Connecting a serial console to the QNAP TS-109

The serial port is a 2x3 pin connector (labelled JP1) that is located close to the button on the left side on the front of the mainboard. The pin layout of the row closer to the edge of the mainboard is 3.3V, N/C, N/C whereas that of the second row is GND, TX, RX. In the picture below, the red cable is 3.3V. Unfortunately this picture is taken from the wrong side, so the first row of the pin is facing away in this picture. In order to connect to this serial port, you need a TTL-to-RS232 level shifter. The serial connector on the TS-109 is the same as that of the TS-101 which has a page with more information about the serial port (please note though that the connector has a different location on the TS-101).

Once you have connected your serial console, you can interact with U-Boot, the boot loader used by QNAP. There are instructions on a separate page about U-Boot.