Problem
- Dashboard Settings shows only 2 widgets ("Help" and "System Time")
- All other widgets missing
- Browser shows permissions: {"role":"user"} instead of {"role":"admin"}
Root Cause
If you created a Linux system user named admin during OS installation, that user must be in the openmediavault-admin group to get admin role in OMV. Without it, OMV authenticates you but assigns "user" role, causing widgets requiring admin permissions to be filtered out.
Solution
One command fix:
sudo usermod -aG openmediavault-admin admin
(Replace admin with your actual system username if different)Then:
- Log out of OMV completely
- Clear browser session storage (F12 → Application tab → SessionStorage → Clear)
- Log back in
- Check Dashboard Settings — all widgets should now appear
Verification
In browser console (F12), run:
sessionStorage.getItem('permissions')
Should return: {"role":"admin"} (not {"role":"user"})
Why This Works
OMV checks group membership to assign roles:
- Users in openmediavault-admin group → Role: admin → All widgets visible
- Users NOT in group → Role: user → Only widgets without permissions visible
The OMV web admin account (default password: openmediavault) always has admin access, but system users need explicit group membership.
Quick Reference
# Add user to OMV admin group
sudo usermod -aG openmediavault-admin admin
# Verify group membership
groups admin
# Should show: ... openmediavault-admin ...
# Check group exists
getent group openmediavault-admin
# Should show: openmediavault-admin:x:979:admin
# Should show: openmediavault-admin:x:979:admin
Tested on: OMV 8.0.6-2 on Debian 13 / Raspberry Pi 5
