Firewall Rule locked me out of NAS

[Enquiries]

I have locked myself out of my NAS unintentionally by setting a firewall rule. Is there a way to reset network settings without losing data.

[ed]

Thanks for reaching out, and you’re not alone — firewall misconfigurations can easily lock you out of TerraMaster systems, especially when applying strict custom rules. The good news is that in most cases, a reset of the network settings or a reinstall of the TOS system will not affect your data, as long as no formatting or new pool creation is triggered during the process.


Here is a reset process I've found -although that guide is for a different model, it should work on the F4-424 too. The main thing is that the reset button appears to be located inside the chassis near the M.2 slot, not on the rear, which is quite common for newer TerraMaster units.




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Should you remove the hard drives before a reset?

No, you do not need to remove the drives for the reset. In fact, removing them may complicate the rebuild process afterward. Keeping the drives in place ensures that the system will detect the existing storage pool and volumes after the reset or TOS reinstall, provided the correct steps are followed.

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Step-by-step: Resetting your F4-424 without data loss

Important: Although the following steps are low-risk for data, do not proceed with any screen that asks you to format drives, create new storage pools, or delete existing data.
1. Power off the NAS completely. Use the front power button to shut it down gracefully, or hold it down for several seconds if the system is unresponsive.
2. Open the chassis and locate the small RESET button on the motherboard. On the F4-424, this is inside the unit, near the M.2 slot. You can refer to this image for location reference:
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/terra...rd_top.jpg
3. Use a paperclip or non-metallic pin to press and hold the RESET button.
4. While still holding RESET, briefly press the power button to start the device.
5. Continue holding the RESET button for approximately 30 seconds, until you hear three consecutive beeps, then release it.
6. The NAS will now boot into a safe initialization mode. Wait a few minutes until the device appears in the TNAS PC desktop utility (or use a network scanner like Advanced IP Scanner to find its IP).
7. In your browser, go to the detected IP or click “Login” in TNAS PC. You will likely be redirected to an initialization screen for TOS installation.
8. Do not format or create a new volume. Instead, choose the option to reinstall TOS only (you may be prompted to upload the latest .img file from TerraMaster’s website).
Latest TOS versions can be found here:
https://www.terra-master.com/en/support/os-download/
9. After the system reboots, it should recognize your existing storage pool and volumes automatically.

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After the reset
• You will need to reconfigure your network settings, users, shared folders, and firewall rules manually.
• If you previously set up SSH, Docker containers, or other services, these may need to be reinstalled or re-enabled, depending on how they were configured.




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Final notes
• Do not proceed with any prompts asking to format drives or create a new pool. If you see this, stop immediately and reach out for help.
• This type of reset does not delete data, but it resets TOS settings and clears firewall rules, which should resolve the lockout.