Remote Access & Connection Issues

Most connection problems come down to one question: can your device actually reach your server right now? This page covers watching away from home and what to try when Zuno can’t connect.

Watching away from home

Plex manages remote access for you. As long as your Plex Media Server has Remote Access enabled and is signed in to your Plex account, Zuno reaches it from anywhere, no address or port to enter.

Jellyfin and Emby are self-hosted, so remote access is set up on the server, not in Zuno. To watch away from home you’ll need your server reachable from the internet, typically through one of:

A reverse proxy with a domain name and HTTPS (the most common setup).
A VPN back to your home network.
Port forwarding on your router (least recommended, for security reasons).

Once that’s in place, add the server in Zuno using its public address instead of its local one. You can keep both and switch between them; see Multiple Servers.

Connecting through a secure gateway

Some people put an authentication gateway in front of their Jellyfin or Emby server, so every request has to prove itself before it reaches the server. Tools like Authelia, Authentik and Traefik work this way, and they usually expect a particular HTTP header to be present on each request.

Zuno can send custom headers with everything it asks your server for, so it can pass through a gateway like this. To set them up:

Open the server under Settings → Sources & Servers and tap Custom Headers.
Add each header your gateway expects by its name and value. Tap the list icon to pick from common header names.
If your gateway uses HTTP Basic Authentication, tap Basic Authentication and enter the username and password. Zuno turns these into the right header for you.

If your server sits behind a gateway from the outset, add the headers before you sign in: tap Custom Headers on the add-server screen first. When a server is reachable but the gateway is blocking Zuno, the connection check shows an amber note prompting you to add one.

Custom headers are stored with your server’s other details and sync across your devices, so a server you set up on your iPhone works on your Apple TV without entering anything again.

You can set custom headers for Seerr too, under Settings → Integrations, if your Seerr instance sits behind the same gateway.

When Zuno can’t find your server

Check the address and port. For Jellyfin and Emby, confirm the URL and port (8096 by default), for example http://192.168.1.100:8096.
Try http:// versus https://. Some servers accept only one.
Confirm you’re on the right network. On your home network, your device and server should be on the same network. Away from home, the server must be reachable from the internet (see above).
Tap it from the list. If Zuno found your server automatically on the local network, select it rather than typing the address.
Check the server is running and signed in to the correct account.

Slow or dropping connections

If Zuno connects but playback buffers, stalls, or drops, that’s usually about bandwidth rather than the connection itself:

Buffering is most often a network or server bandwidth limit between your device and the server.
On mobile data, enable Lower Quality on Cellular in Settings → Playback.
Lower the streaming quality in Settings → Playback → Quality.

For picture and sound problems during playback, see Playback Problems.