ReadyNAS 212 Frustration(s)

[70chevelle]

I have installed 2 of these units, one at home and one at my office with 2 separate accounts/email addresses.  The one I have at home, I have had since 2017 but just got around to installing it, so I understand my 90 day support is gone.  The one I have in my office I just ordered 1/24. 

The RN212 in my office seems to be working properly and I am figuring out the admin.  The only way to access admin is thru a device that is connected to the network the NAS is connected to.  My work computer is connected to a mainframe network and not the WIFI, so I tried setting up users and groups via my Iphone.  The website is not stable thru my phone, so no success.  I guess I will bring in my laptop to see if that works better.  The real frustration is trying to register the unit(s).  I logged into my Netgear account, entered the proper information, and it returns an error message that 'something went wrong, contact suppport'.  The only problem is that I can't contact support without opening a ticket (I called and spent 10 minutes giving all the info requested, only for Netgear to tell me to register my product and open a ticket??????)  So without the ability to register my new NAS212, I don't have any support.

On to the RN212 I installed at home.  I got it installed and could see everything on ReadyCloud, until I tried to go to Admin.  It would give a message that I had to 'Upgrade to a MyNetgear Account' and follow the instructions on the log in screen on ReadyCloud.  I do that, and it asks me for my ReadyCloud user and password.  I enter the info that I used for entering ReadyCloud and it tells me that my User/PW is incorrect????  I went to Netgear and signed up and tried again, and same situation.  So my unit at home is attached, and I can SEE it thru RAIDAir, but I can't do anything thru ReadyCloud or access admin until I can 'Upgrade to a MyNetgear Account' . 

So, it seems right now I have 2 NAS drives that are connected, but I can't do any administration on.  Any help to get my home unit visible on ReadyCloud/Admin would be great, and any way to register both products and 'Upgrade to a MyNetGear Account' would be great also.

[StephenB]

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@70chevelle wrote:

The RN212 in my office seems to be working properly and I am figuring out the admin.  The only way to access admin is thru a device that is connected to the network the NAS is connected to.  My work computer is connected to a mainframe network and not the WIFI, so I tried setting up users and groups via my Iphone.  

I'm a little confused on what you are saying here.  If the office NAS is connected to your corporate network using ethernet, then you should be able to set up the NAS using the work computer.  Can you clarify what you mean by a "mainframe" network?  Perhaps also clarify how your RN212 is connected to your work network.

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@70chevelle wrote:

I logged into my Netgear account, entered the proper information, and it returns an error message that 'something went wrong, contact suppport'.  The only problem is that I can't contact support without opening a ticket (I called and spent 10 minutes giving all the info requested, only for Netgear to tell me to register my product and open a ticket??????)  So without the ability to register my new NAS212, I don't have any support.

Email customer.service@netgear.com with the details, and see if they can help with the registration.

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@70chevelle wrote:

'Upgrade to a MyNetGear Account' would be great also.

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What firmware are you running on the two NAS?  The first step is to upgrade them both to 6.9.5 (the current version).  Old firmware (before 6.5.0) isn't compatible with ReadyCloud.

There is a faq here that might help: https://kb.netgear.com/30671/ReadyCLOUD-to-MyNETGEAR-Single-Sign-On-FAQ

[70chevelle]

"I'm a little confused on what you are saying here.  If the office NAS is connected to your corporate network using ethernet, then you should be able to set up the NAS using the work computer.  Can you clarify what you mean by a "mainframe" network?  Perhaps also clarify how your RN212 is connected to your work network."

We have a windows server (mainframe) for approximately 80 employees connected via switches and cat5.  I have a WIFI router in my office that the NAS drive is connected to.  The WIFI router is connected to the main windows server.  The intent of this NAS drive is two fold.  1- archive docs (mainly pictures) from one business unit that I'd rather not pay my provider to back up on our 'mainframe'.  And 2- I would like to house other docs and pictures that are useful for my salesmen and are relatively easy to access while off site.  (ie:  via individual users on ReadyCloud).   

"Email customer.service@netgear.com with the details, and see if they can help with the registration."

Will do!  Thank you for that contact information

"What firmware are you running on the two NAS?  The first step is to upgrade them both to 6.9.5 (the current version).  Old firmware (before 6.5.0) isn't compatible with ReadyCloud."

Both were upgraded during initial installation and are showing 6.9.5.  The odd thing with my home unit was that after it did the upgrade intially, a dialogue box popped up to install the upgrade (again), which I accepted.  Once I did that, it would not 'Discover' the RN212 and therefore I couldn't access Admin.  Now when I access ReadyCloud on my home unit, the screens (Home, Manage, Discover) all tell me to combine my Netgear and ReadyCloud accounts which it won't let me do. 

. 

[StephenB]

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@70chevelle wrote:

We have a windows server (mainframe) for approximately 80 employees connected via switches and cat5.  I have a WIFI router in my office that the NAS drive is connected to.  The WIFI router is connected to the main windows server. 

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If your setup is 

Windows server ---> switches ---> WiFi Router ---> NAS

                                       |

                                       |

                                  work computer

Then the normal setup is to configure the WiFi router as an "access point".  If you do that, then your NAS should get an IP address from your main network, and you would be able to access the admin UI (and the files on the NAS) from your work computer.

Most wifi routers can be set up in this way.

As far as remote access goes, ReadyCloud is one of several options you can use.  If you can't get that working, we can give you more information on that.  Note I don't work for Netgear (this is a community forum), and I don't use ReadyCloud myself.  So I'll defer to others on the ReadyCloud issues.  I will say that your account here is a mynetgear account, so you could reconfigure ReadyCloud to use the same credentials you use on the forum.

[70chevelle]

Thank you for all the info and help!  I think I'm good (OK?) on my work NAS drive now.  I seem to be able to navigate the admin page on my ipad without an issue, although the UI is not very intuitive.  Thought it would be simple to setup a new user for access, but it just makes the name red with no error message or info after I hit accept and put in all the user information. 

On my home unit.  There is nothing on the hard drives yet.  If I did a "Factory Default", would that reset the unit so I could start the installation process again?  Or, since I have an account on Netgear/ReadyCloud, it won't make a difference?

Thanks again!

[StephenB]

A factory default will reformat the disks and run through the factory install again. 

You shouldn't need to do that to get ReadyCloud running, and I don't think it will help your registration issue either.

You should of course register the old unit also, since if you do need paid support (or warranty replacement) you'll need it registered.

[Sandshark]

You really should do what @StephenB suggested and set the WiFi router up as an access point.  Unless he is mis-interpteting your configuration (and I made the same assumption he did), you have what is called "double NAT" and it likely is causing a lot of other issues on your network as well.  Once you have done that, you can use your computer to do the set-up and things should go a lot better.

[70chevelle]

Gentlemen, thank you for your help and input!!  I got in contact with Netgear and they got me squared away registering my new unit.  The unit at work on my network is working well now, and I've become a little more familiar with the NetCloud software.  I have created 4 new users and invited them to access the drive which has worked well. 

I spoke directly with someone from Netgear last evening.  They were very patient and helpful.  I got a couple things worked out on my home unit, although I still can't see it thru the Netcloud software.  The directories are accessible on my computer and I can see it thru Raidair, but the cloud based software can't see it.  The person I spoke with opened a ticket and sent it upstream and said I should hear back in 24-48 hours.  I explained that if there was a way to start fresh, I can do that since the drive doesn't have anything on it yet.  Hopefully this can get worked out one way or the other.  The cloud access on my home unit is less of a necessity, but would be nice to have.  The real intent was to have better protection for my personal files & pictures. 

I will post once I hear back from them if I get a solution. 

Thanks again.

[70chevelle]

Well, its been a week since I was in contact with Netgear and they have missed the 24-48 hour response time.  So, here's my question:

Can I do a factory reset and start fresh?  Will I be able to re-discover the wiped NAS and try to redo the NetCloud app with the new IP address?  Doesn't seem like Netgear has an answer for me.

[StephenB]

You can of course do a factory reset.   I don't know if that will solve your ReadyCloud problem or not (as that could be related to your network setup, and we don't have enough information on that).

[70chevelle]

Since I can see/access it thru Raidair, it seems it's connected properly to my network.  The problem seems to be the connection between Readycloud and my NAS drive.  Again the issue began when I initially installed the unit & readycloud.  One thing I just recalled was that I 'deleted' the NAS drive from the Home page on Readycloud.  I thought this would let me reinstall/rediscover the NAS drive, but instead gives me the message:  

"Currently you have no registered or shared devices

Go to Discover page to register yor ReadyNAS device, or if you have a router with ReadyCLOUD support, browse http://routerlogin.net, go ADVANCED>USB Functions>ReadySHARE storage>RedayCLOUD tab to register your router.

Note:  If your ReadyNAS device is registered under an existing ReadyCLOUD account of your MyNETGEAR account, you must migrate your readyNAS device by upgrading your ReadyCLOUD account.  During the migration your ReadyNAS device is automatically joined to your My NETGEAR account. 

If your router is registered under an existing ReadyCLOUD account, go to the router admin web GUI>ReadySHARE>ReadyCLOUD page, unregister it from existing readyCLOUD account, and register it with your MyNETGEAR account. "

I reset my NetGear router (WNR2000v3) and went to the routerlogin page, but the options above aren't available.  Also if I hold the 'Backup' button for 5 seconds to discover the unit, nothing happens on the ReadyCLOUD software to discover the unit.  

Again, the unit works and is accessible via Raidair, but I can't seem to marry the NAS drive back to ReadyCLOUD.  I emailed NetGear again, but still haven't gotten a response.  Any help would be appreciated. 

[schumaku]

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@70chevelle wrote:

...
Again, the unit works and is accessible via Raidair, but I can't seem to marry the NAS drive back to ReadyCLOUD.  I emailed NetGear again, but still haven't gotten a response.  Any help would be appreciated. 

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The ReadNAS is connected to ReadyCloud at all?

[70chevelle]

It shows the message I quoted in my last post on the 'Home' and 'Manage' pages and it shows the (correct) 'Host Name' on the 'Manage' page.  It won't let me do anything from those pages.  If I click the 'Manage' button it asks for my admin password, but much like when I try to 'bind' my Netgear & Readycloud accounts it won't accept.  Also, when I initially login to readyCloud, the proper screen flashes before it gives me the message I quoted in my last post.  It did connect initially but it wouldn't let me access the admin page and gave me a message to 'Bind' my netgear and readycloud accounts.  Again, whan I put my user/password it came back as incorrect.  Trying to get that resolved, I thought that deleting the NAS drive from readyCLOUD would give me the option to reinstall/find it, but now I get the message I quoted in my last post, and it is only available via Raidar, but I can't access any admin functions, so I don't know exactly what the setup is.  

[70chevelle]

So....3 plus weeks later the issue is resolved.  For those who may go thru this same situation, the simple fix is to reload the OS on the NAS drive.  This will reset the admin password back to 'password', and then you can access the admin thru RAIDar to connect it to readycloud (or any other admin function needed).  I asked the first tech if a reset would be helpful since there was no data on the drive, but she didn't know.  Glad to have it up, running and accessible via readycloud, but the best I can say is that the Netgear CS was difficult.  Even to the fact that I had to enter the best phone # (my cell) and best time for them to contact me, and they called my house number (which I never gave them) twice before calling my cell.  The end!