Roll back firmware to the previous version

i have an EX2 ultra and am on 5.18.117.

i would like to downgrade to 5.17.107, with the bin file taken from this link:

would it be simply the same as updating, just upload the firmware file and hit upgrade ? want to make sure a downgrade can be done this way without an issue.

I already have a few copies of my NAS data elsewhere on volumes outside of the NAS so I am backed up.

Hi @cs7404,

Please contact the WD Technical Support team for best assistance and troubleshooting:
https://support-en.wd.com/app/ask

i opened 2 support requests with wd on Nov 27 and as of this moment have yet to hear from them.

Is this just a matter of manually loading firmware that you download from the WD support page?

Or does the manual reload puke if you try to load older OS/5 firmware?

If that doesn’t work. . .There is a procedure from DSWV42 and few others that involves nuking the “kernal” in /dev/mtd1 and config files in mtd5.

Once this is done, a device reboot will allow the buried rescue firmware to emerge. From here, you can load any firmware version you want.

(this is fairly straight forward with Rev 1 of rescue firmware. Recent units (last few monthes?) have shipped with Rev2. . . .not clear if it works the same (suspicion is yes it does)

I am leaving out LOADS of details.

could you reference the procedure you mentioned ? i would consider doing this if not to roll back - then to restore the most stable firmware as a means of refreshing the hardware and OS.

can it be done without any disks in the nas, or can the disks remain untouched during this process ?

i am also looking for a way via ssh to list the filesystem health of each drive as well as output all the SMART health info for my drives. i know the N300’s are good and health status in the dashboard is good for each, but i want the verbatim output from within ssh.

It’s a long story.
I understand it well enough to risk a non-critical system on my network; but not well enough to provide reliable details.

It’s basically executing two or three commands via SSH to delete the operating system files. . . .and then rebooting. It takes only a few minutes. . and if done right leaves the data intact (but the user configuration for shares will be gone - - -although that can be recreated fairly quickly).

thanks for the advice dswv42 … i understand your concerns and you should know you’re not dealing with the typical ‘genius’ as you referred … i’m fairly cautious about how i use terminal and ssh to issue commands and make sure something i’m typing is exactly what i intend it. i am not an expert though so i do read up on what i’m doing before i do it.

here is the output of my physical disks:

root@MyCloudEX2Ultra dev # smartctl -i /dev/sda4
smartctl 6.6 2017-11-05 r4594 [armv7l-linux-4.14.22-armada-18.09.3] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-17, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Device Model:     TOSHIBA HDWN160
Serial Number:    removed
LU WWN Device Id: 5 000039 a3c480804
Firmware Version: FS1M
User Capacity:    6,001,175,126,016 bytes [6.00 TB]
Sector Sizes:     512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical
Rotation Rate:    7200 rpm
Form Factor:      3.5 inches
Device is:        Not in smartctl database [for details use: -P showall]
ATA Version is:   ATA8-ACS (minor revision not indicated)
SATA Version is:  SATA 3.0, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)
Local Time is:    Sat Dec  4 21:35:32 2021 EST
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

root@MyCloudEX2Ultra dev # smartctl -a /dev/sda4
smartctl 6.6 2017-11-05 r4594 [armv7l-linux-4.14.22-armada-18.09.3] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-17, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Device Model:     TOSHIBA HDWN160
Serial Number:    removed
LU WWN Device Id: 5 000039 a3c480804
Firmware Version: FS1M
User Capacity:    6,001,175,126,016 bytes [6.00 TB]
Sector Sizes:     512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical
Rotation Rate:    7200 rpm
Form Factor:      3.5 inches
Device is:        Not in smartctl database [for details use: -P showall]
ATA Version is:   ATA8-ACS (minor revision not indicated)
SATA Version is:  SATA 3.0, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)
Local Time is:    Sat Dec  4 21:36:27 2021 EST
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status:  (0x80)	Offline data collection activity
					was never started.
					Auto Offline Data Collection: Enabled.
Self-test execution status:      ( 248)	Self-test routine in progress...
					80% of test remaining.
Total time to complete Offline 
data collection: 		(  120) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities: 			 (0x5b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
					Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
					Suspend Offline collection upon new
					command.
					Offline surface scan supported.
					Self-test supported.
					No Conveyance Self-test supported.
					Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities:            (0x0003)	Saves SMART data before entering
					power-saving mode.
					Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability:        (0x01)	Error logging supported.
					General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine 
recommended polling time: 	 (   2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time: 	 ( 638) minutes.
SCT capabilities: 	       (0x003d)	SCT Status supported.
					SCT Error Recovery Control supported.
					SCT Feature Control supported.
					SCT Data Table supported.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     0x000b   100   100   050    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  2 Throughput_Performance  0x0005   100   100   050    Pre-fail  Offline      -       0
  3 Spin_Up_Time            0x0027   100   100   001    Pre-fail  Always       -       2302
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       4002
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   100   100   050    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  7 Seek_Error_Rate         0x000b   100   100   050    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  8 Seek_Time_Performance   0x0005   100   100   050    Pre-fail  Offline      -       0
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   087   087   000    Old_age   Always       -       5587
 10 Spin_Retry_Count        0x0033   180   100   030    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       42
191 G-Sense_Error_Rate      0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       37
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       4002
194 Temperature_Celsius     0x0022   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       56 (Min/Max 20/61)
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0030   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x0032   200   253   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
220 Disk_Shift              0x0002   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
222 Loaded_Hours            0x0032   092   092   000    Old_age   Always       -       3399
223 Load_Retry_Count        0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
224 Load_Friction           0x0022   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
226 Load-in_Time            0x0026   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       545
240 Head_Flying_Hours       0x0001   100   100   001    Pre-fail  Offline      -       0

SMART Error Log Version: 1
No Errors Logged

SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      5536         -
# 2  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      5419         -
# 3  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      5270         -
# 4  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      5174         -
# 5  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      4888         -
# 6  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      4450         -
# 7  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      4266         -
# 8  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      4109         -
# 9  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%      4028         -
#10  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      4019         -
#11  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      3975         -
#12  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      3814         -
#13  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      3814         -
#14  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      3808         -
#15  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      3424         -
#16  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      2292         -
#17  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1990         -
#18  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1750         -
#19  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1622         -
#20  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1318         -
#21  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1116         -

SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
 SPAN  MIN_LBA  MAX_LBA  CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
    1        0        0  Not_testing
    2        0        0  Not_testing
    3        0        0  Not_testing
    4        0        0  Not_testing
    5        0        0  Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
  After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.



root@MyCloudEX2Ultra dev # smartctl -i /dev/sdb4
smartctl 6.6 2017-11-05 r4594 [armv7l-linux-4.14.22-armada-18.09.3] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-17, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Device Model:     TOSHIBA HDWN160
Serial Number:    removed
LU WWN Device Id: 5 000039 a3c40083e
Firmware Version: FS1M
User Capacity:    6,001,175,126,016 bytes [6.00 TB]
Sector Sizes:     512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical
Rotation Rate:    7200 rpm
Form Factor:      3.5 inches
Device is:        Not in smartctl database [for details use: -P showall]
ATA Version is:   ATA8-ACS (minor revision not indicated)
SATA Version is:  SATA 3.0, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)
Local Time is:    Sat Dec  4 21:35:59 2021 EST
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

root@MyCloudEX2Ultra dev # smartctl -a /dev/sdb4
smartctl 6.6 2017-11-05 r4594 [armv7l-linux-4.14.22-armada-18.09.3] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-17, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Device Model:     TOSHIBA HDWN160
Serial Number:   removed
LU WWN Device Id: 5 000039 a3c40083e
Firmware Version: FS1M
User Capacity:    6,001,175,126,016 bytes [6.00 TB]
Sector Sizes:     512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical
Rotation Rate:    7200 rpm
Form Factor:      3.5 inches
Device is:        Not in smartctl database [for details use: -P showall]
ATA Version is:   ATA8-ACS (minor revision not indicated)
SATA Version is:  SATA 3.0, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)
Local Time is:    Sat Dec  4 21:44:22 2021 EST
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status:  (0x80)	Offline data collection activity
					was never started.
					Auto Offline Data Collection: Enabled.
Self-test execution status:      ( 247)	Self-test routine in progress...
					70% of test remaining.
Total time to complete Offline 
data collection: 		(  120) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities: 			 (0x5b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
					Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
					Suspend Offline collection upon new
					command.
					Offline surface scan supported.
					Self-test supported.
					No Conveyance Self-test supported.
					Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities:            (0x0003)	Saves SMART data before entering
					power-saving mode.
					Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability:        (0x01)	Error logging supported.
					General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine 
recommended polling time: 	 (   2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time: 	 ( 631) minutes.
SCT capabilities: 	       (0x003d)	SCT Status supported.
					SCT Error Recovery Control supported.
					SCT Feature Control supported.
					SCT Data Table supported.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     0x000b   100   100   050    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  2 Throughput_Performance  0x0005   100   100   050    Pre-fail  Offline      -       0
  3 Spin_Up_Time            0x0027   100   100   001    Pre-fail  Always       -       6858
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       4427
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   100   100   050    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  7 Seek_Error_Rate         0x000b   100   100   050    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  8 Seek_Time_Performance   0x0005   100   100   050    Pre-fail  Offline      -       0
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   087   087   000    Old_age   Always       -       5587
 10 Spin_Retry_Count        0x0033   188   100   030    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       46
191 G-Sense_Error_Rate      0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       39
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       4427
194 Temperature_Celsius     0x0022   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       57 (Min/Max 19/62)
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0030   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x0032   200   253   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
220 Disk_Shift              0x0002   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
222 Loaded_Hours            0x0032   093   093   000    Old_age   Always       -       2978
223 Load_Retry_Count        0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
224 Load_Friction           0x0022   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
226 Load-in_Time            0x0026   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       544
240 Head_Flying_Hours       0x0001   100   100   001    Pre-fail  Offline      -       0

SMART Error Log Version: 1
No Errors Logged

SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      5536         -
# 2  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      5420         -
# 3  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      5270         -
# 4  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      5175         -
# 5  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      4888         -
# 6  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      4451         -
# 7  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      4266         -
# 8  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      4109         -
# 9  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%      4029         -
#10  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      4019         -
#11  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      3975         -
#12  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      3815         -
#13  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      3814         -
#14  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      3808         -
#15  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      3424         -
#16  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      2293         -
#17  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1990         -
#18  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1751         -
#19  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1622         -
#20  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1318         -
#21  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1117         -

SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
 SPAN  MIN_LBA  MAX_LBA  CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
    1        0        0  Not_testing
    2        0        0  Not_testing
    3        0        0  Not_testing
    4        0        0  Not_testing
    5        0        0  Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
  After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.

the output looks ok to me, i want to read up more about SMART data and what the raw values mean to better understand the output.

Does the current firmware update routine forbid rolling back to earlier versions of OS/5?

1 Like

thanks for the tips … much appreciated.

does this method work only with both raid0 disks installed ? assuming this nas is SoC and does not need disks present to boot up, what would happen if i removed them to do this and reinstall them after completing the process ? not sure if the raid0 array will be recognized or setup as a new volume/array.

if disks present or not during this process, how does the process work for restoring the saved configuration file back to the newly flashed firmware ?

i noticed in the usb backup job detail section there is a ‘Recover’ button. wondering if that recreates the shares or it relies on the shares being on the nas before invoking Recovery.

i am going the assumption that the configuration file i am saving is also saving the usb backup jobs - in order to have that ability to recover upon drive swaps or drive upgrades.

i have a feeling that synology nas devices with dsm may have more capability towards these talking points in this thread ….

First off. . . .bear in mind the Synology units are rougly twice the cost (based on diskless NAS prices) of the WD units. However. . .the synology hardware (on average) is a bit better than what WD offers at this point in time. Rumor has it (from what I read). . .is that the DSM software is leaps and bounds above what WD is providing.

What WD provides is fine on the most basic level. . . .providing a local network repository of files on a NAS. The “extras”. . .like backup software; plex and twonky compatibility, remote acess, etc; is where the weakenesses in the WD software shows up. But if all you need is a BASIC local NAS. . .the WD system is just fine.

1 Like

since i brought up the SMART attribute thing regarding the disks in the NAS, i am wondering what the point is - of the output shown in the dashboard ? the dashboard does not present RAW info for each disk, just CURRENT/WORST/THRESHOLD.

is the OS even monitoring all the RAW SMART attributes for each disk ?

well, at least i have access to the RAW attributes via ssh.

my next nas enclosure will let me throw all my drives into it and give me transparency for health of each one …

out of curiosity, what is the name/version of the software raid being implemented here on the EX2 … or is it typically custom-built code from the manufacturer ? wondering how robust the SW raid in this unit is …

i have a backup external unit (USB connection) that is running raid1 behind hardware raid (an OWC enclosure), not sure if it’s possible to query the SMART attributes of each of those disks by ssh into the NAS

as you are using OWC take a look at their softraid blog where they explain about using SMART data to monitor for pending disk problems - I thought I has that in BOOK format on my iPad - but can;t find it now :frowning:

the enclosure i have is the mercury elite pro dual, it is hardware raid (physical switch on the back).

don’t think theres a way to check individual disk health with hw raid setups.

i looked into their softraid options, but for the kind of money i’d spend on a softraid enclosure i’d rather flip the enclosure i have as well as the ex2 ultra for a synology ds 6 bay nas and dust my hands off for good …

still think ssh is entertaining and ‘fun’ to use, i like command line stuff. but find myself growing the list of commands in my notes and often lookup commands online before committing them - too much time spent on that over the years.

Did you ever get an answer to this?