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Well, I dunno if or when a subscription model would be available, but if you have the hardware ready to go, you could go for the full lifetime license, it has a 30 refund period. So you could get it, try it, and if not for you after three weeks you can start the process to request a refund. Keep in mind however that depending on what you want to do there are still things that need to be set up and configured in the underlying TrueNAS system that HexOS is built on top of, but having said that most tasks you may want to accomplish that would need you to drop into that interface are either rather straightforward if you read all the options or if there is a guide already posted (for example setting up TailScale). From the Terms of Service: Any and all purchases are subject to a 30-day refund policy. To request a refund, email us at support@hexos.com using the email account associated with your purchase. For Early Access orders, the 30-days starts from the date you receive your invite to participate in the beta.

I think you might be mixing up a few things here. As we say, you’re comparing apples to pears 😊. This is mostly a matter of form factor. Technically, you can build a NAS out of a laptop, but it’s far from ideal—especially since you’d likely end up using external hard drives via USB. HexOS and TrueNAS require drives to report their individual serial numbers, but many cheap USB enclosures skip that and just report a generic serial for all connected drives. That causes issues with drive detection and undermines data integrity. In your case, the hardware is also quite old and doesn’t meet the minimum requirements. That said, this doesn’t mean HexOS isn’t suitable. On the contrary, it’s very easy to use—just keep in mind it’s still in beta. But if you’re considering buying something like a UGREEN NAS, there are other NAS form factor devices that might be more interesting. For example: https://aoostar.com/collections/nas-series https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lincplus/redefining-nas-style-power-and-usability-with-lincplus These devices let you choose your own OS, whether it’s HexOS, TrueNAS, or Unraid. Another option is buying a NAS from UGREEN, QNAP, ASUSTOR, or TerraMaster (but not Synology). You can use the default OS or install something custom like HexOS or TrueNAS, if the hardware is supported. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmFb_kO5V3Q So, in short: there are lots of options. Could you tell us what you plan to use the NAS for? That might help us give you more targeted suggestions.

Thank you so much @Sonic!!

Hi, i use hexos on my old office tower and have at the moment 3 hard drives in it. I now purchased a new NAS (4 bay) with an x86 processor so i can still use hexos. Is it possible to save my hexos configuration and just load my apps and profiles from my old tower? Maybe i can just put the old nvme with the os in the NAS and it will pick everything up as i used it in my tower. Would love some recommendations from you guys on how to upgrade the nas without too much trouble. even though hexos is the least trouble it can make 😄 Kind regards 🙂 PJ

Hi! IMHO I am in the demographic that HEXOS is targeting. A home user that has a lot of data (2 small YouTube channels) and a wife that has a lot of files from her home business (quilting) and photos from 47 years of marriage. I want to dump iCloud and access my files from anywhere in the word such as a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean. I have never owned a NAS. After watching a tons of building PCs and NAS devices I really want to build my own NAS or create one from old PCs I have accumulated. But I am intimidated by the thought of not using a OS such as DSM or UGOS. TrueNas and UNRAID scare me away. This would be a perfect fit. This is my use case. However, I am not going to buy it and not know if it works for me. I do like the idea of a subscription monthly fee. I would like to see 30-60-90 days free trial to test the software. Yes, I would start my trial with instant payments as well but a free trial would possibly hook me. Once I got it all set up then I would promptly forget about it and the monthly charges would just keep rolling along. HEXOS would make more money in the long run and I would be comfortable with my set up. Thoughts?

+1 -> I have used Backblaze through my current Synology unit for years and it has saved me more than once. It would be a great addition to the HexOS system to be able to install/manage this from within the UI.

You seriously made me laugh out loud! Yeah, my wife thought I was talking about our upgraded MBAs that we got in 2018, I traded them in for 2 M4 Mac Mini's just a few weeks ago. They were supposed to go to Apple with me and be turned in for recycling. I was going to go to the storage unit today and look for them but I think after your post I will just forget the MBAs. After we move into our new home and unpack I will find them and take them to Apple. I have a Elitebook that is only a couple of years (corporate issue) that has been replaced and will probably attempt to use it. I am worried however about all this discussion regarding attaching HDD enclosures using usb-c and HexOS not recognizing the drives. Reading the forums is making me think this is not a plug and play OS. I am in the target market as someone that doesn't want to spend a lot of time learning how to set up the NAS. I simply want to configure the donor PC with an Enclosure (whether it is HDD or SSD) and create my storage and go. I am beginning this is not an option for me and I should just buy a UGREEN NAS and be done with it.

Not pretending to be an expert but i hear zfs is amazing and in that xda article there is a link to an article detailing why zfs is great. It might be worth googling btrfs vs zfs. I know it was a quite talked about topic before unraid added zfs support.

U.S. backers can make a $1 pledge. Update JetKVM on Kickstarter: New U.S. backers A few weeks ago, we effectively disabled new U.S. rewards due to the tariff uncertainty. Instead, we added a $1 “reservation” reward so U.S. backers can hold a spot in the queue once things stabilize. We really hope we'll have some tariff stability in the coming weeks, but it's currently too risky for us to accept new U.S. backers with rapid tariffs changes in the last weeks.

Hey, Rockstor uses Btrfs and Raid5/6 (equal to RaidZ1/RaidZ2 in ZFS) are unstable and strongly adviced against being used with Btrfs. While Hexos uses ZFS which supports RaidZ1 (out of the Box) and RaidZ2/3 via Truenas GUI which are rock solid. Truenas also has a large community where you can get help and is also open source. 🙂 I would only consider Rockstor when going for a mirrored setup (with 2 data drives max) but with 3 drives + I wouldn't risk my data by using Btrfs RAID5/6.

I just read an article on XDA about a free and open source NAS OS: https://www.xda-developers.com/switched-to-an-open-source-nas-os/ And now I'm wondering how it compares to HexOS. I have not tried either NAS OS yet, as I don't have the hardware for it yet, though I do have a HexOS license already. So yeah, has anyone heard of / tried it before? What's your opinion/experience?

If you have 5.25” bays (like for a CD/DVD reader) these could be a good option for you. I’ve installed one and it works really well. https://www.newegg.com/icy-dock-mb830sp-b/p/N82E16817994238

Thanks, I appreciate all the help you gave me.

I am someone in a similar position in that I had not used and true NAS software. I did inherit a unraid setup previously but I didn't really want to learn networking. I think I have gotten to the point that simple is my number one requirement because I If the developers first make HexOS simple to install, they will have my attention. While my Plex and Immich installs are probably incomplete, I am much farther than I would have been without the work HexOS did for me. After installing those apps all I did was copy pictures and Videos to folders HexOS told me to. Again, I acknowledge my setup is missing some remote access but I will get there. In addition to this it looks like the HexOS devs are working on adding more apps and functions to their recommended list. To me this sounds like in the future I may have more tools like a password manager, network tools or really anything that docker has that can improve the user experience. I won't act like I know much about the underlying TrueNas functionality and power. But even when I have found I am stuck, I have had several folks who do know what they are talking about give instructions to go threw my issues and questions. If you are a TrueNas expert you can probably do lots that I can't do in HexOS. That will probably always be true. But it's not because HexOS in not a powerful product. I just need to get my act together to take advantage of current (and hopefully numerous future) additions that are bridging the gap between my knowledge and the expert I have gotten help from here.

From a quick test, manually setting up an lacp bond in the truenas ui works. I had to reset the configurations on the 2 nics I wanted in the bond. Once that was done I could create it by clicking add, link agg, lacp, and adding the interfaces in the drop down. Once that was done it shows up in the hexos deck ui.

Glad i could help You can find new 6tb exos drives on ebay for under $100 from sellers with lots of reviews (i would still check farm data to make sure it is actually new) Cpu and ram are where i would not hesitate to buy used. If you search for ram on ebay just make sure you don't purchase ecc or server ram for this build as it is not compatible. Craigslist and facebook marketplace are also decent places to look for deals on used gear

I don’t think this will work. I don’t say it’s impossible, but I see a lot of challenges. To much if you ask me. A 15 year Old Macbook with not enough RAM and you need external HDDs which is not recommended. Leave them in the drawer or bring them to the museum.

Nice - thanks for the clarification. The HBA wasn't strictly needed - it was a nice to have and I can use it on another system I have. Thanks for the handy reference for this board!

Thanks for putting that together, that is a much better setup. I am OK with used parts.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BrkRyW this is my alternative sub $1000 build for you 11600 is a stronger cpu and gpu motherboard only has 1 gb ethernet but its good enough for a hdd build mobo also has 6 sata ports so you won't really need an hba until you go above that cheaper boot ssd bc you really don't need to spend much on it switched to less expensive exos drives. i don't know what they cost so little but in general they are better than ironwolf drives. added more ram since hexos likes ram switched to a dedicated nas case with a power supply that fits. we can do a lot better if you are okay with some used parts too

It has a realtek nic on the motherboard which are problematic and might not work i would highly recommend picking a motherboard without a realtek nic if you don't plan on adding say a 10gig pcie nic.

Yes 🙂 Depends on what your needs are, but as apps in truenas would probably be the easiest way.

Good, to know. thanks. Is this a decent sub $1000 NAS build? Are there any other recommended changes that should be made?

I believe the machines don't have enough RAM. A quick Google search tells me the ram isn't user upgradable because it is soldered on to the motherboard

Yes now you have a CPU with a GPU In general if there is a "f" prefix on a CPU it doesn't have a gpu.