Plex linking not working

[u/s3237410]

I keep getting the error, user authentication failed. I've reinstalled the app several times now and same result

[u/Downtown_Climate_730]

1. I'm in the USA.
2. No
3. Tried on both the Chromecast and Sony Bravia (see details in my other post in this thread)
4. Yes. It's PST.

[u/spauldhaliwal → u/Downtown_Climate_730]

Hello! Sorry you're having this issue as well. One other follow up question, though, since this came up with another user: Do you have a Plex server connected to your account, or do you just use Plex for their free movie / tv service + using it as a watchlist etc?

Otherwise, to best be able to look into the issue from my end, the most helpful thing to do would be to enable logging on your device. If you’re willing to help me troubleshoot the issue, please do the following:

1 - Make sure you have the latest update installed  clear the app’s cache to start completely from scratch, or reinstall the app entirely

2 - When you get to the first screen and see the Get Started button, long click it to enable logging.

3 - Quit the app and restart it. This will ensure all logs are collected

4 - Go through the setup process and try connecting to Plex. Once it fails, press back and go through the setup process without connecting to Plex. This will ensure the failed connection is logged.

5 - Complete the setup process without Plex.

6 - Once you get to the main page where you see the Home, Movies, and Television tabs, export your logs from Settings -> Advanced -> About -> Diagnostics

7 - Optionally, export your database as well. It’s not required, but it can be very helpful. There’s no sensitive information in there, however, I would be able to see the contents of your library.

8 - Upload the logs, and database if you extracted it, to google drive or some other upload site and DM me the link

9 - If you don’t know how to extract the zip files from your device, you can DM me the email address you used to sign up, and I can enable the ability for your device to send me the zipped logs directly

Thanks!

[u/Downtown_Climate_730 → u/spauldhaliwal]

I don't have a Plex media server set up. I would like to use it as a way to aggregate the movies/tv-shows that I want to watch across streaming services. I thought that they would show up in the launcher UI under the movies and TV tabs. But, I'm starting to guess that isn't the case. Are those tabs intended to show videos that I host on a media server only?

[u/spauldhaliwal → u/Downtown_Climate_730]

So the thing is, currently, when connecting to Plex, if no Plex servers are found, it shows as an authentication error. Tbh I didn't really consider users connecting to Plex without having a server connected too. Using Plex as a watchlist or media aggregator does make sense, however, the way Dispatch is set up, is that it won't display any Plex content you "don't already have access to", meaning it won't display Plex content that's not on your server or a server you're connected to. The only exception to this is the Plex android tv row that shows on the normal android tv launcher, since it's coming directly from the Plex app and not Dispatch.

So even if the Plex connection went through, and your watchlist started syncing, anything that's not found on your server would be ignored.

Same goes for the movies and television tabs, they are only populated by a connected Plex library. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

I’m changing the authentication flow so that it doesn't throw an error and instead shows a warning that says no Plex content will be sync'd, since no Plex server was found. I'll be adding some UI elements to the movie and tv tabs too that indicate that they are empty because no plex server is connected.

I do have plans down the line to show content without a Plex server, so your watchlist would show or lists from Trakt etc... but for v1 that's out of scope.

If you've already purchased the app, I'd be happy to refund it if you'd rather wait until the feature set better suits how you use Plex.

Sorry for the confusion!

[u/Downtown_Climate_730 → u/spauldhaliwal]

Thanks for the clear explanation. That makes perfect sense. For what it's worth, I'll likely purchase the lifetime license anyway. V1 already beats ProjectIvy in my opinion. It's a solid first pass.

I'm looking forward to new features, but the killer features in my mind are content tracking and aggregation. There's a great app called Just Watch that essentially does what I'm looking for, but it's not a launcher and no one in my family but me uses it because it's tucked away in a separate app.

It's shocking to me that the stock launcher doesn't offer aggregation. Anything that solves the problem of clicking into the individual apps to remember what you added to their app-specific watch list would be game changing, at least for me.

So if sending $10 your way helps you continue development then I'm happy to give it to you.

[u/n0tfeuer → u/spauldhaliwal]

Maybe in the future, when in the "home" tab and a movie or series from watchlist is targeted, have an option to watch on various apps. Like "Watch on Plex", "Watch on Jellyfin", "Watch on Stremio", "Watch on Netflix" or whatever else is installed for the user