Internet Outage : Temporarily remove license key?

[FatherSaint 25]

After sitting in the cold and dark for three days last winter, I've been preparing for power outages. I have the power issue covered and am now looking at Internet / Entertainment.

I use only Movies and TV Shows. (No music, no books, etc.)

I have been reading through the posts about how Emby will react during an Internet outage.

This is not mentioned, so maybe there's more to it than I think: If I were to remove my license key from Emby settings, then Emby would go back to plain vanilla "free mode" and not need to authenticate, right?

Then when they restore Internet access, I would just put my license key back in and go about business as usual.

[GrimReaper 4740]

15 minutes ago, FatherSaint said:

If I were to remove my license key from Emby settings, then Emby would go back to plain vanilla "free mode" and not need to authenticate, right?

Not sure what do you mean by that, there's practically no difference between having no Premiere key and having it but not being able to validate, you'll just not be able to utilize Premiere features of the server in either case (with the difference that not being able to validate will give you short period of time with server running on cache, which will eventually expire). 

Edited July 23, 2024 by GrimReaper

[FatherSaint 25]

As far as I know, Jellyfin can and does run without Internet access because there is no licensing and thus no need to validate anything.

With that in mind, I was thinking that if I removed my license key from Emby settings, then Emby wouldn't need to validate the license and would just work.

But, again, I'm not sure how all of this works. I just need to know that Emby is actually going to be there for us if we lose the Internet for an extended period for some reason.

[Happy2Play 9780]

1 minute ago, FatherSaint said:

I just need to know that Emby is actually going to be there for us if we lose the Internet for an extended period for some reason.

Depends on the client and the last time it was validated as the cache only lasts so long.  From free clients there will be no issue.  Premiere clients will last as long as the validation cache allows.

[nospotify 184]

This doesn't answer @FatherSaint's good question: can Emby be used *at all* (single user, single client) during extended internet outage? If so, what is needed to make this viable: nothing; delete Premier account info in settings; or should we keep installer on local drive to start fresh with at least basic fre functionality during an extended internet outage?

[Happy2Play 9780]

10 minutes ago, wordlover said:

This doesn't answer @FatherSaint's good question: can Emby be used *at all* (single user, single client) during extended internet outage? If so, what is needed to make this viable: nothing; delete Premier account info in settings; or should we keep installer on local drive to start fresh with at least basic fre functionality during an extended internet outage?

There will never be a true answer as how long is an extended outage?  If longer then caches validation, then no it will no longer work for Premiere clients/features.  You will be forced to use free clients and features.  All clients that are Premiere will revert to their 1 minute playback limit and/or unlock or get premiere notices.

 

[darkassassin07 652]

For some specifics, heres the Emby Premiere feature matrix:

https://emby.media/support/articles/Premiere-Feature-Matrix.html

 

Without internet access for an extended period; you will be limited to features marked as 'free'. (although; you should have at least a 1 week grace period, still allowing you to use premier features in that time.)

Ie; you'll only be able to fully play content via the web app, a Roku, Apple TV, or a Samsung/LG smart tv, and only with software transcoding if necessary (no hardware accelerated transcoding). Other clients will limit you to 1min of playback or not play at all. You will also not be able to watch or record livetv, even if that service is still available during your internet outage.

 

 

Removing your license key, or reinstalling the server will do absolutely nothing but force you into the 'free' tier prematurely.

[rbjtech 5284]

20 hours ago, FatherSaint said:

As far as I know, Jellyfin can and does run without Internet access because there is no licensing and thus no need to validate anything.

I believe you answered it earlier  .. if half the Emby clients cannot authenticate, then Emby is all but useless in an extended outage or off grid scenerio.

This has been raised many times but unfortunately, no solution has been offered as there is a real risk of it being abused - I get that.

Therefore an alternative solution working alongside Emby that doesn't need the internet hook to work (both server and all your clients) is probably your best bet. 

[FatherSaint 25]

On 7/26/2024 at 10:45 AM, rbjtech said:

Therefore an alternative solution working alongside Emby that doesn't need the internet hook to work (both server and all your clients) is probably your best bet. 

Thank you, I understand and agree. I wouldn't have even asked this question if it wasn't for the fact that a while back I tried to install Jellyfin alongside Emby. Emby was already installed, I then tried to install Jellyfin - I'm pretty sure, but not positive that I changed the PORT during the Jellyfin installation to something else...

I'm not sure of what exactly happened, but Emby would no longer launch after my Jellyfin installation attempt. THAT time wasn't much of an issue because Emby was still pretty new on my server. NOW though, with Emby fully up and running with all of my media, would be a problem of significance.

I have the backup & restore plugin installed and working and do "manual" backups of my media and Emby folders. Still, if my wife misses her nightly episode of JAG, I'm going to be eating beans warmed on a hotplate in the basement. 

[FatherSaint 25]

I hope that I never find out how things go after 30 days or more of Internet outage, but I've successfully installed Jellyfin alongside Emby "just in case." I use Roku Ultra devices, but I think that part is academic. I'm posting this here for posterity. I may have gone way overboard with my process, but everything works side-by-side without any issues.

- Changed Emby ports to 8098 & 8922

- Set Emby to not Auto Start

- Completely exited Emby, installed the current version of Jellyfin and restarted

- Launched Jellyfin and went through the configurations, changed the Jellyfin ports to 8097 & 8921 and restarted

- Launched Emby, returned the ports to the original 8096 and 8920 and enabled Auto Start again.

- Restarted again, logged into both Emby and Jellyfin on my HTPC and via the Rokus.

/TheEnd

EDIT for clarity.

Edited September 25, 2024 by FatherSaint

[ebr 16184]

2 hours ago, FatherSaint said:

I use Roku Ultra devices, but I think that part is academic

Hi.  The Roku app is currently free for playback.  

[FatherSaint 25]

16 hours ago, ebr said:

Hi.  The Roku app is currently free for playback.  

My recent addition to this thread comes as a result of me FINALLY having mustered the courage to attempt the installation of Jellyfin alongside my existing Emby. I first backed up every way imaginable and then followed the process that I detailed above to get Jellyfin to cooperate side-by-side with my Emby.

I posted this in the hope that it will help someone else like me coming here or doing a Google search who might want to have access to Movies and TV Shows in an extended No Internet situation. (For me, the possibility of being off-grid for 6 months at a BLM campground)

I understand that some features of Emby Premiere will eventually become unavailable if my license can't be verified for a time. What I can't seem to find is a clear answer on whether Emby will work AT ALL without the Internet for a long time. I understand that Jellyfin WILL work without the Internet and Jellyfin is better than nothing. 

[ebr 16184]

1 hour ago, FatherSaint said:

What I can't seem to find is a clear answer on whether Emby will work AT ALL without the Internet for a long time

Yes.  Although, you will lose all Premiere features as well as the ones that require the internet (metadata providers, subtitle downloads, etc.).

[Neminem 1519]

@ebr You left out clients that need premier.

If people do not understand this, then they ar lost.

And thinking this is a bad product.

 

Clients like the New Android app that is suppose to replace them all.

You can't even buy a 1 time unluck, since its still ( Experimental ) on Android Tv devices.

How can I use that client without internet, when it depends on premier device limit. 

 

Edited September 26, 2024 by Neminem
Adding.

[ebr 16184]

On 9/26/2024 at 9:51 AM, Neminem said:

You left out clients that need premier

We were discussing the Roku app in that context but I did say:

On 9/26/2024 at 9:30 AM, ebr said:

you will lose all Premiere features

That includes apps that require Premiere - although with a grace period.