, though: while Emby can run completely offline - and doing it in a great manner - it cannot do it indefinitely as Premiere license will have to be verified every so often, AFAIK it'll run on cached license for about three weeks at the most. But, depending on your choice of clients and your needs, Premiere license ain't actually required at all, in which case it will run offline with no time limit whatsoever. 

Edited March 11, 2022 by GrimReaper
Typo

[DPILabs 2]

Thanks for the quick reply. 

 

I'll read your post, however your summary has me concerned.

 

This is the same issue I had with Plex...

 

ITS A LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTION!!!! Why in the world would it need to go online to verify the "lifetime subscription" is still active?

 

Plex works for about 3 weeks, then it dies if not online.

 

The only feature I want from Premiere is the Linux player client.

[GrimReaper 3320]

3 minutes ago, DPILabs said:

The only feature I want from Premiere is the Linux player client.

Unless you can find an alternative (like Marmaduke's Chromium, don't know how it runs under Linux) then Premiere is required. And IF it behaves same as Windows Theatre Desktop you're completely out of luck - it won't even start if no internet connection, cached Premiere license or not. Though IIRC there were few mentions that subscription model/checks might change sometime in the (undefined) future,  @Luke? 

[Luke 37151]

17 minutes ago, DPILabs said:

Thanks for the quick reply. 

 

I'll read your post, however your summary has me concerned.

 

This is the same issue I had with Plex...

 

ITS A LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTION!!!! Why in the world would it need to go online to verify the "lifetime subscription" is still active?

 

Plex works for about 3 weeks, then it dies if not online.

 

The only feature I want from Premiere is the Linux player client.

Hi, we work as well for roughly the same amount of time. It does need to validate once in a while.

[DPILabs 2]

So what does it do when offline and stops working?

Does it just need to see internet again, or you need to give it internet AND log back in.

 

Worst part about plex is every device needs to log back in so often.

is there a way to get refund on premier membership I just purchased? I’m afraid emby isn’t the solution after all hearing in fact it really does need internet, just like plex

[Luke 37151]

Quote

So what does it do when offline and stops working?

Does it just need to see internet again, or you need to give it internet AND log back in.

Restarting the app or just playing something should be enough. 

[Luke 37151]

Quote

Worst part about plex is every device needs to log back in so often.

is there a way to get refund on premier membership I just purchased? I’m afraid emby isn’t the solution after all hearing in fact it really does need internet, just like plex

We do really work hard here and hope you stay with Emby, but if you need billing help please email billingsupport@emby.media. Thanks.

[DPILabs 2]

I’d love to stay, but absolutely need offline support.

 

id pay double the membership if it just had offline support.

I just don’t understand why a lifetime membership would require internet connection to see if your membership is current…

if I have internet, I’ll be streaming

[ebr 14944]

10 hours ago, DPILabs said:

I just don’t understand why a lifetime membership would require internet connection to see if your membership is current

Unfortunately, because this world is not filled with only good-intentioned folks like yourself.  I just spent part of this morning dealing with people who purchased a Lifetime key and then disputed it with their bank.  If we had no control over the validity of those keys then they would be out there for anyone to use as much as they want for free.

[FrostByte 5055]

I plan on using this myself this summer at the cabin.  I only need a few seconds on a hotspot for the server to validate once in a while.  You can also validate by clicking on the Premiere tab and it checks really quick.

No need for all clients to do it using Emby either and I wouldn't be able to stream with my limited connection speeds so that's not an option for me.

[justinrh 175]

Couldn't he use a web browser on the client and not need a subscription at all?  Would that suffice, DPILabs?

[IMEDNZ 2]

On 12/03/2022 at 03:02, ebr said:

Unfortunately, because this world is not filled with only good-intentioned folks like yourself.  I just spent part of this morning dealing with people who purchased a Lifetime key and then disputed it with their bank.  If we had no control over the validity of those keys then they would be out there for anyone to use as much as they want for free.

Hi ebr,

If there is no way to extend the time period or have another option for offline use, what would be our best option? We had issues with a vessel last season where the Windows clients would fail to load or ask for a premiere licence. Vessel has a premiere licence but it must have gone offline for too long.

As a work around I thought I would load the 8 Samsung Frame displays onboard with the Emby app. I had to sideload this as it wasn't available on the app store. It works really well but now asks to update every time it's started which is a PITA. If there is no way to remove this warning what would you recommend?

Would getting Apple TV's or something else and install the Emby app on those work better? Would this still work if the server was without internet for an extended period of time? I'm picking we'll have more control for automatic updates etc without popups.

Thanks again for all your hard work!!

[ebr 14944]

Hi.  The Apple TV or Roku apps wouldn't require Premiere just for playback...

[visproduction 124]

If the timeout is based on a date, rather than server up time, then wouldn't the date get pulled from the workstation / server clock, because there is no Internet connection to sync the clock.  If this is true, what about resetting the server date back to the start date of your sailing trip?  Would that maybe fool the date to confirm?

[Sam865 13]

I've used an Emby server in my home for several years and it has always worked beautifully for me. (BTW, their tech support is outstanding.) Currently, my Emby server is running on a Windows 10 computer on my local area network (LAN). I occasionally allow a few of my friends and relatives to stream my media over the internet. (I believe that requires a Premiere license, and I do have a lifetime subscription.)

However, I use my Emby server mostly for streaming my own personal collection of music and self-produced music videos on my LAN, which does not require internet access. I have the Emby client app on every phone,  tablet, and smart TV in my home, as well as on several Roku devices. This allows me to stream my local content anywhere in my home.

I believe this local setup is similar to what you are describing on your boat. The Emby client apps automatically recognize my Emby server on the LAN and they connect and stream flawlessly. Unfortunately, I can't give you a definitive answer as to whether or not this type of setup will work indefinitely in an offline mode. My server stays online 24/7. Emby updates itself  automatically, and it may be authenticating periodically at Emby "HQ" without my knowledge. However, I suspect that the LAN-only connection does not require internet access at all. I am curious as to whether this type of local setup will work reliably where no internet access is available.

[Luke 37151]

Quote

I am curious as to whether this type of local setup will work reliably where no internet access is available.

Hi, it will for a period of time, but eventually it will need to validate with our server again.

[greinhardt 3]

On 3/11/2022 at 8:02 AM, ebr said:

Unfortunately, because this world is not filled with only good-intentioned folks like yourself.  I just spent part of this morning dealing with people who purchased a Lifetime key and then disputed it with their bank.  If we had no control over the validity of those keys then they would be out there for anyone to use as much as they want for free.

For people who bought a lifetime license many years ago, this doesn't seem like an issue.  Perhaps you should handle new purchases differently and leave long-time lifetime subscribers to their unplugged viewing.

[ebr 14944]

Hi.  We also have device limits that need to be validated and situations where people abuse their keys (even very old ones).

[greinhardt 3]

10 hours ago, ebr said:

Hi.  We also have device limits that need to be validated and situations where people abuse their keys (even very old ones).

Sure.  But that could be handled by doing a single check when the system is installed/updated and doesn't require the server to phone home repeatedly or shutdown.   

[ebr 14944]

8 hours ago, greinhardt said:

Sure.  But that could be handled by doing a single check when the system is installed/updated and doesn't require the server to phone home repeatedly or shutdown.   

Device limits are tracked in real time - not just on install.

[Jamr 3]

This discussion begs this statement.

If the Emby servers ever go offline, or are ever non accessible by the client, everyone's "Lifetime" membership will cease to work.

[ebr 14944]

10 hours ago, Jamr said:

This discussion begs this statement.

If the Emby servers ever go offline, or are ever non accessible by the client, everyone's "Lifetime" membership will cease to work.

 

[Jamr 3]

Sorry for the dual post but my proposal seem to fit here better. Feel free to move it where you see fit.

I would like to propose an idea to the developers. BTW, thank you for being here to listen to your clients.

Please correct me if any of my information is incorrect.
I read somewhere that, the reason a "lifetime" subscription needs to be verified with your servers every 3 weeks or so, is that P.O.S. people will buy a Lifetime subscription and then claim it was a  fraudulent purchase on their account and request a refund. Or something like that.
There is a length of time, that request can occur. For example, 9 months later and beyond, this request can not be fulfilled by any credit card or bank card I know of as they will claim too much time has passed since the purchase to claim fraud.

I agree sinking to the lowest common denominator (P.O.S. people), is probably the best way to keep your hard earned money but penalizing the honest people for the actions of the worst seems a little too much.
How about making lifetime subscription verifiable for the first year, when someone call call fraud, and after that it is free and clear not needing to be verified?
This seems to fit the developers needs without inconveniencing the needs of people that choose to live Off Grid or do not have internet after the first year.

Edited August 31, 2022 by Jamr