If youโre an avid Plex steamer and wondering why the app isnโt working on your smart TV lately, know that youโre not alone.
The video streaming company announced that old smart TVs will no longer be able to run Plex since they rely on old security certificates for securing connections to the server. And since Plex started using a new certificate, all the smart TVs which failed to update to the new method canโt access its catalog.
Plex Not Working on Smart TVs
Since last week, many old Smart TV users are complaining about an error in accessing the Plex app, as theyโre barred to its catalog saying insecure connection. The reason was found to be the expiration of Plexโs security certificate!
Plex, just like any other online service needs to use a security certificate to ensure the content being shared between usersโ clients and their server is secure. And it used Letโs Encryptโs DST Root CA X3 certificate till September this year.
After its expiration, Plex started using its own certificate named ISRG Root X1, but this change was not updated by many smart TV OEMs, thus causing the error. As all the smart TVs come with default settings of allowing only the secure connections from apps, Plex was denied after shifting to a new secure connection but wasnโt followed up by TV OEMs.
Workaround
The issue is prevalent in various Smart TV brands like Samsung, LG, Hisense, Vizio, etc. While Plex may work something to rectify this, the platform suggested a workaround until then. This is to tweak the smart TV settings to allow insecure connections!
This could be serious a privacy issue if youโre interested in a hacker. But if you donโt care and crave streaming Plex anyway, go to your TVโs settingsย and look for the Advanced settings section. Here, you should find an option like โAllow Insecure Connectionsโ, which should be set to โAlwaysโ and saved.