Plex Media Server (henceforth Plex) is one of my most frequently used applications. I can’t claim to have seen any application-breaking bugs but now and again there are situations where Plex doesn’t behave like I want to. Such an issue came up when I moved my Plex Media Server (I promise, this is the last time I will use the full name) from my old Proxmox host to Unraid.
Because I wasn’t able to copy any files on to the new system, I had to start from scratch and Plex had to re-scrape all of my films and television shows. While there weren’t all too many, Plex occasionally refused to match a file despite all the necessary information being present. Instead of repeatedly searching for the film without any hits, you might want to use the workaround detailed in this guide.
Match a film using the IMDb ID in Plex
If Plex absolutely refuses to recognize a film, there is a simple solution: Search for the film on IMDb, where you will find just about every single one in existence. From there, copy the IMDB ID, which is part of the URL (in this case it is tt1217209).
Then head back into Plex and fix the match of a film you’ve been having trouble finding. Next, enter the IMDb ID instead of the title in the Plex search field. If you now click on search, only one suggestion will appear, and it will be the one corresponding to the IMDb ID.
Using Radarr to find the IMDb ID
If you use Radarr you can head directly to the correct IMDb page by opening one of your films selecting the option from the external links. Simply right-click on the IMDb option and copy the URL, which will contain the correct ID.
Match a TV show using the TheTVDB.com ID in Plex
For TV shows you can use TheTVDB.com in the same way you can use IMDb for films. On TheTVDB the TV show ID is listed in the info box and isn’t part of the URL. You can once again replace the TV show’s title with this number in Plex and the search result will display what you wanted in the firs place.
Using Sonarr to find the TV show ID
Just as with films in Radarr, you will find a link that will take you straight to the TV show’s entry on TheTVDB.com in Sonarr. Simply click on the link and copy the ID.
