The Seagate and LaCie NAS OS 4 operating systems have reached the final steps of the end of their support to shift focus to newer products and software.
This article applies to the following devices:
- Personal Cloud
- Personal Cloud 2-bay
- 2-bay NAS Pro
- 4-bay NAS Pro
- 6-bay NAS Pro
- 2-bay NAS
- 4-bay NAS
- 4-bay Rackmount NAS
- 8-bay Rackmount NAS
- LaCie 2big NAS
- LaCie 5big NAS Pro
What effects do these final steps have on NAS OS 4?
- No more Security or Feature Updates
- Password Reset Functionality disabled
- Unable to update the NAS OS 4 capsule through auto updates
- Apps can no longer be installed or updated through the App Manager
- Any other automatic service related to online functionality disabled
What can I still do with my NAS OS 4 device?
- The NAS will continue to function as a file repository on a local network for multiple users
- In case of forgotten admin password, a Factory Reset allows for account recreation without losing data
- NAS OS capsule updates can still be performed manually, see how to below
- Remote Access can be configured using FTP or SFTP using Port Forwarding
What does this mean for Customer Support of NAS OS 4 devices?
Due to its End-of-Life status, agent-assisted support will be limited, however web support will continue to be available through User Manuals and Troubleshooting knowledge base articles.
What does a NAS OS 4 Factory Reset do?
Most NAS OS 4 devices use similar steps to perform a Factory Reset, and some require slightly different steps. The appropriate procedure can be found in each device’s User Manual on its respective support page. When a Factory Reset is performed, this is the result:
- All User Accounts and Shares (and Groups) are removed
- All data is placed in a Recovery folder in the Public Share (retaining folder hierarchy)
- A new admin account can be created like a 1st Time Setup
- The admin can create new Shares and move the data appropriately
- All settings are set back to default, including a DHCP IP address (if a Static IP had been set)
- An older version of NAS OS 4 might replace the current version
How to manually update a NAS OS 4 device after a Factory Reset?
A Factory Reset might have been necessary for troubleshooting, or a NAS OS 4 device might just have an older version installed. Whatever the case may be, the automatic update feature in the NAS OS 4 Device Manager is no longer available and it will be necessary to install any updates manually.
The Personal Cloud devices have a Manual Update button inside the Device Manager where a capsule file can be selected. For all other NAS OS 4 devices, use the following method:
- Download the required capsule file from the device support page or through Download Finder
- Extract the .zip file so you have the .capsule file
- Place the file in the admin share on the NAS, inside a folder called Update (If you do not have an admin share, create one in Device Manager, and create a new folder called Update inside it if necessary)
- Copy the .capsule file to the admin/Update folder
- Restart the NAS OS 4 device, the update will proceed automatically
Alternative Seagate or LaCie Products to NAS OS 4?
There is currently no direct replacement or follow-up generation of NAS devices available from Seagate or LaCie. For large scale projects, please do be sure to check out the Seagate Lyve Program to see if we can offer you a Lyve solution. https://www.seagate.com/products/cloud/lyve-mass-storage-platform/
What are the risks of continuing to use a NAS OS 4 device?
Security Vulnerabilities: Since Security Updates have been discontinued, a NAS OS 4 device on a network could be a point of weakness as vulnerabilities for its aging protocols could be found and used as a route of attack into the network. It is therefore strongly recommended that if you decide to continue using a NAS OS 4 device, to verify that it is as cut-off from the internet as possible. And even though remote access can still be configured, it is suggested to only use this feature if absolutely necessary and for as short a timeframe as possible.
Software incompatibilities: Software which currently works with NAS OS 4 and continues to receive updates means it’s possible that a future update will suddenly render it incompatible with NAS OS 4’s aging protocols.
Performance & Reliability: Related to Software Incompatibilities, configuring more recent systems to work with a NAS OS 4 device can result in unexpected lower performance and intermittent reliability. Significant time and energy could be wasted troubleshooting these issues that would not be occurring with a NAS device which has not reached its End-of-Life stage.
Industry Compliance: Some industries such as healthcare and e-commerce require strict compliance and related sensitive data should no longer be stored on a NAS OS 4 device.
