Frequently Asked Questions

Which devices can be a server?

Anything running iOS 15, which means the iPhone 6s, iPhone SE, iPhone 7 and every iPhone since, the iPod touch (7th generation), and the iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4 and every iPad since, including all iPad Pro models. A device from 2014 or 2015 is plenty for sharing files.

Why does the app have to stay open?

iOS does not let apps run network servers in the background, and a server that iOS could suspend would drop connections in the middle of a transfer. NAS Reborn therefore serves only while it is the app on screen, with the screen dimmed, and it pauses serving whenever another app takes over. Always-On Serving shows how to make that reliable with Guided Access or Single App Mode.

Is it safe to leave an old iPhone plugged in for months?

Generally yes, as millions of devices spend their lives on a charger. The real concern with old batteries is being held at 100% indefinitely, which is why the battery guidance recommends a smart plug that cycles charging. Keep the device out of direct sun, and the app itself watches the thermal state.

Does my data or traffic pass through your servers?

No. Clients connect directly to your device and there is no relay and no account. A server used only as a drive contacts no backend at all, with one optional exception, which is a small anonymous check for known security problems affecting your app version. That check is on by default and can be switched off in Settings. When you opt into web serving, the backend does plumbing only: it keeps the DNS records of your nas2.dk hostname current, relays its certificate challenges and probes reachability. A domain of your own skips even that, as Let's Encrypt validates it by connecting to the device itself.

Do the camera and microphone ever run on their own?

No. Neither is touched until you set something up that needs it, and even then only while it is being used. A camera feed starts capturing when a viewer opens it and stops about forty-five seconds after the last one leaves. The microphone measures the noise level of the room only while a page that is actually being served reads it, and what is stored is a number in dB and never audio. Nothing is uploaded anywhere, as the video and the readings go from your device to whoever you let connect to it.

What does it cost?

NAS Reborn starts with a 14-day free trial of everything, and after that a free tier keeps serving. The free tier gives you the network drive, Time Machine, and web and S3 serving with a hostname and certificate, within limits of 2 served folders with 5 GB of serving each, 2 git repositories, one device account and one access key. Sensor data is not limited, and the Time Machine folder does not count against the folder limit. The full app is a one-time lifetime purchase that removes the limits and adds camera feeds, serving external drives on the web, a custom domain, static site export and a custom share name. There is no subscription.

What happens at the free tier's limits?

Nothing is deleted, locked or held hostage. A folder over its serving quota stops serving over web and S3 until it is back under the limit, and turning on more folders or repositories than the free tier serves pauses serving until one is switched off. Folders and repositories are counted separately, so hosting a repository never uses up a folder. SMB and Files-app writes are never blocked, so Time Machine backups keep growing regardless. Every byte remains an ordinary file in the Files app where you can always copy it out. Camera feeds need Pro entirely, so on the free tier they keep their settings and serve nothing. Clips already recorded stay downloadable from their Changes page. Purchase the unlock and serving resumes.

How do I back up my server?

The app backs itself up, to another NAS Reborn device or to any S3 bucket such as Backblaze B2, Wasabi or AWS. Add a destination in Settings → Backups and paste the invitation the other device gives you, or enter bucket credentials by hand, and it uploads on a schedule from then on. Backups are always encrypted, so the device or the bucket holding one cannot read it, and each run leaves a snapshot rather than a mirror, so deleting a file today does not take it out of the snapshot from yesterday. One destination is free, backing up to several is Pro, and restoring is never gated. See Backing Up Your Server for the whole story and Hosting a Backup for keeping a backup for a friend.

The server is also a standard S3 endpoint, so any S3 tool can pull from it instead. A scheduled rclone sync from any computer makes a solid backup, see the rclone section of Access Keys and S3 Clients.

Note that iCloud Backup does not cover the served files. Automatic iCloud backups only run while a device is locked, and a server that is always awake never locks, so served data is kept out of iCloud Backup. Use one of the backups above instead.

What if the NAS Reborn backend shuts down?

Your server keeps working on your own network with no backend at all. The network drive and Time Machine never touch a backend in the first place, and serving, S3 and the Files app integration all run on the device. The backend only maintains the nas2.dk hostname plumbing for the optional web tier, and HTTPS at home survives it losing that name: the server signs its own certificate for the .local name, and a domain you own gets its certificate straight from Let's Encrypt.

NAS Reborn comes from the developer of Working Copy, in continuous development since November 2014, and Secure ShellFish, since June 2019.

Can I run more than one server?

Yes. You install the app on each device and every one runs as its own independent server with its own folders, accounts and keys, so a drawer full of old iPhones can become several servers.

Can other people in the house use it without installing anything?

Yes, and this is what the network drive is for. The Finder, Connect to Server in the Files app and Windows Explorer all speak SMB out of the box, and browsers simply browse, since public folders are websites and presigned links share single files from private folders. To put the S3 side into the Files app, S3 Files surfaces the server as a location in Files and Finder.