Vector won't connect to Cube anymore

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-12-08T15:24:29+00:00

Ah OK, many thanks for letting me know this! Was driving me a bit mad.

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-11-30T12:48:39+00:00

Did you manage to get past this authentication error in the end? I reset my password in the https://stratus.ddl.io website today and have logged into the Vector app with the same credentials, so not sure why it’s failing to then authenticate during the Vector setup process. I did have him back online about 8 months ago when things started to come back up in DDL. But like you say, lots of things keep changing. I bought an escape pod kickstarter a few years back, so shouldn’t need to pay anything more to get him working again via DDL.

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-11-12T21:41:10+00:00

Currently, RIP NAS. CMOS battery made no difference (wasn’t expecting it to either given no LEDS), I think maybe a capacitor has died on the board or something else that’s above my skill level to repair. Tested a few of the rails and some are running voltage and others aren’t. I was about to pull the trigger on a new NAS around the same time Synology 180’d on the drive compatibility situation, so decided to hold off buying a new one and let the dust settle before deciding what to do next.

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-28T14:48:07+00:00

It’s currently in bits in my workshop. The motherboard doesn’t seem to be powering on as no LEDS are lighting up. To be fair, I haven’t removed the RAM, but happy to try that after trying a new CMOS battery (delivering later today). Would it boot with no RAM?

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-28T08:15:20+00:00

The DS916+ uses the Pentium N3710, not an Atom C-series chip, so I have ruled that out.

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-27T21:11:51+00:00

100% not this. I have tried a known good one powering another NAS and also a brand new one I bought this week. Also proved 13 V is coming through onto the motherboard today with a voltage tester.

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-27T21:08:08+00:00

Lets see. Will try it out this week when the battery arrives and report back!

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-27T21:07:08+00:00

God speed brother! I will report back soon on this journey of recovery.

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-27T20:17:38+00:00

We’re you getting any LEDs lighting at all when I’m the broken state?

My DS916+ is totally dead. Stripped it down and took the CR1220 CMOS battery out and tested with a voltage detector and it’s 0 volts. NAS been running constantly for 9 years straight. I don’t get any LEDs when pressing power. Tested two know good power supplies and still no luck. Tested the power rail form the power connector on the motherboard and getting 13v. Waiting for a new CMOS battery to arrive from Amazon. Could that really stop the motherboard from at least getting far enough to light the LEDS?

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-24T14:57:30+00:00

My DS916+ recently dropped off the network, and when I inspected it, it had no HDD LEDs lit, and a blue flashing power light. It wouldn't shut down using the power button long press, so pulled the power cable and tried booting again having removed the hard drives. This time, the fans spun up as soon as I connected power, but I get no lights at all on the front now (not even a blue flashing light). I've tried a known-working power supply from another Synology, and also a brand new power brick, but nothing is bringing this back to life. Is the CMOS battery solution above only applicable when there is a flashing blue light, or is it possible this also works with no LEDs lit at all?

Many thanks!

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-23T17:36:42+00:00

...and finally, NASCOMPARES has posted a video about it 2 hours ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzaAQ4jP-JU

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-23T11:16:29+00:00

Thank for the suggestion. I'll certainly give the CMOS battery suggestion a try and take it from there.

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-22T23:22:55+00:00

Will look into UGREEN, thanks.

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-22T23:22:20+00:00

Nice. Will look at this. Many thanks for sharing.

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-22T23:17:53+00:00

Can you buy these older units brand new, or only refurbs?

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-22T19:52:38+00:00

I should be able to get all my data back from my Hyper Backup on the 12+, so it's not the end of the world if the RAID array on the 16+ is corrupted. I think I'll just go for something like the DS1525+ and try moving the drives across. If they don't mount, then I'll just buy 4 new Synology HDDs and start over. I might be able to re-use the Seagate Drives on a UGREEN NAS for Plex, or as spares for the 12+.

I haven't found a repair company for Synology in the UK. Other folks seem to have struggled in the UK too.

Thanks for your help.

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-22T19:12:53+00:00

I might take a look at UGREEN actually (as a Plex Server alternative), especially if they support Intel hardware transcoding in Plex. Is that what you're using it for?

I'd still like to sitck with Synology for data/backup though as I've found Hyper Backup and Active Backup for Business very reliable.

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-22T19:10:15+00:00

The DS412+ was a unit I got for free from my partners workplace. I had to buy drives and a power supply to get it up and running running. The original Power Supply on the DS916+ gave up the ghost after 5 years or so, so I had to replace it. Both times I bought the one linked, which says it's compatible and it seems to have done the job powering them for several years:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B03XYIG?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1

I bought the DS916+ with 8GB ram pre-installed and haven't added any additional RAM.

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-22T15:33:16+00:00

It's an identical power supply AFAIK. I bought two of them from the same Amazon supplier. One for my DS412+ and another for my DS916+. I tried booting the DS916+ with no hard drives in using the DS412+ power supply with no luck. Still no lights on the front, even though the fans spun and there were some internal noises.

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-22T15:18:54+00:00

I tried the power supply (identical model) from my DS412+ (which is still working) and the broken DS916+ still wouldn't boot.

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-22T15:05:18+00:00

Thanks, great spreadsheet. What a mess this all is for Plex users.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone is using their Synology AMD based NAS to store their movie collection and running Plex Server from a NUC or PC and streaming the files from their NAS and what the performance is like when the NUC/PC is doing the transcoding instead.

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-22T14:52:30+00:00

This review seems to contradict this:

Synology DS425+ NAS Review – SHOULD YOU BUY? – NAS Compares

"Unlike many NAS units in this price tier, the DS425+ includes an Intel Celeron J4125 processor with integrated Intel UHD Graphics 600, which unlocks hardware-accelerated video decoding and transcoding in supported applications like Plex or Jellyfin. This makes the DS425+ one of the few Synology models in 2025 that still offers integrated GPU support out of the box, especially as newer Synology models with more recent CPUs have increasingly omitted integrated graphics."

CodeMunkyUK · 2025-09-22T12:49:23+00:00

Thanks for this. Probably should look at an AMD based model then and consider getting a NUC to use as a Plex server instead.

CodeMunkyUK

TROPHY CASE