Dear HexOS / Linus Tech Tips Team,
I hope this message finds you well. I'm writing regarding my recent HexOS purchase, which I bought as an early access product expecting simplified TrueNAS management.
Unfortunately, I've encountered challenges that have led me to request a refund, and I need your help disabling the service.
What I Experienced
After claiming my server
Unexpected Network & disk: With no backup configured, I saw sustained ~900Mbps outbound traffic to link.storjshare.io and api.hexos.com via the wsocat WebSocket tunnel (PID 17377, 1MB buffers). This matched high disk reads from my media vault.
Difficult to Control: Killing wsocat stops it temporarily, but it restarts. midclt call service.stop "hexos-agent" fails (service not found). No clear GUI toggle exists.
Dashboard Dependency: Blocking the tunnel (with my firewall) eliminates uploads but breaks HexOS Deck access ("Server not available"). - Even removing the server from the HexOS cloud service does not stop this data transfer.
Unexpected Cloud Service Lock in: I didn't expect to be required to rely on your cloud service to maintain my own server, this goes against self hosted as a concept..
Why HexOS Isn't Valuable for Me
Honestly, I don't see much value in continuing with HexOS for the price I paid:
Limited Features: The cloud dashboard and "simplified" management haven't demonstrated significant improvements over stock TrueNAS Scale.
Early Access Concerns: I purchased during early access expecting rapid progress, but haven't seen meaningful updates or enhancements that justify the cost.
Misleading Expectations: The aggressive cloud sync behavior felt like data exfiltration rather than helpful management, without clear opt-out options or bandwidth controls.
I feel somewhat misled by the early access promise—I expected a product evolving toward clear value, but the core issues (uncontrollable uploads, poor disable process) persist.
My Requests
Full Refund: I'd like to return to standalone TrueNAS Scale.
Official Disable Instructions: Step-by-step process to permanently remove the HexOS overlay/tunnel without data loss or reinstall.
Data Confirmation: What was uploaded during the sync? (Metadata only? Full files from my media vault?) And can you confirm/delete any stored data?
Thank you for understanding my position. I wanted HexOS to work but ultimately find it doesn't meet my needs. Your assistance with the refund and clean uninstall would be greatly appreciated.