While your unit might have RND2000v2 on it's label, it is still not the best way to tell if you have the Duo v2, the usual model number of v2s would be RND2000-200. v1s are typically advertised to have v2 v2 or even v3 next to their model number due to minor hardware changes and for NETGEAR to be able to tell what those units are.
There's actually an article that is available here in the community on how to tell if you have the V1 or V2 units. The simplest way would be by checking RAIDar, if RAIDar shows the RAIDIator version as 4.x.x then it's a v1 and if it's 5.x.x it's a v2. You may want to check the article link for more info.
At times like this that your warranty has expired already, the Community is always ready to help as long as it can be fixed or even advises on how to repair if possible.
The real V2 was definately available in 2013. While I believe Netgear made a whopper of a mistake by re-using the "V2" designation, the one you really have a beef with is whoever sold you the unit claiming it was a V2 when it is clearly a V1. I guess they had an inventory backlog to clear out.
But on the bright side, I actually think you are better off. There are far more Duo and NV+ V1's out there, so they are better supported by the community. Both are end-of-life, so no support to speak of from Netgear unless you pay (in which case it cost the same regardless of model).
The real V2 was definately available in 2013 ... the one you really have a beef with is whoever sold you the unit claiming it was a V2 when it is clearly a V1. I guess they had an inventory backlog to clear out.
Netgear stopped manufacturing the Duo v1 in November 2011, and your purchase was 1-2 years after that. FWIW, they stopped manufacturing the v2 platforms in early 2013 in favor of the RN102 and RN104 (OS 6 platforms).
So your supplier sold you a long-discontinued model. Hopefully you got it at a close-out price.
But on the bright side, I actually think you are better off. There are far more Duo and NV+ V1's out there, so they are better supported by the community. Both are end-of-life, so no support to speak of from Netgear unless you pay (in which case it cost the same regardless of model).
The v2 was a transition platform, and was only shipped for 2 years. IMO the v2 firmware never fully matured. The v1 firmware actually has more features.
The downsides are that
the v2 is faster than the v1
the v2 supports larger disks
On balance, I agree here with @Sandshark. Both the v1 and the v2 are long discontinued, and your v1 is still operational after 5 years of service. Community support is definitely better for the v1.
If you need more capacity or want higher performance, you are better off getting an OS-6 NAS anyway (perhaps using the v1 as a backup NAS). The RN200 series is faster than both platforms and has more features. Plus it supports SMB 3 (helpful since Microsoft is phasing out the SMB 1 protocol used in both the v1 and v2).
Only V2 system I have i picked up at firesale price because the NIC is unable to go into Gigabit mode, so I can't comment on speed. Depending on use, speed isn't always that important. Since he's obviously using drives ≤2TB, the drive size limit isn't affecting him (at least now). For some others, it would certainly be an issue.
There is one other thing I though of: Was the unit possibly a returned item and a customer really did swap out the real V2 for a V1 before returning it? I've had similar issues from big box stores (wiith the box re-sealed with their "certified" tape), but the ReadyNAS isn't typically available from them. But who knows about some of the online vendors? Unlike the NV+, the Duo V1 and V2 do look quite similar and could fit in each others' box. The "V2" on the front and the smaller fan and recessed power input on the back of the V1 compared to the V2 are the only things that give it away (and are what to look for if you are buying used on eBay, BTW).
