Windows 11 23H2 unable to access EX2 ULTRA with win explorer

My Cloud OS 5 Personal & Network Attached Storage My Cloud EX Series
1

good evening aal,
so ive had my ex2 ultra for quite a few years with no issue accessing it through my 3 pc.s, my main pc which i use daily had issues accessing the drive under the lastest 22H2 beta versions so i had to roll the update back and all was fine.
i like to do a fresh install of windows at least once a year which i did recently but i cannot access the drive in the normal manner and the other 2 pc,s on old version of windows can still access it no problem, i read somewhere that microsoft as changed security measures but im at a loss andf it doesnt help that i have a long term illness that plays havoc with my head.
many thanks simon

2

Please try the EX2 Ultra by ip address, something like this if you don’t know the ip address of the NAS:

keep running the command line ‘arp’ command (Windows key + R, then type ‘cmd’ to get to the command line terminal) to check if the NAS shows up. You run this on the Windows desktop/laptop that is in the same subnet

arp -a

The user could also issue the command to search for the mac address of the NAS (printed on the bottom), for example here, if the last few digits of the mac address is ‘ab-cd’ then one would issue:

arp -a | find "ab-cd"

When you find the ip address of the NAS, just enter that into the Windows File explorer such as

\\192.168.1.201
  • Windows 11 and 10 DOES NOT allow access to a non-password protected network share (Public) without a Samba (SMB) password.
  • Connect to a password protected share (Private) before accessing a non-password protected share (Public) on My Cloud.
3

You may see this with Win11 23H2:

833×816 97.1 KB

The reason you have this access problem is because the My Cloud is considered an ‘insecure host’ because it 'allows guest access (that) any device or person on your network can read or copy all of your shared data without any audit trail or credentials.’

Microsoft recommends that:

Resolution

Configure your third-party SMB server device to require a username and password for SMB connections. If your device allows guest access, any device or person on your network can read or copy all of your shared data without any audit trail or credentials.

If you can’t configure your third-party device to be secure, you can enable insecure guest access with the following Group Policy settings:

  1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) on your Windows device.
  2. In the console tree, select Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Network > Lanman Workstation.
  3. For the setting, right-click Enable insecure guest logons and select Edit.
  4. Select Enabled > OK.
4

Apologies for the late reply unfortunately I’ve been poorly (again) for the last 3 days.
If I use the IP address it takes me to WD web interface for the EX2 to adjust it’s settings.

IMG_20240405_172024
IMG_20240405_1720241920×885 72.8 KB

The above is the error I get trying to access from win explorer.
Doing the gpedit does nothing at all even after a reboot.
Thanks all and any other suggestions?
Cheers
Simon

5

There is a WD KBA on this, please follow the instruction, especially the Win11 credentials for SMB:

  • Enter the \IP_ADDRESS into the File Explorer address bar.
    Press Enter on the keyboard.

EXAMPLE: \192.168.0.36

  • Enter a username and password of the user with access to the share.
    Check the box next to Remember Credentials.
    Click OK.

IMPORTANT:

  • Windows 11 and 10 DOES NOT allow access to a non-password protected network share (Public) without a Samba (SMB) password.

  • Connect to a password protected share (Private) before accessing a non-password protected share (Public) on My Cloud.

  • My Cloud:
    Use the admin username or any user on the My Cloud with read/write access to a password protected Private Share.