Whenever the Plex TV link not working, there are quite a few reasons why this is happening!
The Plex TV link is an easy way to connect your Plex account to the Plex application on your TV in order to avoid the hassle of entering your details.
The process involves receiving a link code in your Plex application, that you can use from an online browser to link the account to the app.
When the Plex TV link code is not working and your Plex account won’t connect to the Plex TV app, verify that the linking code is correct.
Then check whether your smart TV and device are connected to a working internet and perform a clean app reinstallation!
Let’s continue to unwrap!
How Plex TV Link Should Work? | Why is Not Working?
As concisely as possible, the Plex TV link is an easy way to sign into your account on the Plex application installed on a smart TV.
We all know how frustrating it is to type down the full email address and password from top to bottom using the lowkey TV keyboards using a remote…
Well, with the Plex TV link, when you open the app, you see a big 4-digit code, which is used for activating the app.
Then you need to go to “https://www.plex.tv/link/” and sign into your account before typing in the code, which automatically signs you into your account on the smart TV.
How to Link a Plex App with a Plex Account?
In case of any confusion, here’s how the process of signing in on Plex happens for smart TVs:
- Verify that your television is connected to the internet.
- Secondly, download the Plex app on your smart TV.
- Next, open the Plex application, to see a 4-digit code.
- Then, note down this 4-digit link code used for signing in.
- Use any device with the internet to access Plex TV Link.
- Then you’ll need to sign in to an existing Plex account.
- If you don’t have an account, create a new registration.
- When you sign in or register, you’ll see “Link Account”.
- Insert the 4-digit code into the provided typing field.
- Finally, click on “Link” and wait for the app activation.
You’ll shortly see the screen of your smart TV changing from showing the code to showing the home page of the Plex app.
Now you’re signed into the account you’ve used to sign in on the Plex TV link page so you can continue using the app on your smart TV.
How to Fix When Plex TV Link Not Working? Easy Steps!
1. Re-Try Linking Account to App!
The first and most basic approach when the TV link didn’t work the first time is to simply re-try the process again.
There are many possibilities that could have prevented the app activation so attempting the link one more time can only go better than the first failed attempt…
Simply re-open the Plex app on your TV to regenerate another (new) 4-digit code!
Then as quickly as possible go to https://www.plex.tv/link/ and insert the exact numerical and alphabetical value of the 4 digits.
The code must be exactly as shown (no spaces) and contains both numbers and letters.
An example of the Plex TV Link code is “XA5A”, “R336” or “TTA5”.
Plex TV Link Code Expiration Time?
It’s unclear how long the Plex TV link codes last, but there are users claiming that the expiration period is as short as 5 seconds.
This is hard to believe since this is almost not enough time for your device and Plex servers to communicate and link your account with the television Plex app.
However, we strongly recommend preparing the activation link on another device, so when you see the link code on the TV screen, you can react fast.
In case the TV code keeps failing, test a few more times, as fast as possible to verify that the expiration is not what’s holding you back.
Note: The code regenerates every time you close and re-open the Plex TV application!
2. Optimize Your Device’s Internet
In order for the Plex account and Plex TV app to be linked, an active WiFi or wired internet is needed on both your devices.
It’s not recommended to minimize or close the Plex app on your TV to open a web browser (on the same TV) and carry out the activation since this never works.
Hence, you need a secondary device such as a smartphone, laptop, or computer from which you need to sign in and insert the TV screen Plex code.
In that set of thoughts both devices, your TV and secondary activation device must be connected to fast and working internet.
Here’s what to do to optimize your internet and link the Plex account:
- Reboot your networking router and/or modem.
- Reconnect both instances to WiFi or Ethernet.
- Verify that your WiFi or internet income is stable.
- Test on a different internet such as cellular data!
Note: If your internet is proven to perform well, continue to the next solution!
3. Check the Plex Server Status!
The reason why Plex TV link code not working is not working could be due to the unavailability of the Plex server, responsible for TV link authentication.
That unavailability is often referred to as an “outage” or “maintenance”, which you can check from the official Plex Server Status.
When you land on the Plex status page, you will notice horizontal timeline bars, reflecting any outages in the past or ongoing outages. You need to scroll down and check three of them:
- Authentication/Login Page
- Smart TV app
- Remote Access
In case any of these two timelines are illuminated with red or orange vertical bars towards the end of the timeframe, it’s likely that Plex is in an outage.
If above the “Today” label, all of the vertical lines are green, then there is no outage so you’ll have to continue reading!
Tip: Using the official Plex server status tool, you can track when the outage is over!
4. Switch to Another Web Browser!
Sometimes the reason why the Plex TV link code is not being accepted is due to a fault in the web browser used to access the Plex activation page.
In that regard, the next step should be to test on the same machine but with a different web browser than the currently used one!
- We recommend testing the activation on Google Chrome, Safari, or Firefox!
In case the activation Plex code fails even on a different browser, verify that your Plex sign-in details are not remembered in the browser.
You can remove the saved password for your Plex account so you can sign in cleanly from the Plex TV app activation link, and test again.
If Everything Else Fails – Try Incognito Mode!
The incognito mode on any browser restricts tracking of activity (history) and many more options that might be preventing the Plex account linking.
To enter incognito mode here’s what to do:
- On Google Chrome – press CTRL + SHIFT + N.
- On Safari – File > New Private Window.
- On Firefox – Menu > New Private Window.
In case the Plex TV link fails even in incognito mode, continue reading!
5. Reinstall the Plex App on the TV
In case the account link simply doesn’t work and your Plex TV app code keeps getting rejected, it’s likely that you’re facing data corruption or outdated app firmware.
To address both of these possibilities at once, you’ll have to cleanly reinstall the Plex application from the smart TV.
Here’s how to universally reinstall apps on a smart TV easily:
- Press the Home button on the smart TV remote.
- Then, go to Settings and navigate to “Apps”.
- Then you would have to select the Plex app.
- Finally, locate the “Delete” or “Remove” option.
- After the uninstallation, go to the Content Store.
- Locate and re-download the Plex app cleanly.
- Open the app and re-attempt the account link.
Reminder: The correct steps for linking a Plex account to the Plex TV app were shown earlier!
Quick Recap:
In this guide, we’ve learned that when the Plex TV link not working, we must verify that there is no typo in the code as well as check the Plex service status.
In case you’re doing everything correctly but the process fails, reinstall the Plex app cleanly on your smart TV. Follow us for more!
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