QNAP NAS Community Forum

I'm trying to get to grips with the QNAP NAS which I have "inherited" in our office. It's set up to act as a shared file store but that's all it does. I'm trying to explore whether we can use it more intelligently, e.g. syncing files from desktops PCs, backups, etc., but I hardly know where to start.

One problem seems to be that I don't know how to access the App Center. When I open the Main menu, all I see is three options:

• Systems > Help Center
• Applications > File Station
• Applications > Qsync Central

I's expect the App Center to be there. I expect I'm missing something fairly obvious - can anybody help please?

which QNAP NAS model is it?


in qts (which you can access by typing your nas IP:8080 ) or using qfinder utility app to access qts.

then in qts, normally you have icons on the qts desktop page. but if not, click on the left side panel which will pop out more setting icons. app center SHOULD be listed there. its a core setting for qts.

If you want to add appcenter or any of those items to desktop (to make accessing quick), just drag drop them onto the desktop in qts.


there are a lot of introductory and tutorials here if you want to explore what the qnap is capable of
https://www.youtube.com/qnapsys
https://www.youtube.com/user/SPANdotCOM/videos



this is one of the tuts to get you started. there are more parts to it, not sure why they didn't just add a proper playlist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtA0z5Xsn_Q


here is another

Synchronize files on your computers and NAS with Qsync｜NASpedia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBjWcisveQI


also check the qnap.com site for the download to your qnap model, and get the manual. or on the qnap main page, features to know what the qnap has to offer.
https://www.qnap.com/qts/4.4.1/en-us


QTS 4.4.1 is a beta firmware. It's best to stick to QTS 4.3.6 which is the latest stable QTS for now. If your QNAP is an older model, you may not be able to use QTS 4.3.6, so just use whatever is the latest for your model.




as a beginner, first thing to know about the qnap is

1. keep backups. qnap or not, always have a backup plan.

2. always update the qnap. but don't just simply update (just like microsoft windows, there have been some bad firmware updates every now and then, it happens), check the forum for other user comments to see if it's stable first. most of the users wait a week or a month before updating. but if it's an urgent patch it's probably better to update sooner. this is an example thread i was speaking of
viewtopic.php?f=142&t=148857

3. security counselor app in appcenter is an app to quickly check your qnap security settings to optimize it to harden security. I suggest you check that out.

4. if you are running raid on the qnap, go to storage manager and schedule a monthly raid scrub. and set priority for raid sync to either normal or highest priority.

5. file station is the qnap native app for exploring files. it's similar to windows explorer. file station is best for moving files/folders internally with the best performance. If you are moving stuff internally on the qnap, it's best to use the file station. If you are moving very few things, i just use windows explorer instead.

6. as the qnap admin, it's best to keep track of any critical issues that get posted on the qnap advisory board. best if you subscribe to their mailing list for it. anything not mentioned on the board will usually be posted in the forum by other users
https://www.qnap.com/en-us/security-advisory

7. that left side panel has all the navigatable options for QTS settings. I suggest you explore them to understand what options and features are available. What is not there, would usually be in appcenter, which would require installing an app, which will then add more options via that installed app.

8. qnaps can go EOL at which point they receive security fixes, until they totally end support. Some very old models like my TS-509 pro will no longer receive security patches as of 2020-12 If your qnap is also going to be completely EOL, probably ask your manager to replace the QNAP for a newer model to renew QTS support
https://www.qnap.com/en/product/eol.php

9. snapshot feature will offer protection against ransomware.

10. if you need technical support by QNAP, use the helpdesk.
https://helpdesk.qnap.com/

11. hybrid backup sync from appcenter, is the native QNAP backup app. It can do backup to cloud, or RSYNC. there is RTRR but that only works with other QNAPs.

12. setting > shares is where you setup your usable shares to begin storing data. There is also users where you can setup permission rights.

13. storage manager is another important setting. this is where you setup storage, manage storage and also snapshots.

14. resource monitor helps you check your qnap resource load on the NAS.

Thanks very much!

Moogle Stiltzkin wrote: ↑Thu Jun 13, 2019 5:13 pm which QNAP NAS model is it?

TS-453mini, running QTS version 4.3.4.0743 (2018-10-17).

Moogle Stiltzkin wrote: ↑Thu Jun 13, 2019 5:13 pm then in qts, normally you have icons on the qts desktop page. but if not, click on the left side panel which will pop out more setting icons. app center SHOULD be listed there. its a core setting for qts.

That's the thing. It's not there. All I see is:
Systems > Help Center
Applications > File Station
Applications > Qsync Central

Here's a screen shot:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/trTAbAWjgJN8Ec5o6

I'm sure if I can get past this, the links and tutorials you posted will be helpful. But I need to get past this first...

StewartRobertson wrote: ↑Thu Jun 13, 2019 6:14 pm ...

here is a demo of what qts should look like (forgot to mention, older QTS should be different to some extent in UI and features)
https://www.qnap.com/en-us/live-demo


then when you click the 3 bars, the app center should be listed. refer to the demo link i linked.


all i can think of is perhaps use qfinder
https://www.qnap.com/en-us/utilities/essentials

to update to the latest stable QTS to see if that helps.

also clear your browser cache.

remember to HAVE A BACKUP before updating firmware JUST IN CASE!!!



if still doesn't work, i suggest you contact helpdesk (actually the first thing to do is always create a ticket with helpdesk, BEFORE asking on the forum).


By the way looks like your qnap is going eol soon
https://www.qnap.com/en/product/eol.php



This should be the latest stable qts for your model. perhaps update to that and see if that fixes things (i remind again, plz backup before updating firmware)

4.3.6.0959 build 20190531
https://www.qnap.com/en-us/download?mod ... y=firmware

Moogle Stiltzkin wrote: ↑Thu Jun 13, 2019 6:22 pm
here is a demo of what qts should look like
https://www.qnap.com/en-us/live-demo

then when you click the 3 bars, the app center should be listed. refer to the demo link i linked.

Wow. That's impressive and useful. And it confirms that there definitely seems to be something wrong with my installation. On the demo version, the main menu has a whole bunch of useful stuff under the 'Systems' heading: Control Panel, User admin, Resource Monitor, App Center, and so on. All I have is Help Centre, nothing else.

Moogle Stiltzkin wrote: ↑Thu Jun 13, 2019 6:22 pm
all i can think of is perhaps use qfinder
https://www.qnap.com/en-us/utilities/essentials

to update to the latest stable QTS to see if that helps.

Unfortunately that doesn't seem to work, but I don't know why.

QFinder finds the QNAP on our office LAN, and it shows that there's a new version of QTS available. I can log in to QTS. However when I try to use QFinder to access the configuration or the resource monitor, QFinder pops up a little window asking me to log in, but it rejects my user name / password. It does this regardless of whether or not I'm logged in to QTS via my browser.

Moogle Stiltzkin wrote: ↑Thu Jun 13, 2019 6:22 pm
if still doesn't work, i suggest you contact helpdesk (actually the first thing to do is always create a ticket with helpdesk, BEFORE asking on the forum).

I think I'm going to have to. Thanks for the tip regarding the helpdesk. I hadn't contacted them because I assumed that would need some sort of support contract, which I don't have. But if they're happy to field support calls regardless, then I'll give them a try.

Thanks for all your help!

StewartRobertson wrote: ↑Thu Jun 13, 2019 7:15 pm QFinder finds the QNAP on our office LAN, and it shows that there's a new version of QTS available. I can log in to QTS. However when I try to use QFinder to access the configuration or the resource monitor, QFinder pops up a little window asking me to log in, but it rejects my user name / password. It does this regardless of whether or not I'm logged in to QTS via my browser.

Thanks for all your help!

if your login to qts doesn't work, you can always soft reset. this changes password back to the default
https://www.qnap.com/en/how-to/knowledg ... explained/


u press the reset button until u heard "1" beep. let go after that. don't keep holding it, because "2" beeps is bad, as that will reformat.

technical support persists since time of purchase until EOL. check the EOL site for reference as to the technical support whether is still active or not for your qnap model.


you're welcome.

StewartRobertson wrote: ↑Thu Jun 13, 2019 7:15 pm ...

create the ticket at the helpdesk site.

After that you can optionally phone up their technical support hotline to the closest region you're at
https://www.qnap.com/en/about/con_show. ... wone&cid=1


this is how you expedite seeking help from technical support. if you leave it up to helpdesk contact via email, you usually end up waiting a long time

Hi Stewart,
Have the same problem...how did you solve it?

THank you

Please post a screenshot of the "humburger menu" in your QTS desktop (top left)

Just for the record, in case anyone search for this, I just hit the exact same situation as OP.

This happened after creating a new user and logging with that user. By default, it appears that new user as application privileges, but no shared folder permission and is not part of the administrator User Group. Changing those last 2 things "fixed" the new account and all the expected items now show in the 3-bars-menu, including app center.

I think a lot of new user might make that mistake because when logging through the default admin, you get a nagging notification stating "You are using the default administrator account. For security reasons, disable the default administrator account... <snip>". And when you try to do that, it tell you to make a new user and log onto that to disable the default admin account. So people might naively create a new user with default properties, log on that, and discover that you get the basically empty and useless QTS desktop that the OP was describing. There's basically nothing you can do there to 'fix' it... you have to relog to the default admin and give that new user valid rights and accesses.

Hope this helps someone.

For what it's worth, I had same problem. Open App Center, after it loads, it's a blank white screen. I found I needed to update the DDNS setting.

FIX

• From the desktop, go to the hamburger menu in top left. Select myQNAPcloud.

• Select myDDNS

• At the bottom of page, select Update

App Center then populated with all apps.