[Help] F6-424 MAX – Possible hardware failure on second 10GbE port (no link, not detected by OS)

[rafaqs]

Hello TerraMaster team,
I am already a TerraMaster user and this is my second NAS from the brand.
My first unit is a F2-423, which has been working very well for a long time.
Recently (few weeks)I purchased a TerraMaster F6-424 MAX and I am facing a serious issue with one of the onboard 10GbE ports.
When I first installed and configured the F6-424 MAX, both 10GbE ports were working correctly. I created a 10GbE link aggregation (LACP) on my Unifi switches (USW Agreggation) and, at that time, both network interfaces appeared in the NAS interface and could be selected as members of the bond.
However, some time later, one of the 10GbE ports suddenly stopped working, without any configuration changes.
Current behavior:
• The NAS now only shows ONE 10GbE interface available for bonding and for normal network configuration.
• The second 10GbE port does not establish a physical link with any switch port: the link LED on the switch never turns on when I connect this port.
• If I move the exact same cable and module to the first 10GbE port, the link comes up immediately at 10 Gbps and works without any problem.
To be as precise as possible, I ran some diagnostic commands on the NAS.
1. Network interfaces
Command:
ifconfig -a
Result (summary):
• Physical interface: eth0 (10GbE, working correctly, member of bond0).
• There is no eth1 or any other additional physical interface listed.
• The bond0 interface shows traffic and normal operation through eth0 only.
2. Bonding status
Command:
cat /proc/net/bonding/bond0
Key lines:
• Ethernet Channel Bonding Driver: v6.12.54
• Bonding Mode: IEEE 802.3ad Dynamic link aggregation
• MII Status: up
• Number of ports: 1
• Slave Interface: eth0
• Speed: 10000 Mbps, Duplex: full
• Link Failure Count: 6
Originally, when both ports were working, the bond had two slave interfaces. Now, only eth0 remains and the second port is not listed anymore.
3. PCI / NIC detection
Command:
lspci | grep -i ether
Result:
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Aquantia Corp. AQC113C NBase-T/IEEE 802.3an Ethernet Controller Marvell Scalable mGig (rev 03)
This means the system is only seeing a single Aquantia AQC113C Ethernet controller instance. There is no second controller or second port exposed to the OS anymore.
4. Switch-side tests
• I tested the problematic 10GbE port on different 10Gb-capable ports on my Unifi USW Aggregation, Unifi USW Enterprise PoE and my 10Gb gateway.
• I used the same cables and SFP+/RJ45 modules that work perfectly on the first 10GbE port.
• In every test, the switch port connected to the problematic NAS port shows no link, no LED, and no negotiation at all.
• When I plug the same cable/module into the first 10GbE port of the NAS, the link LED turns on and the connection is established immediately at 10 Gbps.
From these tests, it looks like:
• The operating system and driver are working correctly for the remaining 10GbE port (eth0).
• Cables, modules and switches are all OK, since they work with the first port.
• The second onboard 10GbE port on the F6-424 MAX is no longer detected by the system and does not even bring up a physical link on any switch.
Because of this, I suspect a hardware failure on the second 10GbE port of my F6-424 MAX.
Could you please help me with:
1. Any additional diagnostic steps you recommend to confirm this hardware issue.
2. Guidance on how to proceed with repair or RMA for this defective 10GbE port.
I can provide full command outputs ( ifconfig -a ,  lspci ,  /proc/net/bonding/bond0 ) and screenshots from my Unifi switches showing the link status if needed.
Thank you very much for your help and for your products. My F2-423 has been very reliable, and I would really like to keep using TerraMaster hardware as my main NAS platform.”

[TMvalen]

Bonjour, après vérification, nous vous recommandons de redémarrer d'abord l'appareil. Si le problème persiste après le redémarrage, nous vous conseillons de réinstaller le système. Si le problème n'est toujours pas résolu, n'hésitez pas à nous contacter, nous continuerons à vous assister.

[rafaqs]

Bonjour, après vérification, nous vous recommandons de redémarrer d'abord l'appareil. Si le problème persiste après le redémarrage, nous vous conseillons de réinstaller le système. Si le problème n'est toujours pas résolu, n'hésitez pas à nous contacter, nous continuerons à vous assister.

Hello TMvalen,
Thank you for your reply.
I have already performed multiple reboots of the device, and the issue persists. More importantly, I have observed the following behavior that strongly indicates this is a hardware failure rather than a software issue:
During boot (before any OS loads):
• When the network cable is connected to the first 10GbE port (the defective one), the switch LED never turns on at any point during the entire boot sequence. There is no link negotiation whatsoever.
• When I move the exact same cable and SFP+/RJ45 module to the second 10GbE port, the switch LED turns on immediately and link is established at 10 Gbps as expected.
This behavior occurs before TOS or any operating system starts, which means the issue is at the physical/PHY layer of the network interface, not at the software/driver level.
Additional technical observations:
• The command  lspci | grep -i ether  shows only one Aquantia AQC113C controller, when a dual-port NIC should show two instances.
• The command  ifconfig -a  lists only one physical 10GbE interface (eth0).
• The bonding configuration shows only one active slave interface instead of two.
• I have tested multiple switch ports (Unifi USW Aggregation, USW Enterprise PoE, and a 10Gb gateway), multiple cables, and multiple SFP+/RJ45 modules – all work perfectly on the second port but show zero link activity on the first port.
My question:
Based on all these technical observations and evidence – particularly the fact that there is no physical link negotiation even before the operating system initializes – do you believe it is necessary to reinstall TOS to detect this problem?
I am currently running Unraid on this NAS, and reinstalling the OS would take my entire system offline and disrupt all services. If it is absolutely crucial for your diagnostics, I can proceed with a TOS reinstall, but all the evidence points to a hardware-level failure at the PHY layer, not a software-related issue.
I am happy to provide video recordings, command outputs, and additional diagnostic information. Could you please clarify whether a TOS reinstall is truly necessary given these findings?
Thank you for your support.
Best regards,
Rafa

[CursaYang]

Thank you for your detailed testing. Please take a video and send it to the technical support email address I purchased ([email protected]) for final confirmation. There is no need to reinstall the system.

[rafaqs]

Hello, thank you for your reply. I was traveling and returned today. Could you advise me on how the video should be made? If possible, what steps do you suggest I follow to confirm the problem?
Thank you for your support.
Best regards,
Rafa

[CursaYang]

Video during the startup phase (showing LED behavior when plugged into a faulty port and a good port); high-definition photos of the rear panel and the 10GbE area on the mainboard.
Thank you for your cooperation. If you upload the video and photos, we will start processing immediately.

[rafaqs]

Hi everyone, I’m back with a frustrating update.

As I mentioned before, TerraMaster support was great (tks guys)and replaced my first unit very quickly. However, I’m now facing the exact same hardware failure on this second F6-424 Max.

It’s a bit ironic: I’ve been using a TerraMaster F2-423 for a long time and it still works perfectly, which is why I trusted the brand for this upgrade. But this F6-424 Max model (or at least this batch) seems to have a serious issue with the 10GbE interfaces.

The details of this second failure:

First Unit (RMA'd): The TOP 10GbE port died completely.

Second Unit (Current): Now, the BOTTOM 10GbE port has failed.

Just like last time, I’ve done all the troubleshooting. I use a full Ubiquiti UniFi setup (Switch and Gateway), and the test is simple: if I plug the cable into the top port, the link comes up at 10GbE instantly on my UniFi dashboard. If I move that same cable to the bottom port, the Link LED stays OFF and there’s no signal at all.

Since I received both units from local stock here in Brazil, I’m starting to think this is a chronic batch issue. I’m still under warranty and II really need a reliable dual 10GbE solution

How should I proceed this time? I have videos and photos comparing the working port vs. the failed one, ready to be sent to the technical team.

Best regards,
Rafael

[crisisacting]

This might be a Marvell/Aquantia issue, more than a TerraMaster one; most other TNAS models use RealTek LAN controllers but the recent units with 10 GB ports have used the aforementioned Marvell/Aquantia solution.

There was a firmware update for the AQC113C which was made available by TerraMaster support quite a while back, but your RMA unit likely would have come with the newer revision.

[rafaqs]

This might be a Marvell/Aquantia issue, more than a TerraMaster one; most other TNAS models use RealTek LAN controllers but the recent units with 10 GB ports have used the aforementioned Marvell/Aquantia solution.

There was a firmware update for the AQC113C which was made available by TerraMaster support quite a while back, but your RMA unit likely would have come with the newer revision.

That’s a great point. It really seems like the Aquantia AQC113C implementation is the root cause here, rather than a general TerraMaster software issue.

Regarding the firmware update: on this unit (which is already a replacement), one port works perfectly while the other just died completely—no LED, no link, and the system reports Link detected: no.

In my experience, if the hardware layer is so unresponsive that it won't even negotiate a physical link (LED remains OFF), a firmware update is rarely the solution. It's hard to flash a controller that is effectively 'invisible' to the network stack. This feels much more like a physical failure or a thermal issue with the Aquantia chip itself.

The contrast with my F2-423 (which uses Realtek controllers and is rock solid) really points to a chronic reliability issue with this specific 10GbE Marvell/Aquantia series.

[TMzethar]

Please try the following steps to investigate whether there are any other possible causes.
1. Bypass the router/switch and connect directly to the computer. Check for compatibility issues with the router/switch.
2. With the TNAS powered off, ensure that both RJ45 ports are properly connected, then power on the TNAS and see if the issue persists.