Tip!: The Mobile Sync feature requires an active Plex Pass subscription for the main Plex Media Server account and for the iOS app to be signed in with a Plex account.
Mobile Sync provides an easy way for you take your content with you and enjoy it offline. You can sync a range of content from your library such as movies, music, photos, and even playlists. Your viewing progress will be remembered while viewing content offline and will later be synced back to the media server next time you are online.
Note: Mobile Sync in the iOS app supports Restricting the Shares for both regular Plex accounts and Managed Users. Only one user can have synced content at any given time on a particular device.
Syncing an Item
To begin syncing an item, simply tap on the sync button that can be found on an item’s preplay screen, at the top of a playlist, or in a library’s action bar when viewing the library via Browse. It can also be accessed through an item’s context menu.
Tip!: You can open the context menu in most cases by long-pressing on an item’s artwork or tapping the title area below the artwork.
The sync creation screen allow users to set the quality, limit the number of items, and choose watched status where applicable. For example, sync can automatically download the most recent unwatched episodes for a TV Show. After pressing the Save button, your content will begin processing and then downloading.
Tip!: A lower sync quality will result in a smaller file allowing you to store more content on your device at the expense of lower-quality video/audio/photos.
Of course, syncs can also be initiated from Plex Web App. Remember that the sync is created for the Plex user you’re using when initiating the sync. e.g. If you’ve switched to a Managed User in your iOS app but you initiate a sync to that iOS device from Plex Web App while signed in as your admin account there, the sync will be under the admin account in the iOS app.
Managing Sync Items
The sync screen provides a central place to manage your synced items and view the current sync status. You can pause an item that’s downloading, adjust the quality of items (quality changes only affect future item syncs), initiate sync, delete sync items, and quickly access default sync settings in the upper right of the screen.
The sync screen can be accessed by tapping on the Sync entry toward the top of the navigation menu.
Warning!: The Delete All Content button will remove all synced content and reset mobile sync for your device. This step cannot be undone once confirmed.
Related Page: Navigation Menu
Status area
The upper portion of the sync screen provides sync information such as the total number of items synced or waiting to be synced, available storage remaining on your device, and the overall sync progress for all items.
Item area
The lower part of the sync screen lists your sync items along with their individual sync progress. You can track the percentage of total progress, see which stage of the sync it is at, and even pause an item during the download stage.
Each sync item can be made up of a single piece of media (such as a movie, episode, photo, or track) or multiple pieces of media (for instance, a playlist, TV show, season, photo album, or even your entire music library).
Sync Item Details
Tapping on a sync item will allow you to view the details of the item. Here, you can change the quality setting as well as delete the sync item.
Note: Changes to the quality of a sync item won’t affect content that’s already been synced. However, it will affect any new content that gets processed for that sync item (e.g. the next unwatched episode in a synced season).
Accessing Synced Content
After syncing content to your device, it is accessible in a number of ways. You can switch to the local device, filter a library while connected to a server, or even use another Plex app to stream synced content from your device!
The Local Device
The most common way to enjoy synced content is to switch your location to the local device. From here you can use the app normally, playing items that have been downloaded rather than streaming them from a server. Playing synced content does not require a network connection and can even help improve battery life.
Tip!: You can also access content synced to the local device from another Plex app. Simply enable the sharing of synced content from Settings > Sharing and then connect to this device from a another Plex app to enjoy your synced content.
Related Page: The Local Device
“Synced Only” filter
If you wish to see what content you already have set to sync from a library, you can use the Synced Only option under the Filter when you Browse a library. For instance, if you’re away from home and browsing your library, you might do this to quickly see what content you have available to play without using your valuable cellular data.
Tip!: If you enable the Prefer Synced Content preference (under Settings > Advanced), then the app will use a synced copy of the item for playback when available rather than streaming it from your server.
Related Page: Settings: Plex for iOS