On my Plex media server I run the Plex Media Server as a service, and the one issue that I had was not being able to update Plex from within the Web dashboard. The reason is that when running Plex Media Server as a service Plex is running as a service, any update through Plex can’t be done because the service needs to be stopped first before any updates can happen.
For me, another issue was that the Plex Media Server runs under a standard user account on my Windows 10 machine, and a standard user account can’t perform any application installs, which leads to another reason for me to disable Plex auto updates.
While I can’t have Plex auto update to the latest version, I have found another way of accomplishing the same goal. I created a small application called Plex Server Auto Updater that will perform the same update task when Plex is running as a service.
What does the Plex Auto Updater do?
The Plex Auto Updater makes it easy to update Plex when the Plex Media Server is running as a service. The updater will automatically perform the tasks that you would normally need to take when updating Plex.
Note:
Since the Plex Auto Updater needs to install the Plex update, the updater needs to be run under an administrator account. If you are logged in as a standard user, you simply need to right-click the Plex Auto Updater executable and select “Run as administrator” to allow the updater to perform the update.
NOTE: Once the Plex Media Server installation completes, a dialog will appear to create a MyPlex account. This is This is an optional service that will allow social and mobile sharing of content stored in the Plex Media Server.
The following actions are performed when the updater is run:
- Stops the Plex service.
- Stops any Plex processes that may still be running.
- Installs the update.
- Deletes the run keys from the registry to prevent Plex from auto-starting outside of the service.
- Stops any Plex processes that may have started after the update.
- Restarts the Plex service.
The updater will update Plex regardless of where Plex is installed, where the Plex local data directory is located, and which user account is running the service.
Getting the Plex Auto Updater
I created the Plex Auto Updater so that it is portable, which means it doesn’t need to be installed. It is a single executable that can be saved and run from any directory on your machine.
- Today I launched my plex media server running on my 2007 MacMini running MacOS Lion 10.7.5 and a big orange button said 'UPDATE AVAILABLE.' Seeing that, I decided to stop using my brain and click it in excitement for all the potential new greatness that awaited (even tho my server ran rock solid already).
- Plex has incredible support for an extensive library of movies, music, and TV shows. It allows you to stream content directly onto your TVs from your library located on a standalone server, personal computer acting as a server.
To get the Plex Auto Updater and use it, follow these steps:
- Download the latest release of Plex Auto Updater.
- Extract the psupdate.exe file from the zip file. You can extract the executable file into any directory.
- Double-click the executable to perform an update. Later in this post I describe how you can run the updater so it updates Plex automatically.
To have the Plex updater perform an update, there is one thing that will need to be done in Plex to ensure the updater can find the updates, which I discuss below.
Configure Plex Media Server for Plex Auto Updater
Before running the Plex Auto Updater, it is important to first have Plex automatically download the latest updates. The Plex Auto Updater will check these downloaded updates to determine if it should install a newer version.
To enable Plex to download updates automatically, use the following steps:
- Log into the Plex server Web dashboard.
- Click the “Settings” option under “Manage” on the left.
- Click the “Server” option from the top menu if it isn’t already hightlighted.
- In the “General” section, check the “Automatically download updates” checkbox.
- Click the “Save Changes” button at the bottom.
Once the above steps have been completed, and an update has been downloaded, the Plex Auto Updater can now perform the update.
Of course, you can simply run the Auto Updater executable, but the point is to have it update automatically without any user intervention. This can be done by simply scheduling a task to run the executable at a specified time.
Schedule the Plex Auto Updater
Once Plex Media Server has been configured to download any updates, you can now schedule the Plex Auto Updater to automatically check the updates to see if one is available.
To avoid updating the Plex Media Server when you are streaming media, you will want to schedule the updater at times when the media server won’t be streaming any media, such as early morning.
To schedule the Plex Auto Updater, use the following steps:
- Click the Windows icon to bring up the Start Menu. Type “Task Scheduler”, and then select the “Task Scheduler” that shows up in the list.
- Click the “Action” menu and then select the “Create Basic Task” menu option.
- Enter a name for the task, and then click the “Next” button.
- Select a schedule for how often you wish the Plex Auto Updater to run, and then click the “Next” button.
- Enter the schedule information, and then click the “Next” button.
- Select “Start a program” for the action.
- Click the “Browse” button and then navigate to the location where you placed the psupdate.exe file. Click the “Open” button to select the file.
- In the “Add arguments” field, enter “-silent” (without the quotes). This will cause the updater to run without any user interface. Click the “Next” button to continue.
- Check the “Open the Properties dialog for this ask when I click Finish” checkbox, and then click the “Finish” button.
- When the Properties dialog is open, ensure the user that runs the task is an administrator. If not, click the “Change User…” button.
- Enter the administrator user’s name in the “Enter the object name to select” textbox. Click the “OK” button to continue.
- Select the “Run whether user is logged on or not” option. Click the “OK” button.
- Enter the administrator’s password and then click the “OK” button.
When the above steps is completed, you should have a task scheduled to run the Plex Auto Updater at a specified schedule, and using the administrative user account.
This application solves the issue I had when running Plex as a service and not having the ability to update Plex automatically. With the portable application I created, I can now schedule Plex updates so that my Plex Media Server has the latest release.
Download the latest Plex Server Auto Updater release.
If you find managing your digital media library on Mac is difficult, then get the Plex app. It is a quintessential tool to organize, access, and watch all your photos, music, videos, podcasts, movies, etc., from one place. Get Plex for Mac PC as it features intuitive controls and gives theatre-like streaming experience. It will automatically identify and organize the contents under different categories.
Your media library will look more beautiful as the Plex app will add movie poster artwork, description for TV episodes, movie casts, and more. Plex on Mac is flexible enough as it can handle a centralized library, online streaming contents, and the transcoding functionality. Plex for Macbook will never let you deal with single-screen viewing. You can pause from one device and resume the same content on another device.
Besides these features, Plex Mac app users can also share media among friends or family. So, it is a great platform to discover and stream more contents.
How to Download Plex for Mac
3d paint machine. Plex app is available for the Mac OS, and the procedure to download Plex for Mac is as follows.
Plex Manual Server Upgrade For Macbook
Primary Requirements:
- Mac OS X Mavericks or higher version
- Minimum 2 GB of RAM
- Intel Core i3 or equivalent processor
Step 1: Launch a web browser on the Mac PC at first.
Step 2: Visit the official web page of Plex using the address bar. (https://www.plex.tv)
Step 3: On its home screen, use the mouse pointer to scroll down and click on +more option.
Step 4: Click the Server column and then navigate to select + icon.
Step 5: Next, tap the Get Download button
Step 6 (a): Tap on the Plex Media Server tab to select Mac listed under Computer. After that, click the Download button.
Step 6 (b): Click on Apps & Devices column to choose Mac from the list of devices. Now, click on Download 64-bit button.
Step 7: Now, Plex Media Server zip file download will begin on the Mac PC. Wait for the download to complete.
Step 8: From the download location, unzip the file named Plex.zip. Then drag and drop it into the Applications folder of Mac
Step 8: Click to open Plex Media Server on Application folder. Tap the > icon on the menu bar at last.
Step 9: Enter login credentials or sign in to your Plex account to access its salient features on the Mac OS.
Try the Alternative!
Plex Manual Server Upgrade For Mac Free
It is a time-consuming method to install the Plex app for Mac.
Step 1: On your Mac, press Command + Space to type as Terminal.
Step 2: Click the Enter or Return key. Further, run the command on the Terminal as
ruby -e “$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)” < /dev/null 2> /dev/null ; brew install caskroom/cask/brew-cask 2> /dev/null
Step 3: Press the Enter key. When prompted, enter the Mac user password.
Step 4: Finally, run the command
brew cask install plex-media-server
For more detailed Plex Mobile installation, follow the guide below
Learn How to install Plex Apk on Android
Learn How to install Plex on iOS (iPhone/ iPad)
Learn How to install Plex on Windows Phone
Plex for Mac Alternatives
How to Install VLC on Apple TV to watch videos [Guide]
How to Stream Plex on Kindle Fire [Workable Method]
Plex Web version | How to use Plex Online (2020)
How to stream Plex on PS4/PS3 [Direct Method]
Plex Manual Server Upgrade For Mac Os
How to Download/Open Subtitles for MX Player [Complete Guide]
How to Install a VPN for Kodi [2020 Kodi VPN Guide]
Plex is also available for
To Sum Up
Plex Player for Mac gives you a straightforward user-interface in which media files can be organized and accessed easily.
Hope the article has helped you to install Plex for Mac PC effortlessly. If you have any queries, then share it as comments.