Disks don't spin down after update

[nzeris]

Hello,
after the 5.31.102 update it seems that my EX4100 disks do not spin down. In fact they seem to spin down for a few minutes and then back up for no obvious reason. The logs do not show any specific information:

2025 Jun 8 10:55:30
OTHER
* HD3 awake now ! *
2025 Jun 8 10:55:25
OTHER
* HD1 awake now ! *
2025 Jun 8 10:55:01
OTHER
* HD2 awake now ! *
2025 Jun 8 10:54:34
OTHER
* HD0 awake now ! *
2025 Jun 8 10:42:10
OTHER
* HD3 stand by now! *
2025 Jun 8 10:42:09
OTHER
* HD2 stand by now! *
2025 Jun 8 10:42:07
OTHER
* HD1 stand by now! *
2025 Jun 8 10:42:06
OTHER
* HD0 stand by now! *
2025 Jun 8 10:25:03
OTHER
* HD3 awake now ! *
2025 Jun 8 10:25:03
OTHER
* HD1 awake now ! *
2025 Jun 8 10:25:03
OTHER
* HD2 awake now ! *
2025 Jun 8 10:20:54
OTHER
* HD0 awake now ! *
2025 Jun 8 10:20:54
OTHER
* HD3 stand by now! *
2025 Jun 8 10:20:53
OTHER
* HD2 stand by now! *
2025 Jun 8 10:20:51
OTHER
* HD1 stand by now! *
2025 Jun 8 10:20:49
OTHER
* HD0 stand by now! *

I tried to reboot the system, but nothing changed. Are there any suggestions? Is this a firmware bug?
Thank you

[kumburle.pradeep]

Hi @nzeris

Have you checked our knowledge base articles?
(Support for Western Digital Hard Drives | Western Digital)

Have you opened a Support Case?
If not, contact Western Digital Technical Support for assistance.
(Contact Us | Western Digital)

[EstherEdward]

You’re not the only one facing this — others have reported similar issues with drive spin-down after the 5.31.102 firmware update on EX4100 devices. Your logs show the drives go into standby but wake up soon after without a clear reason. This usually points to a background process accessing the drives after the update.

Here are a few things to try:

• Turn off cloud access, DLNA, and media indexing from the dashboard — these often cause the drives to wake up.
• Disable “Drive Sleep,” reboot the NAS, then enable it again — this sometimes fixes spin-down behavior.
• If you use third-party apps like Plex, check if they’re scanning the drives in the background.
• Use SSH to check /var/log and see if any system process is accessing the drives.

If the issue persists, it could be a firmware bug. Raise a support ticket with WD and mention it started after the 5.31.102 update. Until it’s fixed, turning off indexing services usually helps reduce unnecessary drive activity.