Media Content Is Not Found on Plex: Causes Can Be Fixed

However, many users encounter frustrating moments when Plex doesn’t show their media or fails to pick up specific content, like TV shows. Whether it’s because of Plex not showing my media, or Plex not picking up TV shows, there are several causes and solutions to these issues. This comprehensive guide will help you diagnose and fix these common problems quickly so you can get back to enjoying your media collection.

Why Media Content Is Not Found on Plex

There are multiple reasons why Plex might not be showing your media. These issues typically stem from incorrect folder structures, file naming conventions, unsupported file formats, or metadata problems. Understanding the root cause is crucial for finding the right fix.

Common Causes of Media Not Showing on Plex

Incorrect Folder Structure:

• One of the primary reasons Plex might not be showing your media is due to an incorrect folder structure. Plex relies on a specific organizational method to locate and display your files. If you have a disorganized folder structure, Plex may fail to pick up your media files, particularly for TV shows.

Create a folder named TV Shows

• Within that folder, create subfolders for each TV show (e.g., “Friends”).
• Inside the show folder, create separate folders for each season (e.g., “Season 01”).
• Each episode should be named using the format: ShowName S01E01.mkv (for example, "Friends S01E01.mkv").
• This structure ensures Plex can easily scan and detect your files, preventing the issue of Plex not picking up TV shows.

File Naming Conventions

• Plex uses specific naming conventions to identify media content accurately. If your files are not named according to Plex’s requirements, it can cause Plex to miss or incorrectly categorize your media.
• Movies: The recommended format for movies is Movie Title (Year).file_extension (e.g., "Inception (2010).mp4"). This helps Plex to find the exact movie and fetch the correct metadata.
• TV Shows: For TV shows, the naming structure should include the season and episode number. For example, “Friends S01E01.mkv” where S01 stands for Season 1 and E01 is Episode 1.

Unsupported File Formats

• Plex supports a variety of file formats, but not every format works. If your media files are in unsupported formats, Plex will not display them. Common supported formats include MP4, MKV, and AVI. If your media is in an obscure format like FLV or RMVB, Plex may not recognize it.
• If you’re experiencing Plex not showing my media, check the file format and convert any unsupported files into more commonly supported ones like MP4 or MKV using video conversion tools such as HandBrake.

Metadata Issues

Plex uses metadata to organize and display information about your media, including movie descriptions, cast members, cover art, and more. If Plex is not showing your media correctly, it could be due to metadata problems. In some cases, Plex may fail to download the correct metadata if the file names or folder structures are not organized properly.

Ensure that Plex is set to fetch metadata from the right sources. You can configure this by going to Settings > Agents and selecting the appropriate metadata provider for each media type (e.g., TheTVDB for TV shows).

Permissions Problems

Another reason Plex may not be showing your media could be due to file or folder permission issues. If Plex doesn’t have read access to the folder where your media is stored, it won’t be able to display it in the library.

To resolve this, check your folder permissions. On Windows, ensure that the Plex Media Server has permission to access the media files. On macOS or Linux, check file permissions using the terminal or file browser to ensure that Plex has the necessary read access.

Plex Media Server Settings

Sometimes, Plex not showing media is due to misconfigurations in your Plex Media Server settings. If you’ve recently added new media but it isn’t showing up, you may need to refresh or rescan your library manually.

To do this, open Plex, navigate to Settings, then choose Manage Libraries and select Scan Library Files to prompt Plex to rescan and add any new content to your library.

Plex Not Picking Up TV Shows: Causes and Solutions

A specific issue Plex users often encounter is Plex not picking up TV shows. This problem can be especially annoying when Plex recognizes movies but fails to detect or organize TV show episodes correctly. Below are the main causes and fixes.

1. Wrong Naming for TV Episodes

• The most common reason for Plex not picking up TV shows is incorrect episode naming. Plex requires you to name your TV show files in a way that includes the season and episode numbers (e.g., “Friends S01E01.mkv”).
• If your episode names don’t follow this structure, Plex will not be able to identify or fetch metadata for them, and as a result, they won’t appear in your library.

2. Incorrect Metadata Agents

• Plex relies on external metadata providers such as TheTVDB and TheMovieDatabase to organize your TV shows. If Plex is using the wrong metadata agent, or if the agent is misconfigured, it may fail to match your TV shows.
• To fix this, go to Settings > Agents and ensure the correct metadata agents are enabled for TV shows. After updating the agents, rescan your TV library.

3. Mixed File Types in TV Show Folders

• Another potential reason Plex is not picking up TV shows is that the folder contains mixed file types, such as video files, subtitles, and unrelated documents. Plex can sometimes get confused by the presence of non-media files in the TV show folder.
• Keep only media files (e.g., MKV, MP4) and subtitles in the folder, and move any unrelated files elsewhere.

4. Plex Database Corruption

If none of the above steps work, the issue may be related to a corrupted Plex database. Plex keeps an internal database of all the media content you’ve added, and over time, this database can become corrupted or outdated.

You can fix this by refreshing the Plex database. Go to Settings > Troubleshooting and select Refresh All Metadata. You can also clear old data by selecting Clean Bundles to help Plex re-index your content and remove any corrupted metadata.

Other Fixes to Resolve Plex Not Showing Media Quickly

If Plex is still not displaying your media content after trying the above solutions, here are some additional troubleshooting steps you can take:

1. Clear Cache

Over time, Plex caches data related to your media library, and sometimes this cache can become outdated or corrupted, causing Plex not to show your media. Clearing the cache can resolve this.

To clear the cache, navigate to the Plex Media Server directory on your system and delete the Cache folder. Plex will automatically rebuild the cache the next time it starts.

2. Rebuild Plex Library

If clearing the cache doesn't help, you may need to completely rebuild your Plex library. This involves deleting the library files from Plex's directory and allowing Plex to re-scan all of your media from scratch.

While this is a more drastic step, it can resolve deeper issues with Plex not showing media or picking up TV shows.

3. Update Plex Media Server

Sometimes, bugs in the Plex Media Server software itself can cause media not to show. Make sure you’re running the latest version of Plex by checking for updates. New releases often contain bug fixes that address issues like missing media.

Conclusion Media Content Is Not Found can be fixed

Plex is a fantastic tool for managing and streaming your media, but occasional issues like Plex not showing my media or Plex not picking up TV shows can arise. The good news is that most of these problems are relatively simple to fix once you understand the underlying causes. By ensuring your folder structures, file naming conventions, and metadata settings are correct, and by periodically clearing your cache or refreshing the Plex database, you can resolve the problem quickly and get back to enjoying your media collection.