[Help] Re-Initialization of F4-212 NAS without formatting disks

Initialization of newly purchased TNAS or re-installation of your TNAS
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gizmo112
Posts: 1
Joined: 22 May 2026, 22:42
Switzerland

[Help] Re-Initialization of F4-212 NAS without formatting disks

Post by gizmo112 »

Hi there

After a network and router switch I was at first not able to get back into my Terramaster F4-212, updated TNAS software (MAC) and finally was able to find it. However, I am forced to initalize it from scratch and during wizard it gives me a warning that all data on the drives are going to be deleted, which I want of course to avoid as I am having data on it.

The Gui does not provide any option to elsewise log-in or authenticate. How can I get still back into the system to access my data? A step by step guide or any point to an existing forum article would be appreciated; couldn't find something myself which suited my case.

P.S.
With support I was in touch over Chat and we tried to get root access via terminal but I was not able to finish procedure and needed to abort it due to time constraints.
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MikeZhang
TM Support
Posts: 413
Joined: 05 Sep 2023, 22:21

Re: [Help] Re-Initialization of F4-212 NAS without formatting disks

Post by MikeZhang »

gizmo112 wrote: 25 May 2026, 06:24
Sorry for the inconvenience, please click link below to book remote session so that we can fix it for you remotely.
Please note: Remote session is available from 10AM to 5PM(except lunch hours 12 noon-2PM) Monday to Friday UTC+8
https://salesiq.zohopublic.com/signatur ... 97d0be8892
To contact our team, please send email to following addresses, remember to replace (at) with @

Technical team: support(at)terra-master.com(for technical support)
Service team: service(at)terra-master.com(for purchasing, return, replacement, RMA service)
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Lithey
Posts: 1
Joined: 03 Aug 2026, 12:29
United States of America

Re: [Help] Re-Initialization of F4-212 NAS without formatting disks

Post by Lithey »

gizmo112 wrote: 25 May 2026, 06:24 Hi there

After a network and router switch I was at first not able to get back into my Terramaster F4-212, updated TNAS software (MAC) and finally was able to find it. However, I am forced to initalize it from scratch and during wizard it gives me a warning that all data on the drives are going to be deleted, which I want of course to avoid as I am having data on it.

The Gui does not provide any option to elsewise log-in or authenticate. How can I get still back into the system to access my data? A step by step guide or any point to an existing forum article would be appreciated; couldn't find something myself which suited my case.

P.S.
With support I was in touch over Chat and we tried to get root access via terminal but I was not able to finish procedure and needed to abort it due to time constraints.
Any update?
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Felix
TM Support
Posts: 139
Joined: 28 Jan 2026, 15:24
China

Re: [Help] Re-Initialization of F4-212 NAS without formatting disks

Post by Felix »

Lithey wrote: 03 Aug 2026, 12:32
Please try Method B:
  1. Power off your TNAS device.
  2. Remove all HDD/SSD.
  3. Power on your TNAS.
  4. Wait about 2 minutes until the network light is active, then use TNAS PC to search for your TNAS.
  5. Clear your browser cache.
  6. Select the device and click "Login" to enter the initialization page.
  7. When the system shows “No hard drives detected”, keep the TNAS powered on and insert the HDDs.
  8. Follow the instructions on the webpage to reinstall TOS.
Note:
Reinstalling the system normally only resets the system configuration and permissions. It does not delete the data on the hard disks if these disks have been used in this TNAS before.
However, to prevent any unexpected situation, we recommend backing up your data before reinstalling the system if conditions allow.
This method only applies to HDDs that have always been used in this TNAS.
If the HDDs were previously used in another device, or if the installation wizard shows prompts such as:
  • Format
  • Delete data
  • Create Storage Pool
  • Create RAID
  • Initialize disks
please stop the operation immediately and do not continue.
Please contact our technical support team for further assistance:
https://salesiq.zohopublic.com/signatur ... 97d0be8892
To contact our team, please send email to following addresses, remember to replace (at) with @:
Support team: support(at)terra-master.com (for technical support only)
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