Firmware update Best Practices

[phillip9]

Hello,

When a new firmware is released what are the best practices for updating the firmware on my QNAP ?

I just don't want to lose my data to a bad firmware update.


thank you

[dolbyman]

1. Have external backups at all times.
2. Check the forum topics to see if people have issues before updating

[Moogle Stiltzkin]

You update qts mostly for security patches if not necessarily for minor fixes for apps you may not use or new features that you don't require
https://www.qnap.com/en/security-advisories/


If you don't want to beta test or be caught by surprise (whether it's a minor or even major issue), then the best thing to do is to defer/delay your update. maybe 1-2 weeks? a month at most usually.


During this "i'm not sure" phase, you would go to the qnap forum
viewforum.php?f=73

Or more specifically, look for threads like this with the latest QTS version build

"[FIRMWARE] QTS 4.4.3.1354 build 20200702 Released"
viewtopic.php?f=142&t=155753

check what others are saying about the firmware. especially if anyone is using it for the same model you are. any issues? no? then update. give it a week or 2 so people have time to figure out if there are any issues. nobody is gonna necessarily figure it out on day one of the release.


By the way live update may or may not have the latest update. they may do that intentionally so people don't update too soon. you should untick "want to beta test" in the live update.

If live update says there is a new update, don't just click update.

to avoid the least issue, manual update by downloading the firmware from the qnap product page then going qts firmware update and select that file you downloaded (have to extract contents first) may help you avoid some issues some users experience like firmware update seemingly stuck or something.

before updating you should reboot first if your nas has been on for a long while. the nas will warn you if you should reboot first or not. if it didn't warn you, it may be fine just to update without an initial reboot.


your qnap qts update depends on your nas model status. if it's eol, they may cut off your qts version build e.g. 4.3.4 when there is still 4.4.2 as the latest. you still get security patches, until ultimately you finally don't. at that point, you can install something else to replace qts, or to keep your nas offline permanently.

https://www.qnap.com/en/product/eol.php




whenever a qts update has issues but you found out too late, you may want to downgrade back to the last latest qts version build without any significant issues (security vulnerabilities and critical issues) if possible. If you are on an outdated qts temporarily due to the newer qts not being viable, i don't recommend using your qnap for remote just in case, during that time period. If you want to use for remote access, always use the latest qts when possible that fixes security vulnerabilities, and even then you also need to use vpn, and do other things to harden your nas and network security.

and before updating, have a backup. not everyone has a fresh backup ready. But if it's a backup you can live with assuming something does go wrong, if not, then do yourself a favor and do a backup prior to update. for myself it takes less than a day to do a full backup.



oo... in appcenter there is a auto update qpkgs. maybe you can disable that and do it manually, just in case a new app update isn't good.


that's about it