exfat license broken after firmware update

[Flotsch123]

hello!
i have 2 qnaps, 1 ts-253a and 1 tvs-673. i updated to the firmware 4.3.5.0713 on both qnaps last friday. since then i experience the same problem on both qnaps:
my exfat license is not properly working anymore. i connected a exftat formatted external drive to set up an backup job. qnap told me that i have to purchase an exfat license (although the license is present in license store). I deactivated and erased the license, and reinstalled it. i got a info box that activation was successful (also email). now a exfat external hdd is recognized without license warning, i can read the drive and create folders on it. but i cannot set the external exfat drive as target for backup job. On the first page of the backup job wizzard, there is no device-id shown (and the possibility to choose "connect device id to job" is greyed out, what is not the case when using for example a ntfs external drive). i am able to complete the wizzard though, but after clicking finish, an error is shown, something like "backup job creation failed.
on my tvs-673, i already had about 5 backup jobs created in the past, all with exfat-drives as targets. the backup jobs fail.
on my ts 253a, i am (as told before), not even able to create an exfat backup job. i can create ntfs backup job without issues.
i also rebooted the nas a few times, no change, deactivated and activated the license 2 or 3 times, no change.
my mcaffee licenses on both qnaps work normally.

What the hell is going on here???
i had an issue with license center app update in june this year, where the purchased licenses were not shwon in license store anymore, but this time it is different. License is showing bu tnot working.
please help.
it must be related to the new fw (as i have the same problem on both qnaps).

regards,
Flotsch123

Update:
I just saw in qnap page that there is a newer Firmware october 7 4.3.5.0722. is this a beta, because my qnaps do not inform me that there is a new fw?
Maybe i should manuelly update to this Version and hope my problem gets fixed?

[Flotsch123]

I installed newest firmware 4.3.5.0722 on both qnaps. problem still remains.

i attached a few screenshots. on nas2 i created a few backup jobs in the past that wirked well until last friday. now i get an error when trying to run a job.
on nas1 i had no backup jobs and wantetd to create one, but it does not work with exfat, only with ntfs formatted external drive. please see the greyed out device id option when attaching an exfat drive and no problem with ntfs.

[Toxic17]

https://helpdesk.qnap.com/index.php/Tickets/Submit

[Flotsch123]

i already have created a ticket, but the qnap support usually answers 1-2 weeks later (that is my experience) and i hoped to get help as quick as possible.
maybe i am not the only one who experienced that kind of problem with exfat license, but i kind find similar problems in the internet forums, so maybe i am the only one.

[StrongArm]

i already have created a ticket, but the qnap support usually answers 1-2 weeks later (that is my experience) and i hoped to get help as quick as possible.
maybe i am not the only one who experienced that kind of problem with exfat license, but i kind find similar problems in the internet forums, so maybe i am the only one.

I have the same problem with my exfat license, for a test I formatted ext drive to EXT4 and that works fine.

[StrongArm]

Ticket submitted also.....

[Flotsch123]

i already have created a ticket, but the qnap support usually answers 1-2 weeks later (that is my experience) and i hoped to get help as quick as possible.
maybe i am not the only one who experienced that kind of problem with exfat license, but i kind find similar problems in the internet forums, so maybe i am the only one.

I have the same problem with my exfat license, for a test I formatted ext drive to EXT4 and that works fine.

Hey StrongArm,
Thanks alot fpr this information. I wondered if this is a general issue with the new fw or it is just me, having this problem (although i experience this issue on both my qnaps).

I bought a new exfat license totday (i dont mind the 4 bucks to buy) and this time, i used offline activation instead of license key activiation ( i cant do online activation because i dont have qnap id; dont use qnap cloud). i did this jus tto be sure if this problem is caused by a license issue. i can tell now that this is NOT the case. After activation of the new license the problem still remains. maybe this info is helpful for you, so dont buy anothe rlicense, it is useless.
i hope that qnap support answers within the next days. qnap definitley has to improve its support.
i had a problem with my nakivo backup and replication software last night and the support answered within 1 hour (!) on friday night at 10 pm. the stayed in contact with me until the issue was resolved. friday night!!!!!
with qnaps upport, i wait for almost 1 week and no reaction. i have 2 qnaps, 1 qnap expansion device (around 2500.00 $ in total) and i all i expect is a support that manages it to answer within 48 hours or so. but that seems to be impossible with qnap.

[pieter532]

Hi StrongArm and Flotsch123,

Horrible to hear that you have to wait for more than 1 week from the QNAP support. Solving issues will takes months :0(
Fortunately I have better experience (BeNeLux support) and they contact me within days.

I also have an ExFat license so if I can test something for you then let me know. I wondering if my license still work. Hope to test this tomorrow or after tomorrow and will let you know my result.

Best regards

[pieter532]

I just tested with an USB stick. This stick has an ExFAT filesystem. I created on the USB stick a folder and moved a (small) file to this folder. It seems to work in my case.

QNAP NAS TS-253B
FW: 4.3.5.0728 Build 20181013

[321liftoff]

Just discovered that I, too, have the issue of not being able to create a backup job for an exFAT sd card. Can read and copy from it just fine.

Anyone get an update from QNAP support?

TS-453Be firmware 4.3.5. 0728 20181013

[Flotsch123]

I just tested with an USB stick. This stick has an ExFAT filesystem. I created on the USB stick a folder and moved a (small) file to this folder. It seems to work in my case.

QNAP NAS TS-253B
FW: 4.3.5.0728 Build 20181013

hi,
reading from and writing to external exfat device is working, only using an external exfat device as a backup target is not working. so if you could test this (creating and running a backup job to external exfat device), this would help.

support contacted me on this issue and asked for opening remote access. as i dont have a "good feeling" with unattended remote access to my network (maybe i am too paranoid), i suggested to arrange a temaviewer meeting where i can participate/see what is being done. this was a week ago and never heard again from support, no answer, nothing. issue still unsolved of course.

[pieter532]

@Flotsch123
Could you specify whcich backup application you are using.

[Flotsch123]

@Flotsch123
Could you specify whcich backup application you are using.

Hi,
i mean the qts built in backup app (you can See Screenshots of the wizard of this app in a post of me above). I am not aware of other backup apps in qnap.
Just create a backup job with one small share you have in your nas and run it. And check if, in the first page of the wizard, the device ID if your external exfat device is showing. In my case, it is NOT showing (with ext4 devices it is showing).

[pieter532]

Hi,

The internal application is called Backup station which I used.
In short: it fails also in my situation.

I can't even create a job with a external USB disk with ExFat file system. After the wizard for creating this job, the QNAP NAS creates the following system event log.
Error 2018/11/07 14:55:48 System 127.0.0.1 --- --- [External Drive] Job ZZZ-->ESD-USB creation failed.

[Flotsch123]

Hi,

The internal application is called Backup station which I used.
In short: it fails also in my situation.

I can't even create a job with a external USB disk with ExFat file system. After the wizard for creating this job, the QNAP NAS creates the following system event log.
Error 2018/11/07 14:55:48 System 127.0.0.1 --- --- [External Drive] Job ZZZ-->ESD-USB creation failed.

Thanks a lot for this info.
It seems that this "exfat-problem" is a general issue with qts 4.3.5. hopefully qnap is aware of this by now and will adress this bug in the next Firmware update.
In my feeling, updating to newer Firmware becomes more and more risky, hoping nothing will get messed up. I have also a backpane issue since 4.3.5 and, at the Moment, i am not sure if this issue will solve by itself or will end with rma the device.