Been playing for a few days and I’m on level 41, I’m noticing lack of gold has become a major hindrance to progression of characters, am I missing something or is this where the gotcha part of the games come into play
# 🔧 FIX: Plex Media Server won't claim on TerraMaster NAS (TOS 5) — "Could not resolve host: plex.tv"
**Applies to:** TerraMaster F2-221 (and likely other TeraMaster NAS models running TOS 5)
**Symptoms:** Plex claim button spins and fails, Remote Access shows a red error, "Server update channel: unknown", can't access Plex remotely
**Root cause:** A broken symlink for `/etc/resolv.conf` — meaning your NAS has no DNS and literally cannot find plex.tv on the internet
---
## 🧒 ELI5 — What Actually Went Wrong
Imagine your NAS is trying to call Plex on the phone, but it doesn't have a phone book to look up Plex's number. That phone book is a file called `/etc/resolv.conf`. On TerraMaster TOS 5, this file is supposed to exist but instead there's just a broken pointer to where the file *should* be — like a sticky note that says "phone book is in the drawer" but the drawer is empty. So every time your NAS tries to reach plex.tv, it fails silently.
This is why:
- Clicking "Claim Server" just spins then reverts
- Remote Access shows a red error
- The update channel shows "unknown"
- Tailscale works fine (it has its own workaround for missing DNS) but Plex doesn't
---
## 📋 How to Diagnose It
**Step 1 — Check your Plex logs**
In Plex, go to Settings → Troubleshooting → Download Logs. Open `Plex Media Server.log` and search for this:
```
Could not resolve host: plex.tv
```
If you see this repeatedly every time you try to claim — that's your problem. DNS is broken on the NAS.
**Step 2 — Confirm via SSH**
SSH into your NAS (TOS: Control Panel → Terminal & SNMP to find your SSH port, typically 9222):
```bash
ssh YourUsername@192.168.1.X -p 9222
```
Then run:
```bash
ls /etc/
```
Look at the output. If `resolv.conf` appears in **red**, it's a broken symlink. That's the culprit.
---
## ✅ The Fix (3 Commands)
SSH in and run these three commands:
```bash
rm /etc/resolv.conf
echo "nameserver 8.8.8.8" > /etc/resolv.conf
echo "nameserver 1.1.1.1" >> /etc/resolv.conf
```
**What these do:**
Verify it worked:
```bash
cat /etc/resolv.conf
```
You should see:
```
nameserver 8.8.8.8
nameserver 1.1.1.1
```
---
## 🎬 Claim Plex Immediately After
It should work instantly.
---
## ⚠️ Important Warning — This Fix Won't Survive a Reboot
TOS 5 will recreate the broken symlink when the NAS restarts. To make the fix permanent, create a startup script.
While still in SSH:
```bash
cat > /usr/local/etc/rc.d/fix-dns.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/sh
rm -f /etc/resolv.conf
echo "nameserver 8.8.8.8" > /etc/resolv.conf
echo "nameserver 1.1.1.1" >> /etc/resolv.conf
EOF
chmod +x /usr/local/etc/rc.d/fix-dns.sh
```
**Note:** The exact path for startup scripts varies by TOS version — check your TerraMaster forums for the correct location. The above is a starting point. Alternatively, upgrading to TOS 6 may resolve this properly at the OS level.
---
## 🤔 Why Does This Happen?
This appears to be a TOS 5 bug introduced by a system update. The `/etc/resolv.conf` symlink loses its target after certain updates or reinstalls, leaving the NAS with no DNS resolver. Tailscale (if installed) works around this using hardcoded bootstrap IPs, which is why Tailscale stays connected but Plex doesn't.
The TOS Network settings UI lets you enter DNS servers, but these don't reliably write to the actual OS-level `/etc/resolv.conf` — they only update an internal TOS config that Plex and other apps can't use.
---
## 🔎 Quick Checklist if You're Stuck
- ✅ Are you accessing Plex via `http://[NAS-IP]:32400/web` (local IP, not app.plex.tv)?
- ✅ Does `ls /etc/` show `resolv.conf` in red?
- ✅ Did you run the three fix commands above?
- ✅ Did you restart Plex after the fix?
- ✅ Are you trying to claim from a browser on the same local network as the NAS?
---
## 💬 TL;DR
TerraMaster TOS 5 has a bug where `/etc/resolv.conf` becomes a broken symlink, meaning your NAS can't resolve domain names. Plex needs to contact plex.tv to claim your server, so it silently fails every time. SSH in, delete the broken symlink, create a real `resolv.conf` with Google and Cloudflare DNS, restart Plex, and claim. Done.
---
*Tested on: TerraMaster F2-221 | TOS 5.1.67 | Plex Media Server 1.43.1.10611 | UniFi Dream Router 6*
*Fixed with help from Claude (Anthropic)*