This has driven me mad for the last 24 hours. Here’s my setup …
I have multiple public ip addresses and have mapped one of these in the router to the static address I have allocated to the MyCloud unit.
The router has UPnP enabled
The router (V3 hardware) does not have port mapping per se but does have Virtual Server settings, which I understand serve the same purpose. With or without anything set in there I am able to FTP and SSH to the box using its public ip address. I am also able to browse to mypublicipaddress on both port 80 and secure port 443 and receive a ‘You don’t have permission to access /UI on this server’ message
In Cloud Access Connection Options I have tried the Auto settings & various ports in the Manual Settings (80 + 443, 8080 + 8443 with & without mapping using Virtual Server.
Definitely not - a very amenable business class ISP, which is why I have a block of ip addresses from them to be able to run things like a web server and use whatever port are needed.
OK. So now have a Draytek Vigor 2830n Plus configured and I’ve managed to get a port forwarding connection … BUT… with that connection when I connect to MyCloud via an app on my iPad (wireless) or iPhone (wireless or 3g) and I try to browes I don’t get any content and only a message "File not found. The file you are looking for is no longer available. If I reconfigure my network and router settings to force a relay connection, files and solders are visible again.
This is supposed to be a straightforward consumer product and, right now, I feel like taking it to the tip
I even opened a support ticket on this issue on Wednesday and, despite the claim of a response in one working day … nothing 36 hours later!
Permissions are all read write and I’ve been through the process of adding new accounts to access various shares + enabling / disablingcloud access. There are now 2 distinct situations which are reproducable:
Fully working and accessible shares when away from the network but only by relay access
Shares and fles not found when in port forwarding mode.
I know I have got something working but I can’t help wondering what the difference in performance would be if it wasn’t running in relay mod - plus I don’t like to be beaten and when something that should work doesn’t I like to know why :confounded:
when I connect to MyCloud via an app on my iPad (wireless) or iPhone (wireless or 3g) and I try to browes I don’t get any content and only a message "File not found.
This afternoon I seem to have got a port forwarding conection that actually works both inside and outside my residence. I had tried a few more router setting combinations on the Draytek Vigor (there are a lot of permutation spossible with this device). Initally all I got was a relay connection and decided to call it a day. However, I’d left the MyCloud config screen open in my browser and just happened to glance at it an hour or so later to be amazed and somewhat dumbfounded to see that the status had changed to show ‘Port forwarding connection established’. I rushed to test on my iPhone via wireless and 3G and was gobsmacked that it genuinely did seem to be working, without any of the previous ‘file not found’ errors.
I’ll be monitoring the connection over the next 24 hours and, if it remains stable, will post some info for my router setup in case others ever find themselves in a similar situation. Stand by …
OK, so over 2 days have passed since I last reported in on this issue and things have only become more complicated. The first 24 hours seemd to go OK and then I had to do a router re-boot. No settings had been changed on the router since Sunday. Of course the WD box complained that it had lost internet access but it also switched the connection back into Relay mode. I then got an error from Time Machine telling me the backup disk could not be found. Strangely, the Finder was showing the drive in its SHARED list but the name had changed to all lower case - mycloud instead of MyCloud.
A re-boot of the WD box now only gived Relayed access again. It advertises itself in the Mac finder as MyCloud (so a Time nmachine backup can be run again … BUT … all of it’s own accord, anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours later, it undergoes a name change again to mycloud.
I’ve logged into the box using SSH and queried its hostname, which is correctly reported as MyCloud so what’s going on here? This thing has a mind and will of it’s own.
Following my last post I changed the hostname from MyCloud to lowercase mycloud and it connected OK to TimeMachineBackup and happily made backups until 15:00GMT today. Then things fell over again, with Time Machine reporting that the backup disk “mycloud” is not available. Despite this message “mycloud” is visible in my Finder shared resources on both Macs that are backing up to TM and I can connect to it in Finder and browse without any trouble.
So, yet another visit to the MyCloud management console, clicked on Configure for Time Machine and then a Save, without changing any settings - lo and behold Time Machine now finds the disk and starts backing up.
_ Quite frankly this box is simply not fit for purpose _ and should not have been released onto an unsuspecting public, being totally unreliable as witnessed by all the issues I’ve shared in this thread. Automated backups such as TM should be a set and forget action and simply work. Never had this issue with Time Capsule.
To cap it all, WD Suppoort simply don’t seem to want to know. I’ve had a ticket open with them for 9 days that hasn’t been replied to. Is that some kind of record or have others experienced this?
If anyone has any suggestions how this can be escalated I’d sure be pleased to receive them. :angry:
Expletives Deleted:
Right after the backup it made after re-saving the settings I went to access the box in the Finder, only to get the message that “There was a problem connecting to the server “mycloud”. The server may not exist or is unavailable at this time …”
I’m normally a patient, quiet kind of guy but I exploded when I saw that.
Off once again to the management console and re-saved the existing TM settings to bring it back online.
I hope some staffer is reading this, as I feel I’m owed the courtesy of some kind of comment.
Final edit tonight … Blow me - I can’t even register a returns request on the supplier’s website now as their form is not working. This whole purchase has been cursed.
I’ve seriously considered this but do not fancy throwing good time after bad and, quite honestly, I doubt it would make any difference anyway. If there were a way of doing it without losing the data that is already on there I might give it a whirl - is that possible?
I prefer the quick restore (full reformat) over the system only (settings restore only) because the quick restore actually reformats and “reinstalls” the OS. It is a pain to lose your data and transfer everything back again, but it really does clear up any issues the unit may have. In the past, I did have some issues when doing fw updates, but it was fixed when I do a quick restore.
Out of interest. Do you require advice or is this just a blog of your experience with the mycloud.
Do you believe that WD support will be any better at advising you then a person of obvious knowledge like tnynyn.
I’ll be grateful for any informed advice. I’m not intending this to be a blog but simply detailing everything I’ve tried + results in order to provide information that someone may be able to act on.
This morning I have done a factory re-set (systen only restore initially to preserve data). Took ages to initialise again. This time I’ve gone with bog standard settings - DHCP & Auto Cloud Access with UPnP enabled on router, default hostname. This gave me a connected status (no mention of Relaying or port forwarding) I was able to connect an iPhone remote from the network. Then made a successful TM backup.
One hour later, at the next TM backup the backup disk could not be found, the connection has now switched to Relay and I’m back to where I started. What advantage would be gained by doing a quick restore. Aside from wiping the data, what else does that do over and above a system restore?
To answer your second question … possibly not but it is darned poor service not to respond when they claim to do so within a day.
That’s it, I’ve had it now. A full Quick Restore and the thing remains as unreliable as ever with connectivity and backups. I’ve requested an RMA & it’s going back. It’s the only way I can list this issue as ‘solved’ after hours and hours trouble shooting.
Good luck to everyone else out there in your journey with this device.
I also had problems with the relay connection and I still do. I had FOUR calls with WD about this “Realy connection” and they were never able to correct the situation. I understand perfectly when you say that this thing has a life of its own. Sometimes it, works, you come back and then it’s not. It is so “flaky”, so “un-robust”. In another life, I use to love tweeking these things. But not, when I buy a device, all I want is to plug it in, and see it working with no flaws.
But what I cant understand, is that it should be so easy to configure a drive connected directly to a router. Why, in 2014, are we still struggling with port configuration, DHCP, firmware update, complete factory reset, etc. Can you imagine buying a VCR (sorry, I’m that old) and having to connect to the thing and trying to figure out why you can’t watch the **bleep** movie you rented? Why is this SO complicated?
I too am thinking of sending the unit back to WD. In fact, they offered me to do it, unable to help me configure my router (ASUS RT-N56U) correctly, saying that my ISP was blocking ports 80 and 443 (not true after verfication with my ISP).
Were you finally able to configure the WDMyCloud to get a stable internet connection?
Thank you. (Sorry for the poor english I’m writing).
