Why is emby so difficult to set up remote access?

[Blue278 22]

I’ve been trying for the past 5 weeks. I have no issues with Plex or Jellyfin.

can someone please help?

Thanks

 

 

 

[Luke 42077]

HI there, can you please describe your issue in more detail? Thanks !

[seanbuff 1313]

8 minutes ago, Blue278 said:

I’ve been trying for the past 5 weeks. I have no issues with Plex or Jellyfin.

can someone please help?

I'm going to assume you meant 'difficult' in your topic title and not 'default' -- i have adjusted, but please confirm

Have you followed the steps in this guide? Remote Setup

[Blue278 22]

Hi,

"We're unable to connect to the selected server right now. Please ensure it is running and try again"

I've tried the port forwarding with my Synology RT6600AX without luck. 

Thanks

[Blue278 22]

11 minutes ago, seanbuff said:

I'm going to assume you meant 'difficult' in your topic title and not 'default' -- i have adjusted, but please confirm

Have you followed the steps in this guide? Remote Setup

Yes, I meant to say “difficult”. Sorry about that.

Thanks for correcting the heading.  

Edited February 13, 2025 by Blue278

[Luke 42077]

7 minutes ago, Blue278 said:

Hi,

"We're unable to connect to the selected server right now. Please ensure it is running and try again"

I've tried the port forwarding with my Synology RT6600AX without luck. 

Thanks

What exactly did you setup in port forwarding?

[Blue278 22]

[Blue278 22]

[visproduction 315]

Mac OS security changes with each OS update could be part of this issue.  Many people have complained.

see: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mac+OS+port+forwarding+setup+security+limit+block+error&ia=web

[Blue278 22]

36 minutes ago, visproduction said:

Mac OS security changes with each OS update could be part of this issue.  Many people have complained.

see: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mac+OS+port+forwarding+setup+security+limit+block+error&ia=web

Thanks for your help. It’s getting a little too complicated to set up Emby remotely. If I can't solve the issue before my monthly subscription expires, I'll have to go back to Plex. I really don't want to because Emby beats Plex hands down when it comes to GUI, flexibility and help from the Emby community.

 

Thanks 

 

[visproduction 315]

Blue,

I don't use Mac OS.  I have the impression that most server related setups are either Linux or Windows and MacOS is avoided by businesses for network servers by everyone except, perhaps all graphic art departments. It could be that I don't advertise as MacOS support, but out of about 150 clients, I only supported one business that used Mac OS servers.  I am guessing that Mac Server setup is a real pain.  I would be interested to hear from anyone who like the Mac OS setup and that they find it easy to do. 

[yocker 1247]

20 hours ago, Blue278 said:

No idea if it will help but try and give LAN and WAN each their own port.

Fx.
Lan - > Port 8096
Wan -> Port 80

port forward port 80 to Emby, when connecting to Emby from the internet use port 80 and on local use 8096.
If this works then after that you should look into doing some safety work, mainly getting HTTPS up and running as just running HTTP is wildly insecure.

Thinking that the way you have set it up might cause conflicts having the same port used multiple times for the same program.

[Luke 42077]

@Blue278 has this helped?

[Blue278 22]

9 hours ago, Luke said:

@Blue278 has this helped?

When I change the port to 80, it’s blank. 

 

[Blue278 22]

10 hours ago, yocker said:

No idea if it will help but try and give LAN and WAN each their own port.

Fx.
Lan - > Port 8096
Wan -> Port 80

port forward port 80 to Emby, when connecting to Emby from the internet use port 80 and on local use 8096.
If this works then after that you should look into doing some safety work, mainly getting HTTPS up and running as just running HTTP is wildly insecure.

Thinking that the way you have set it up might cause conflicts having the same port used multiple times for the same program.

Can changing  HTTP to HTTPS be done within emby?

[yocker 1247]

1 hour ago, Blue278 said:

When I change the port to 80, it’s blank. 

 

That's normal.

1 hour ago, Blue278 said:

Can changing  HTTP to HTTPS be done within emby?

Not entirely. It's a little bit more complicated than that. The Emby team made a great guide for it that makes the whole process easier.
https://emby.media/support/articles/Secure-Your-Server.html

It is not necessary to use HTTPS, but it's good common practice to do so as it encrypts your connection. Just make sure that the admin account can't connect from the internet and you will be alright for now,

 

Edited February 14, 2025 by yocker

[Blue278 22]

Thanks to everyone who helped, but I’ve given up. It’s unfortunate that connecting remotely isn’t as straightforward as using Plex (a one-click process that doesn’t require port forwarding, regardless of the operating system being used).

I spent approximately 6 hours today trying to get it working. I genuinely hope that one day, remote access will be simplified, similar to Plex. 

 

Thanks 

[Blue278 22]

6 hours ago, Blue278 said:

Thanks to everyone who helped, but I’ve given up. It’s unfortunate that connecting remotely isn’t as straightforward as using Plex (a one-click process that doesn’t require port forwarding, regardless of the operating system being used).

I spent approximately 6 hours today trying to get it working. I genuinely hope that one day, remote access will be simplified, similar to Plex. 

 

Thanks 

Update: using Tailscale to remotely access emby 

[Luke 42077]

20 minutes ago, Blue278 said:

Update: using Tailscale to remotely access emby 

Hi, that's great to hear!

[Luke 42077]

7 hours ago, Blue278 said:

I genuinely hope that one day, remote access will be simplified, similar to Plex. 

Hi ,you might not feel that way once you discover how it actually works. They have a relay process that kicks in automatically when a direct connection from device to server isn't possible. This relay process routes all aspects of the connection through Plex's own servers. This is what allows it to seem like it's working without having to use any port forwarding. Personally, from a privacy standpoint, I would rather just not have it work at all then have the relay kick in.