The issue you’re running into now likely comes down to network routing and DNS resolution when you're using a direct Ethernet connection from your Mac to the NAS. When you disconnect from your router and go direct, you're essentially creating an isolated network, which causes name resolution (like `find.ugnas.com`) to fail.
I suggest either of the following to try to get this resolved:
Option 1: Access NAS via Direct IP Address
- Assign a static IP address to the NAS** (if not already set). Something like `192.168.2.2` works well in a direct-connect setup.
- On your Mac, set a manual IP address on the Ethernet interface (e.g., `192.168.2.1`) and subnet mask `255.255.255.0
- Now, in a web browser, try visiting `http://192.168.2.2:port` — replace with the actual IP and port of the NAS admin page.
4. Bookmark this IP or create a local DNS alias using `/etc/hosts` if you want to mimic a friendly hostname.
Option 2: Keep Web Access via Wi-Fi + Use Ethernet for File Transfers
- Leave your Mac connected to Wi-Fi (for internet and DNS resolution).
- Plug in the NAS via Ethernet directly.
- On your Mac, go to System Settings > Network > Ethernet, assign the NAS and Mac static IPs in a separate subnet (like 192.168.2.x), so it doesn't conflict with your Wi-Fi network.
- In System Settings > Network > Ethernet > Advanced > TCP/IP, make sure no default gateway is set for Ethernet. That way, DNS and internet will still go through Wi-Fi, but file transfer traffic will use Ethernet.
Your UGreen NAS is similiar, in ways, to other NAS's provided by Synology or QNAP, in that it has its own operating system. For best performance, a NAS should be directly connected to your network by Ethernet. Any network client could then access it either by a wireless or wired connection to that same network.
