If you’re a cord-cutter in the know, you’ve probably got some experience with Plex. First founded in 2008, Plex is a media management software that integrates HTPC (Home Theater PC) functionality with a huge variety of other features, including music management, photo viewing, and much more.
Since then, Plex has expanded to allow users to add “channels” to their Plex setup, allowing them to stream content from websites and channels such as Vice, CBC, AMC, and many more. However, not all channels are supported on the device.
Because of this, tech-savvy cord cutters, hackers, and developers have collaborated to create an application that’s known as the “Unsupported App Store”. In this article, we’ll take a look at this feature, discuss its benefits and most popular channels, and provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to install it on your own Plex setup.
So read on, learn with us, and see how you can use the Plex unsupported app store to make your cord-cutting lifestyle even more convenient and efficient!
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What Is The Plex Unsupported App Store?
While it has always been possible to add your own plugins to Plex, this is often quite difficult – usually involving downloading custom applications from Github, and adding them to your Plex application yourself.
Essentially, the Plex Unsupported App Store has been created to provide a simpler alternative to manual installation of unsupported plugins and channels, providing unsupported app developers with a distribution method for their software.
This is accomplished through a third-party add-on which allows Plex users to browse, download, and add additional plugins that are not supported by the main Plex software application. By downloading and installing the Plex Unsupported App Store, you can dramatically increase the capability of your Plex installation, and add channels that may not be supported by the official Plex software – for a variety of reasons.
Because the Plex Unsupported App Store provides users with quite a bit of content that may otherwise be inaccessible, installing it is a fantastic choice for any cord-cutter who uses Plex.
Naturally, because the Plex Unsupported App Store is not supported (a shocker, we know), it’s a bit more difficult to install than just clicking a “download” button. So, later on in our guide, we’ll discuss a step-by-step method to install the Plex Unsupported App Store, so that you can experience the fantastic content available on this store for yourself!
But before we do, let’s talk about the types of channels and content available on the Plex Unsupported App Store, so that you can decide if you’re interested in installing this homebrew application!
What Can I Expect After Installing The Plex Unsupported App Store?
Your options for channels and content are nearly limitless once you’ve installed the Plex Unsupported App Store – but we’ve put together a list of some of the best channels available on this store, so that you’ll have a place to start once you install this homebrew application! Read on, and check them out for yourself!
FilmOn – FilmOn is one of the best online resources for free high-quality films and television, so it’s no surprise that it ranks highly on our list! Offering a wide variety of live and on-demand television from around the world, as well as some pay-per-view U.S. content, FilmOn is a fantastic choice to add to your Plex installation, providing you with a wide variety of international content.
Spotify – If you love gathering all of your media in one place, you’re going to love the unofficial Spotify Unsupported App Store extension. Using this application, you can enjoy all of Spotify’s 30 million songs, streaming to any of your Plex-enabled devices. Naturally, you’ll need to be a Spotify Premium member to take full advantage of this application – but if you’re a cord-cutter, you’re probably already a member!
TuneIn Radio – TuneIn Radio is a fantastic music and audio streaming application from the Plex Unsupported App Store. This radio application provides over 100,000 radio stations, and nearly 4 million on-demand podcasts, radio programs, and other forms of audio content.
Best of all, if you’re already signed up for TuneIn Radio, the Plex application will allow you to sync your preferences, subscribed channels, and favorite content, providing a truly seamless experience.
CrunchyRoll – If you’re an anime fan, you’ve got a CrunchyRoll subscription. CrunchyRoll offers the best selection of anime anywhere on the internet, with hundreds of shows and thousands of hours of content. New episodes are often uploaded to CrunchyRoll within a day of airing – making it the #1 streaming service for anime fans.
The CrunchyRoll app for Plex allows you to stream video content from the site directly to your Plex-enabled devices, including the Anime and Pop Drama sections of the site. While this plugin does require a premium CrunchyRoll subscription, it will also work with a 14-day free trial – so if you’re an anime fan and haven’t tried out CrunchyRoll, this is the perfect time to start!
Internet Archive – Many cord cutters are already aware of The Internet Archive. This digital library features an absolutely massive list of public domain films, TV shows, audio content, and much more. While the selection is mostly limited to older content, anyone who is looking for a high-quality source of totally free entertainment will love The Internet Archive.
This Internet Archive bundle provides Plex users with an easy, intuitive method to access the content provided by The Internet Archive, and includes both search and favoriting functionality. This makes it easy to browse new content, and to keep track of things that you’d like to watch later!
BringThePopcorn – BringThePopcorn is another very popular channel for free movies and TV shows, and often features new releases – although it’s not always updated as often as other channels.
Despite this, BringThePopcorn features a wide variety of both old and new movies – many of which are unavailable on other channels. This provides users with a huge variety of unique content, and makes the BringThePopcorn applications a fantastic choice for any cord cutter making use of the Plex Unsupported App Store.
FMoviesPlus – Another popular online film repository, FMoviesPlus offers a wide variety of aggregated video content, usually streaming at 1080p or higher.
A clean and simple UI, robust search functionality, and detailed information about each movie, TV show, and other piece of content makes FMoviesPlus one of the most high-quality unsupported app channels. A highlight of the app is the “most watched” section, which aggregates the top 25 most watched pieces of content in a single page, providing you with plenty of convenient viewing options!
FullMoviesOnReddit – Most cordcutters probably already know about the /r/fullmoviesonyoutube subreddit. This subreddit provides users with links to full movies on YouTube – both older public domain films and newer releases can often be found on this site.
The FullMoviesOnReddit plugin from the Plex Unsupported App Store allows Plex users to aggregate these links into a Plex channel. You won’t find many box-office smash hits on this channel, and many movies are offered in 720p or lower quality, but the constant updates and wide variety of video content on offer from FullMoviesOnReddit makes it an excellent addition to your Plex setup.
g2g.fm – g2g.fm is another great choice for Plex users looking for high quality TV show and movie streaming services. This channel offers quite a few films and new TV shows, with full details and trailers about each one. Download and streaming speeds are also generally quite good, allowing you to start playing films quickly.
LihatTV – LiHatTV is another unofficial Plex channel with support for a wide variety of live streaming TV from around the world. You can search shows and channels by country, genre, and other categories, and add them to your bookmarks for quick an easy viewing. While the UI and design of LihatTV may leave something to be desired, the wide variety of free content and high streaming speeds offered by this unofficial application make it a fantastic choice for Plex users.
Best of all, you can quickly and easily search for these applications within the Plex Unsupported App Store, eliminating the need to manually install each one! So once you’ve got your Plex Unsupported App Store installation up and running, check out these apps – they’re sure to please!
How To Install The Plex Unsupported App Store – A Step-By-Step Guide
The Plex Unsupported App Store used to be a standalone application, but now it’s been bundled into a Plex application known as the “Webtools 2.0 Bundle.” While installation of the Plex Unsupported App Store is fairly simple, it could be confusing for anyone who hasn’t dealt with Plex plugins, so we’ll go over the detailed installation instructions now.
Step 1 – Download WebTools 2.0
We’re assuming you’ve already installed Plex on your HTPC, so your first step will be to head over to GitHub to download the latest Webtools 2.0 Bundle.
Step 2 – Extract WebTools.Bundle.Zip
Extract the downloaded .ZIP file (WebTools.Bundle.Zip) to whichever folder you prefer, using the program of your choice. Your extracted file should be named WebTools.bundle.
Step 3 – Cut Or Copy Webtools.Bundle
Next, you can either “cut” or “copy” the folder. Right click it and select one of these options, and the folder will be copied to your clipboard.
Step 4 – Navigate To The Plex Plug-ins Folder
Next, navigate to the Plex icon in your system’s taskbar tray, which is located on the far-right of your taskbar (for Windows users) next to the Time and Date settings. Right click it, and click the “Open Plug-ins Folder” option.
Alternatively, you can navigate to your Plex plug-ins folder manually. On Windows systems, this will be located at – %LOCALAPPDATA%\Plex Media Server\Plug-ins\ – you can simply paste this string into your Windows Explorer program, and you’ll be brought to the correct folder.
On Mac OS X, navigate to “Finder > Go > Go to Folder and paste – ~/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Plug-ins – to find the correct folder.
Step 5 – Add WebTools.Bundle To The Plex Plug-Ins Folder
Now, simply “paste” WebTools.bundle. into the Plex Plug-ins folder. This will put the WebTools bundle into Plex, and allow you to use its features.
Step 6. Enter The Required URLs
The new installation process of WebTools takes a few extra steps. First, open up Plex and click on the “WebTools” channel. You’ll find 2 urls, and a message that says “To access this channel, type the url’s below to a new browser tab”.
Simply enter these two URLs in the browser of your choice to enable WebTools functionality. You’ll be prompted for your Plex credentials, so enter your username and password to complete the login process.
Step 7 – Select The Unsupported App Store
The next screen will show you all 3 WebTools programs – Subtitle Management, Log/Viewer/Downloader Tool, and the Unsupported App Store.
Naturally, the Unsupported App Store is what you’re interested in – so click on it, and you’ll be presented with a UI that will allow you to quickly and easily install unsupported apps!
You can use search functionality to find apps, or enter the GitHub links to unsupported channels in the interface. Either way, The Unsupported App Store will install these channels for you automatically, providing you with a much easier method to install unsupported Plex plugins and channels!
That’s it! By following these simple instructions, you’ll be able to install the Plex unsupported app store quickly, and begin enjoying a huge variety of unsupported video and audio content!
Eric Liston is a content writer based in Columbus, Ohio. Since 2015, he’s been writing about technology, cord-cutting, and helping everyday people save money. He also has expertise writing about medicine, dentistry, insurance, and a variety of other industries. No matter what he’s writing, his focus is always on simplifying complex concepts and making them approachable for everyone. When he’s not slamming away on his keyboard at his home office, you’ll find Eric reading sci-fi novels, improving his disc golf game (he just hit his first 400-foot drive) and playing video games on his gaming PC.
