Firmware updated and now shares won't mount
Answered
Powernode 2, Node 2, and Pulse Flex - all working for several years but today the whole group updated the firmware and now my network share (an apple airport NAS) will not read. The details have not changed, the IP is static etc, but my library has vanished and adding the same share manually again is failing.
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@ Mark Lerwill
Very interesting. Is this something you might care to share with some screenshots? I'd love to try myself (assuming it is something I could do via my Apple Airport). Thanks
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@Robin R: Sorry for the late answer, I was very busy...
My QNAP NAS has a static IP-Address, for example 192.168.20.20 (depends on your network/subnet)
On QNAP my music share (for example MyMusicFiles) allows read-only access to "Guest"-Users
In BluOS Controller, the network share is configured via IP, for example \\192.168.20.20\MyMusicFilesI hope this helps.
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Just to clarify why a user may feel not very happy actually:
- many vendors do inform their customer/user if they will deprecate a protocol in the future
- all vendors I know have the possibility to install any existing firmware (Bluesound allow manually factory reseting their devices and installing the latest firmware only)
Ditto. Despite your developer's best intentions, bugs will slip through. We want to be able to choose when and if we want to update.
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@Beedu, thank you! Using IP address works indeed. Don't understand why the name doesn't work, but for now it is usable. Hope my IP (think it is not static, yet) doesn't change to often.....
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@Robin R, I think that the IP is already changed after a reboot. I recommend blocking an IP range for static use, e.g. 192.168.20.1 - 192.168.20.30 (depends on your network/subnet). In the router configuration, the range from 192.168.20.31 to 192.168.20.255 is then released for DHCP. This avoids conflicts between static IPs and DHCP.
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Given the number of BluOS users and the investment each as made in equipment, any viable software company would be offering a viable path to downgrade the firmware to the previous working version. When will this be available? I understand that the BluOS support staff isn't currently permitted to communicate future releases, however this is unacceptable.
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Before the recent update i was a happy user, my node 2i worked perfect, as did many other devices.
I was not worried, things happen and an update for this update-error was on its way. I was wrong so it seems, and after contact with support there was no solution. The questions asked are still in the open, so will there be a fix or not ? When it comes to the fact that there will be no solution other than putting the problem somewhere else (i use apple time capsule ) i suggest that Bluesound refund the money i paid for the node . So my question is to communicate what the users with these problems caused by the latest update can or can not expect .
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Nearly 4 weeks later...
...no reliable information, no strategy, nothing from Bluesound!NTLMv1 can be used with Windows 10 and all NAS systems I know so far as all vendors still allow to use this protocol version. Okay not all of them, Bluesound can't handle this for their devices, as they are not able to allow static IP addresses and other complicate things.
My family could not listen to music for some weeks, so I did a workaround - something I thought should be the job of Bluesound...
I bought a Rasperry Pi and use it as a NAS now, but the Raspi is not a permanent solution because of it is not 100% reliable (unstable power management, micro SD card, etc.)1 -
.....as they are not able to allow static IP
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Interesting, as I couldn't see something like that in the 'manual', the configuration page is not accessable from the menu (or at least I didn't find the right button) and the support's answer about static IP addresses: "I'll also be sure to send over this feedback on the static IP address topic to our Quality Assurance team, but I don't know if it will be implemented in the future!"
So maybe there's also a Samba/NTLM configuration page and Bluesound just don't tell it to the customer ;-)
PS: will this setting allow to configure the WLAN or the LAN interface?
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I would like to support the customer requests mentioned above. I am very disappointed about Bluesound's reaction or as it would better be named no-reaction to get this 'share mounting problem' solved. I could be so easy to implement an option or even more easier to make the firmware-version before the current one via download available again. In my eyes, without a solution like this Bluesound is going to make a bad product out of an excellent concept (including hardware).
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For what it is worth, the only thing being stored on my now unreachable apple device was 180GB of music. To replace the setup I bought a 256GB usb drive, plugged it directly into the back of my bthub, and it was immediately visible as a network share from BluOS.
This took a long time to index but seems to be working now.
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Since it appears that BluOS intends not to fix this issue, allow me to offer a workaround that I found.
I'm using a Linksys WRT3200 router with a USB attached 1GB external hard drive, and currently on BluOS firmware version 3.18.10 (the first update after the network share issue was identified). As a side note, the WRT router is an IT-class router packaged for home use, with the ability for user programming. Two calls into Linksys on this NTLMv1 issue received similar responses of befuddlement - Linksys indicated they didn't understand why this was an issue, never heard of it elsewhere, there is no firmware updates available, etc.
Regardless, the fix I found: The Linksys user control app provide the ability to manage external storage connected to the router. There is a tab to set folder access, which was previously set to have the external drive available to anyone on the local network. There is an option to set up restricted access to specific users. Create a user name and password for the appropriate music files on the external drive connected to the router.
Back in the BluOS app, when attempting to connect and mount an external share, select the share attached to the router, provide the (previously optional) user name and password defined above. The share then connected within BluOS. The indexing seemed to take longer than previously, but it did complete.
Your router may not have exactly the same configuration options. However, this path is in line with a previous suggestion brought up in this thread to "disable anonymous logins" for external storage, which is forcing a different user access authorization path. Good luck.
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Thanks for the tip John
One of the reasons most OpenSource systems are following suit of Microsoft dropping NT Lana Manager Support is exactly because of RansomWare attacks caused by Anonymous Logins. Glad to hear LinkSys has a fix.
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@John
Thanks for the tip, but this must be router dependent.
On my Apple AirPort Extreme, the networked HDD was already password protected and I could not find a way to tweak the path and solve the problem.As Tony originally recommended, I opened a ticket to ask for technical guidance and the ticket got closed, as “solved”, just with the reply that the team would have worked on a new fw to fix the issue.
Weeks later, nothing happened.My solution was purchasing an external SSD and copy all my library there, plugging it into the Node’s USB input and using it as a not networked, music only storage.
$107 and few hours later, I finally got my fix.
Nonetheless, the behavior of Bluesound let me down and I will not consider any of their new products in the future.0 -
I agree about support, sending out resolved emails when issues are still unresolved. I was extremely annoyed to receive one about my problem with Qobuz following the firmware update. There are some others that are having problems with Amazon streaming that also are annoyed with resolved notifications when nothing has been resolved.
Bluesound may not want lots of unresolved tickets on their system but sending out resolved emails is not good for customer relations. When I bought my Node2 there were few problems but recently there are plenty.
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I have two Node 2’s. Both were purchased in early 2018 with the purpose of ripping most of my cd collection to a digital music library so I could have easy access to my music on my two hifi systems. The idea was to add more Bluesound wireless speakers in my kitchen and office space and soundbars to my TV’s later on to have a one-stop solution for all my audio needs around my home.
At the time I also upgraded my Spotify subscription to Tidal at double the monthly cost to take advantage of the high resolution audio streaming the Nodes are capable of.
I spent hundreds of hours ripping 800+ cds to 16/44 FLAC files, editing metadata and adding images (I’m retired and have too much time on my hands). All of this is stored on a 2TB Apple Time Capsule NAS. This worked perfectly fine until Bluesound decided to pull the plug on my music library with the latest BluOS firmware update a couple of weeks ago.
I contacted support through the BluOS app before I found this thread. Their response was : ”BluOS will no longer support devices with outdated NTLM authentication to avoid security concerns.” So if you’re still hoping for a fix from Bluesound Support, don’t. There won’t be one. Like with everyone else they marked my case as solved and apologized for the inconvenience. Lovely…
The only solution is to buy a new NAS, such as a Synology like Bluesound Support suggests : ”Many of our customers have great success when using NAS Synology's with Bluesound Products.”
So after spending $1350 4 years ago on my Node 2’s, I now just spent another $700 on a Synology NAS (DS220+ with 4TB hard disks). When it arrives I will have to spend additional hours setting it up, copying my music files, configuring it as a Time Machine backup, etc. Judging by the comments I read online there will definitely be a learning curve…
This comes on top of all the other issues there have been with my Node 2’s over the past 4 years, none of which Bluesound Support ever offered a solution for either, though in some cases they confirmed they were aware of these issues and were working on fixes.
A few examples :
Using a USB drive (which Tony W. suggested as a possible workaround for the NTLM issue) is not a solution because it has its own set of problems. It’s very slow and suffers from dropouts rendering it essentially useless.
Bluetooth has a significant audio lag which makes it useless for video files. Though initially this issue was recognized by Customer Support and a fix in the form of a future firmware update was promised, this never happened. The final explanation was that this was inherent to the Bluetooth system. This is not true, I have other devices from Bose and Sony which also use Bluetooth aptX that don’t have this problem.
Sources connected to the digital or analogue input cause streaming services to act up and crash. Customer Support’s solution : disconnect digital or analogue source when using streaming services. Great. Very convenient solution.
Connectivity issues with WiFi. Blamed by Customer Support on my WiFi modem (of course) though none of the 16 other devices connected to it in my home have any problems. I eventually ended up running ethernet cables to both my Node 2’s. It took me 2 days of fishing wires through walls and ceilings (as I mentioned above I’m retired and have nothing better to do with my time anyway, right ?) and cost about $100 on cables and connectors. One friend to who I recommended the Node 2 sold it after a few months because of the same WiFi connectivity issues. Running ethernet cables was just not a practical option for him.
Bottom line : Bluesound systems do not perform as advertised. They suffer from numerous bugs and issues which their customer support is incapable of resolving even after (in some cases) years of waiting for solutions.
I have two friends who use Sonos systems. One of them has a music library stored on a 16 year old PC (running Windows XP !) and it works just fine. Sure that will probably create a network vulnerability exposing him to a potential risk of ransomware attacks. But who cares if the only data stored on that old PC is his music library (for which he has a backup on an external USB drive in case something happens). At least Sonos didn’t lock him out of his library. And yes, it’s not hi-rez. But it works. He can play music from his library, I can’t.
So would I have spent $1350 on Bluesound products 4 years ago if I had known all this ? No. Will I purchase more Bluesound (or NAD or PSB or other products from Lenbrook Industries) as I originally planned ? No. I have lost my confidence in their customer support. Will I still recommend Bluesound products to friends as I’ve done before ? No.
Hopefully my $700 additional investment will solve the current issue and hopefully there won’t be another future BluOS update that turns my Synology NAS into a brick as well. Because I know I won’t be able to rely on Bluesound Customer Support to provide me with a solution when that happens.
What we all should do is share our experiences on social media, various forums and any retail website where we can leave reviews (Amazon, Best Buy,...). I’m certainly going to make a start on this (I’m retired, remember). At least it will avoid other people with an interest in streaming devices to fall into the same trap.2 -
I fully agree with the plea Turntables made. There is complete silence from the Bluesound side since this problem occurred, and the solutions offered where nothing else than “ to bad, not our problem that your apple airport timecapsule is not working after the update provided, and buy another device”. The dutch distributor was not aware of the problem, and got and gave the same response . So much for customer care. So for me it’s over with any audio product from Lenbrook Industries, and I will not recommend it to anyone and set this as an example.
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