Frequently Asked Question
How do I fix "Transcoding streams are not allowed." error?
Last Updated 9 months ago
When you sign into Plex, there are a few default settings that need to be changed to make sure that everything runs smoothly and which will prevent this error from occuring.
Please note that some of these may not be available on every device or Operating System and some of these options may be in different places. If you are not sure about changing these because these instructions don't seem to make sense for your device or OS, or you are having issues despite making sure these have all been changed and are correct, please open a ticket or get in touch. You can also submit an Issue Request via Ombi.
When you sign into a device, before playing items, to ensure that transcoding doesn't occur, we need to change the default quality settings.
This can be done by following the below instructions depending on your device/platform.
PLEASE NOTE: Regardless of platform or device, if you have an option titled "Automatically adjust quality" or something similar, this MUST be switched OFF.
Please note that some of these may not be available on every device or Operating System and some of these options may be in different places. If you are not sure about changing these because these instructions don't seem to make sense for your device or OS, or you are having issues despite making sure these have all been changed and are correct, please open a ticket or get in touch. You can also submit an Issue Request via Ombi.
When you sign into a device, before playing items, to ensure that transcoding doesn't occur, we need to change the default quality settings.
This can be done by following the below instructions depending on your device/platform.
- Mobile
- Go to Settings (Generally found by tapping your profile picture in the top right hand corner).
- Select Video & Audio.
- Set ALL of these settings to Maximum and make sure the bottom two (Allow Direct Play & Allow Direct Stream) are turned on.
- Web or Computer
- Go to Settings (Click the spanner icon on the right hand side of the top bar, near your profile picture).
- In the left hand side select Quality.
- Set ALL of these settings to Maximum, and if "Use recommended settings" is ticked, untick this and change the new Video Quality setting that appears as well.
- If you have an option titled "Play smaller videos at original quality", make sure this is ticked.
- TV/Streamer/Game Console
- Go to Settings (Usually found in the left hand menu bar, down the bottom).
- In Settings, find the settings by finding the section that best resembles Video/Video & Audio/Quality.
- In here, change ALL of these settings to Maximum.
- If you have "Allow Direct Play" & "Allow Direct Stream", make sure these are turned on.
- If you continue to have issues, you may have to on some TV devices turn on "Force Direct Play".
PLEASE NOTE: Regardless of platform or device, if you have an option titled "Automatically adjust quality" or something similar, this MUST be switched OFF.