Can't connect remotely to Jellyfin using Tailscale

[gmachine24]

  jellyfin.logs.tar.gz (Size: 35.37 KB / Downloads: 5)
I gave up on this thread https://forum.jellyfin.org/t-database-sc...-malformed
as there were no replies.

And I thought I'd try to run Jellyfin on Fedora 40 because I basically think Fedora>Ubuntu. Mostly, anyway.

I installed Jellyfin on my Fedora 40 desktop, scanned one of my music folders and no db errors- this was a major win as every attempt to run Jellyfin on Ubuntu ----> corrupted database without recourse.

Jellyfin behaves well on Fedora so far. Two scans and no complaints about database errors. So I moved on to remote access.

I installed Tailscale on all my phones, the Fedora 40 machine, the Ubuntu server, and an iPad.

I had some luck gaining remote access to Jellyfin with a phone when it was connected to the Internet via the Verizon network (it's actually a Tracfone); a bit less luck connecting on my T-Mobile network phone (actually the Tello mobile provider).

Then, today, nothing. I couldn't connect remotely to Jellyfin with any of my devices - and that includes the iPad and two phones.

I think I made sure the firewall settings are good. Tailscale was running on every device. I looked at the Jellyfin logs from the Fedora machine and could see nothing - but I don't know what I'm looking for. However, there are a few lines which I do not understand - they are like this:

"[2025-02-18 09:23:32.608 -05:00] [ERR] [104] MediaBrowser.Controller.Entities.BaseItem: Error refreshing owned items for "/mnt/MUSICBACKUP/CDs/CDs......System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException: Could not find a part of the path '/mnt/MUSICBACKUP/CDs......"

The problem here is there is only one folder selected for the library scan and /mnt/MUSICBACUP etc. is not it.

The one selected is /mnt/MUSIC1

So, beats me why Jellyfin is scanning that other mount point (which is empty)

The other side of this is that I was able to connect to my Ubuntu server remotely whilst using Tailscale from my phones. I could ssh into the server, open the Lyrion Music Server which is running (formerly Logitech Media Server and before that Slimserver).

I could not connect to the Fedora 40 desktop via a Tailscale-installed device via ssh or by running Jellyfin. Just nothing.

I think T-Mobile might be blocking access when using Tailscale as once there was a Fortinet error - saying I needed to select a different network. That's on the Tello phone.

Anyway, I don't know where to begin. Jellyfin on Fedora is running well - just to be clear. But remote access is the problem and I'm not schooled enough to configure something like Nginx.

Edit: I attached the two most-recent log files.

[TheDreadPirate]

What is the output of the "route" command? And do you have a reverse proxy setup?

[gmachine24]

Hi. Thanks for the reply. The result of route is located here: https://pastebin.com/BCKcEJXi


and I do not run a reverse proxy such as Nginx.

However, I read reviews of software similar to Tailscale and I came upon netbird, another zero trust network like Tailscale.

So far, my results with netbird are much better than with Tailscale. No trouble connecting remotely to my Jellyfin server on the Fedora install. But, as they say, it's still early. I need to give it a few more days to make sure it's stable.

I read online some moaning about the Fedora Jellyfin (Flathub) version not being updated - until a December 2024 post said it has been updated to version 11.1.1. Currently I'm running 10.10.5 - but not Flathub. So updating to 11.1.1 is an option although I'm not a big Flathub fan.

Anyway - I'm curious about what the route command might tell you of the problems I was having with Tailscale. Most posts I read online - people love it.

I really appreciate your time.

Edit: I use Private Internet Access VPN. With it switched on, OpenVPN or Wireguard, I cannot connect to the Fedora desktop running Jellyfin - even when allowing local lan traffic while running PIA.

Edit2: Doh. I shut off netbird, turned on tailscale on my phones and Fedora computer and made sure PIA was not running - and my phones etc connected to Jellyfin on the Fedora computer. I connected the PIA vpn and connections failed. So, I'm thinking PIA is the problem. I know Tailscale has some deal with Mullvad - but I'm not familiar with that. This is from Tailscale: "However, in most cases, you can’t Tailscale alongside other VPNs without a workaround. Usually, this is due to aggressive firewall rules, device limitations, or IP address conflicts." A split-tunnel is one possibility - but it doesn't seem promising. I need to do more research.

Any information will be most welcome.

I'm curious. I use a VPN 90+ % of the time. Assuming I cannot run a VPN while using Tailscale or netbird, and assuming I connect from my phone's network or via wifi in some cafe or other, what will my ISP see? I know Tailscale and netbird use Wireguard - and that encrypts data to and from. But I imagine my ISP will see where I'm connecting from - do you have any insight into this? Will the ISP know what device I connect to? I realize these may be questions for the VPN folks. Thanks.

[TheDreadPirate]

Multiple VPNs is definitely a recipe for a headache. I don't use a VPN for remote access (only plain wireguard to bind my two LANs together) so I'm not sure how to navigate your setup.