After thinking about this problem. I think why the sleep is stopping the disconnect problem. Is becasue something is trying to contact the MY Cloud and it is not responding quick enough. Because of the need to spin up the disk. before it can respond. The question is who is causing this?
Possibly, but I donât see why that would affect only certain users, though. Iâm just assuming here, but if an issue like this was affecting a significant percentage of people, it would probably have been addressed as a high priority by now. Since this issue has been discussed on and off since 2015, I assume it is a pretty small group of people. So itâs probably an issue arising from interactions between the MyCloud device and certain kinds of networks or routers. The issue may not technically be with the MyCloud at all, for all I really know, beyond perhaps not being as tolerant as it could be to non-standard behavior from other network devices :shrug:
On a practical level, though, what matters most to me, and to most people whoâll find this discussion via Google, is that there is a work-around, however inelegant, that is simple enough for basically anyone to implement. Itâs possible the life span of the device will be shortened somewhat by having sleep mode disabled, but I rather doubt it would be significant - sitting idle shouldnât involve the disk spinning much, if any, and that is basically the only part prone to wear damage. So the only real downside, pragmatically, is the increased power consumption, which I expect will also be pretty minimal - this isnât a monitor or a laser printer, and itâs idle-ready power use is probably not that much higher than itâs idle-sleeping power use.
Given that we know that there are a number of routers that wonât correctly auto-negotiate with the the MyCloud to establish any kind of link (starting with AT&Tâs UVerse service), itâs quite possible that some other routers also have some strange interaction with the MyCloud that causes them to establish a link at first, but then drop it.
Given that neither WD nor AT&T seem inclined to work together to fix a well-known problem, I donât hold out too much hope that intermittent problems will be identified and ever fixed.
So maybe the inelegant sleep control is the only solution, like the need to stick a switch between MyCloud and UVerse router.
I see that the HT2000W modem has a status feature. I wonder if disabling the status feature would correct the problem? Not sure how the status gets its information. Iâve heard of systems that have a heartbeat feature. If the
other end does not respond within a specified time it thinks that the other end failed.
1 Like
Not for me ⊠I am on WIN 10 ⊠All was fine yesterday ⊠now today ⊠not so much. I press âWin+Râ and type â\WDMyCloudMirrorâ and it shows up in the file browser ⊠but then when I try to map a network drive ⊠it disappears again âŠ
I have been struggling with this for more than 6 months. My MyCloudEX2Ultra worked flawlessly for 2 1/2 years. Then i shut it down because i needed to do some electric work in the house. After the restart it was visible as ever, but after some minutes it suddenly disappeared from the network.
I tried 50 different things, including static IP, SMB1, disabling sleep, turning off various services, connecting it directly to the router rather than a switch, turning off the firewall, 4-sec. reset, 40-sec. reset, but only the 40-sec. reset restored functionality (with sleep enabled), until I had to shut down the device again for some reason. Another 40-sec. reset restored the connection, but i cannot be doing this every time i restart the darn thing.
Since the NAS was still under warranty I got a free replacement from WD. I set it up and it worked flawlessly for 4 months, until i purchased a UPS and had to shut the NAS down to connect it. I was obviously half expecting this, and by now the device is out of warranty. So it is time for another 40-sec. reset.
I will never buy anything from WD again. These devices are not cheap, they cannot be used as other Linux boxes from QNAP etc., and support is completely clueless. Why would i need to mess with network, firewall, IP etc. settings when the darn thing works flawlessly for months, and after a restart continues to work for a while, ut then drops off the face of the earth? The forums are full of these issues, yet WD does nothing substantial to address them.
1 Like
If a 40 second reset brings it back on the local network that would seem to indicate one of the settings reset back to default by the 40 second reset is the possible culprit.
The typical things to check.
Is one setting a static IP address within the My Cloud Dashboard > Settings?
Is one changing the Workgroup name to something else in the My Cloud Dashboard?
Has one set the correct time/time zone on the My Cloud?
On a single bay/single drive My Cloud the following settings are reset to default by a 40 second reset.
The 40 Second Reset, also known as System Only Restore, will reset the following:
Admin User Name (default = âadminâ) Admin Password (No password by default) Device Name (default = âWDMyCloudâ) SSH (Secure Shell) on Firmware 04.xx.xx-xxx, User Name and Password (default = "root" and "welc0me") SSH (Secure Shell) on Firmware 2.xx.xxx, User Name and Password (default = "root" no default password, new password enforced) Remove all Users except Admin All Share permissions (default = Public) Automatic Firmware Update (default = off) Network Mode (default = DHCP) Remove all Alerts mycloud.com account association (default = not configured) Mobile app account association (default = not configured) WD Sync association (default = not configured) Backup jobs (default = not configured) Safepoint jobs (default = not configured)
Thank you for these suggestions. What I do not understand is why the thing would work flawlessly for months and months (locally, via Android, and the WD web interface) without the slightest hiccup, then drop off the network after an orderly shutdown and restart when all settings remain identical.
I also donât understand why in such cases trying to access the dashboard in my browser would give me a âConnection refusedâ error message. Apparently, the unit is still doing something, but it is not accessible via browser, Windows, o the cloud. Finally, the Media server i usually still accessible for a while when the dashboard is not, but it too will after an hour or so succumb to whatever is causing this problem. Mind you, I am on my second unit (warranty replacement) and seeing the same weird behavior as on the previous one.
But to address your suggestions:
- Static IP is configured, DHCP is used (default)
- Workgroup name is unchanged (âWorkgroupâ)
- Time zone is set to my local time zone (Vienna)
The WDMyCloudEX2Ultra is a two-bay NAS, so I suppose the other points do not apply.
I also donât think my Netgear ORBI system is at fault, as i have used it for 2 1/2 years, and the NAS used to work just fine with both the old and the new router. I suspect a firmware update introduced the problems, but given that many of them resolved severs security flaws, I am loathe to experiment with downgrading the firmware.
The most disconcerting thing is the neglect i suffer from WD. Either their support people clearly donât know what they are doing or they just donât give a hoot. For instance, what role would a firewall play in all this, when the problem occurs only when I shut down and restart the NAS? These suggestions from them just waste my time and tell me that they are just following a script rather than trying to get at the root of the problem.
Thanks for the reply, Maybe if i put the NAS behind the UPS I just bought, i will have to reset it only once in a blue moon.
EK
1 Like
Hi.
This sounds like a simple configuration issue. It does not smell like a firmware problem.
What do you mean by âStatic IP is configured, DHCP is usedâ?
How are you accessing the device? Are you using IP address? Device Name? Mapped drive?
If you want (or need) to have a static IP, under âSettingsâ, âNetworkâ, âNetwork Servicesâ, âIPv4 Network Modeâ, the âStaticâ button needs to be highlighted. If it is âDHCPâ is selected, the router MAY assign a new IP address to the unit whenever the router or the NAS unit is rebooted.
It is also possible to assign a static IP address from the router; but it does not sound like you are doing that.
I have more than one MyCloud device, and I routinely turn them off/on. I have seen some issues over time related to changes on my network; but the WD firmware (across the devices) seems to have remained consistent over the last few years.
I use a static IP on the router mapped to the MAC address of te NAS.
The NAS is set to get its network config via DHCP from the router.
When the problem occurs, I cannot access the deviceâs dashboard (connection refused). I cannot access it via the WD web portal, i cannot access it via the cloud (e.g. on my iPad or Android phone). I cannot see it on the network, WD Access thinks it is hibernating, but all three LEDs in front are solid blue. I cannot see any shares, my backup program fails because it cannot find the backup folder. Media streaming continues to work for a little while and i can access the Twonky server web interface (on port 9000), but not for long, then this also times out.
After i reboot the NAS, it will be accessible for a short while (15-30 minutes) then the same symptoms.
One thing to do, if you can narrow down the exact time the issue occurs, is look at both the router logs and the My Cloud logs and see if there is any indication of whatâs happening that might cause the My Cloud to disappear.
And because your using a EX2 Ultra perhaps there is something specific to that unit that users in the dedicated EX2 subforum may be able to identify if you havenât posted or search that subforum yet.
From what you are describing. It looks like the IP address is correct. I say this because when the WD Access stops media streaming still works and twonky works. For these to work the IP address needs to be correct. It looks like the network just stops talking. If running windows one could try to use the network monitor to trace the network traffic of this device. Not sure what the program is called on a mac.
I suspect that something on the device is causing the device to have excessive CPU or something similar. I would suggest that you SS into the device and run sar or ps -eaf logging the output to a file on disk. When the system fails and reboots check the file to see if you can find something.
Yes, based on the newer information, it sounds like there is a some sort of system check or media scanning that is occurring that is locking up the unit. (twonky or plex or something else?). Is there a backup job or anything like that running?
I would make a few suggestions; but I donât have access to the units at the minute.
Well, I have a few more data points now.
Tried to do a 40-sec. reset, but while the NAS appeared to do it, i later found out it had not done so. I held the paper clip for more than a minute, and only when I let go did the unit react. Then the top light flashed blue, the middle light was solid blue, and the bottom light unlit. The NAS made quite some noise, and this remained so for 3 days after which i got tired of it.
Puled the plug, reconnected, the thing came back online, did a firmware upgrade, after which I found out that it had not reset. The NAS was accessible from the dashboard, I could map drives from it, look at its content, etc. The router had assigned it its customary IP address via DHCP.
I manually started the backup that had not run for a couple of weeks. It used to run flawlessly every week without any manual intervention. After half an hour or so, i checked the dashboard: connection refused. I could still see the folders, navigate around, look at files, etc. The backup had transferred almost 40 GB of data, and soon hung. Some time later it would time out, at that point I was unable to access any files. Putty hung when trying to ssh into the NAS. No timeout, no error, just a blank shell window.
Now the darn thing just sits there with all three LEDs lit blue, making fan noises but no responding I am about to throw it out the window.
Please see one solution to the problem here: WD EX2 Ultra unreachable after a while - #21 by MonteChristo
My drive is disappearing from the network consistly, even in the middle of a Time Machine backup. It will come back after a 4-second reset, and be gone in a couple of hours. I did hard 40-second resets, rebooted the system from dashboard, reserved IP address from DHCP, changed to Static IP, disabled sleep mode, etc. Nothing worked. Blue lights on. Netgear app shows itâs connected. I had the issue before sporadically, but the above tricks usually fixed it. About a month ago, I noticed this issue and have never been able to keep it connected for longer than a couple of hours. I use both Mac Catalina and Win10, so I know this is not a Operating system issue. I have the original 4TB single bay drive. Netgear R8000P router.
Do you think this could be an issue with the 12 volt power supply. Those cheep supplies are known for having issue with capacitors leaking acid over time and slowly dropping voltage. When the system is first powered up the hard disc boots up along with the electronics and the system is stable. After 20 minutes it goes to sleep and when awoke the hard drive pulls current causing voltage to drop causing the electronics to fail due to not enough 12 volts and 5 volts for the electronics. Does any one have an opinion on this concept? Just throwing another dart at the dart board.
I have had my 12 TB PR2100 (6 with RAID) for just a few months.
I use it almost exclusively as just a Plex media server although i do manually do a back up of my laptop once a month or so.
My network disconnects are very sporadic, about once every 10 days to 2 weeks, but always seem to happen when i have company over and i want to fire up my music playlist. Its kinda inconvenient to say, hold on, i have to go to my rack and reboot my server.
My PR 2100 is directly wired to a TP-Link dual WAN router (auto failover, not aggregation) with redundant WAN connections, two power supplies connected to UPS with generator backup. It is not configured for access outside my network, has a fixed IP configured both on the PR2100 and my router and that IP is outside of my routerâs DHCP range. Sleep mode is off and there is nothing connected to the USB port on the PR2100.
I have email notifications on (in hopes it might let me know it dropped from the network and needs a reboot, but, duh, it canât send you an email if it is not on the network.) I do get email notices after i reboot it that say power outage.
When it drops, my router client table still shows it there, assisned that permanent IP, along with the 40 or so other devices on my network.
I had the domain in windows services set to the name i use for my network, but switched it back to "WORKGROUP " today based on some of the comments in this forum.
I also had time syncing to my network so it would be easier to compare logs in my router and the PR2100 if there was any connection.
Since the IP is not in the routerâs DHCP range there is nothing to see in the routerâs logs about the PR2100.
The PR2100 logs donât give much of a clue. Some messages about syncing time (which is why I disabled that today) saying it was successful, the âpower failuresâ all caused by me needing to reboot to be able to log back into it, and a few "SAMBA CIFS: Authentication for user [me] has FAILED.
Out of frustration for this problem, today I configured the power to be off twice a week for a couple hours as a brute force means of rebooting periodically instead of me having to do it manually at inconvenient times. This is not a satisfactory solution as this NAS should never be down. Dual power supplies, battery and generator back up, dual WAN connections.
What does it take to keep this thing on the network? WD support⊠umâŠdoesnât support this problem.
Oh, forgot, firmware is 5. 23.114, supposedly up to date.
You may want to avoid having a static IP address set on both the PR2100 and on the TP-Link router. Set it one place OR the other but not both. Generally its better to set/reserve it within the router.
Note there is a specific subforum for the OS5 Pro Series where users of the PR2100 may be able to assist. This subforum (OS3 My Cloud) generally covers the older OS3 firmware that is end of life and no longer supported by WD. Further this subforum generally discusses the single bay, single drive OS3 My Cloud devices.
OS5 My Cloud Pro Series
https://community.wd.com/c/os5/my-cloud-pro-series/256
There are several WD Knowledge Base Articles that may be relevant to your issue. You may need to adjust the Samba/SMB version in the My Cloud Dashboard > Settings > Network > Windows Services section.
My Cloud OS 5: TV, Printers, Scanners, IP Camera and Media Players Cannot Connect
https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/29985
My Cloud OS 5: Sonos Library SMB Connection Error
https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/30010
My Cloud OS 5: Change Windows Samba (SMB) Protocol Version
https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/29958
