Synology requiring proprietary-branded drives to be used with its NAS

2025-07-06T18:52:01Z

Pbuttles: Clarified the non-functionality of new unapproved drives, and added 007revad's open source project for bypassing these restrictions

[[Synology]] Plus Series NAS devices released in 2025 onwards require the use of specific pre-approved drives to obtain full or any functionality. New non-approved drives are unusable,<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=NasCompares |title=Synology 2025 NAS Series & 3rd Party Drive Compatibility – What Works, What Doesn’t (Right Now) |url=https://nascompares.com/guide/synology-2025-nas-series-3rd-party-drive-compatibility-what-works-what-doesnt-right-now/#Drive_Migration_from_Older_Synology_NAS_-_It_Works_But_Comes_with_Warnings |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=NasCompares.com}}</ref> and drives migrated from older models will be blocked from functions often seen as essential, including estimated drive health reports and automatic firmware updates.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Morales |first=Jowi |date=16 Apr 2025 |title=Synology requires self-branded drives for some consumer NAS systems, drops full functionality and support for third-party HDDs |url=https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/nas/synology-requires-self-branded-drives-for-some-consumer-nas-systems-drops-full-functionality-and-support-for-third-party-hdds |url-status=live |access-date=26 Jun 2025 |website=Tom's Hardware}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Kennedy |first=Patrick |date=18 Apr 2025 |title=Synology Lost the Plot with Hard Drive Locking Move |url=https://www.servethehome.com/synology-lost-the-plot-with-hard-drive-locking-move/ |url-status=live |access-date=26 Jun 2025 |website=ServeTheHome}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Ferreira |first=Bruno |date=21 Apr 2025 |title=Synology Jumps The Shark And Restricts Hard Drives For Its NAS Devices |url=https://hothardware.com/news/synology-jumps-the-shark-and-now-its-nas-devices-require-branded-drives |url-status=live |access-date=26 Jun 2025 |website=HotHardware}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Purdy |first=Kevin |date=18 Apr 2025 |title=Synology confirms that higher-end NAS products will require its branded drives |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/04/synology-confirms-need-for-synology-branded-drives-in-newer-plus-series-nas/ |url-status=live |access-date=26 Jun 2025 |website=Ars Technica}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Wes |date=19 Apr 2025 |title=Synology is tightening restrictions on third-party NAS hard drives |url=https://www.theverge.com/news/652364/synology-nas-third-party-hard-drive-restrictions |url-status=live |access-date=26 Jun 2025 |website=The Verge}}</ref>

==Background==
Synology manufactures and sells [[wikipedia:Network-attached storage|network-attached storage (NAS)]] devices, which allow users to store large amounts of data without having to sign up for cloud-based subscription services. NAS devices require drives to operate, which can be purchased from a variety of different brands, such [[Western Digital]] and [[Seagate]]. Synology also offers drives themselves, though the company doesn't manufacture its own drives, instead repackaging drives from existing vendors.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />

===Enterprise NAS drive lock-in===
In February 2021, Synology released three new enterprise NAS devices. These devices were the first to follow a compatibility whitelist, where drives not listed would not be supported.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Eric |date=4 Feb 2021 |title=Synology Launches Enterprise Hard Drive Line and Starts Locking Drives for New NASes |url=https://www.servethehome.com/synology-launches-enterprise-hard-drive-line-and-nases/ |url-status=live |access-date=26 Jun 2025 |website=ServeTheHome}}</ref> Additional devices would release the following year with similar restrictions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crull |first=Conner |date=11 Feb 2022 |title=Synology Unverified Drive Experience |url=https://www.storagereview.com/review/synology-unverified-drive-experience |url-status=live |access-date=26 Jun 2025 |website=StorageReview}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2 Mar 2022 |title=Synology NAS and Hard Drive Compatibility in 2022 – Should I Be Worried? |url=https://nascompares.com/2022/02/17/synology-nas-and-hard-drive-compatibility-in-2022-should-i-be-worried/ |access-date=26 Jun 2025 |website=NAS Compares}}</ref>

Some restrictions on unsupported drives were removed in a firmware update released in 2022,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Lyle |date=22 Feb 2022 |title=Synology DSM 7.1 Beta Now Available |url=https://www.storagereview.com/news/synology-dsm-7-1-beta-now-available |url-status=live |access-date=26 Jun 2025 |website=StorageReview}}</ref> though the overall concept still remained.

Restrictions of this kind are typically more widely accepted on enterprise-level equipment, as they better ensure vendor support in most cases.<ref name=":4" />

==Plus Series devices from 2025 onward==
In April 2025, it was reported that NAS devices in the Plus Series would be subject to a drive compatibility whitelist similar to that seen in enterprise devices.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":6" /> This can be seen on Synology's [https://www.synology.com/en-me/compatibility?search_by=drives compatibility list page]. The first Plus Series NAS to incorporate such a whitelist is the DS925+, which released on May 3, 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 May 2025 |title=Synology DS925+ NAS Released |url=https://nascompares.com/2025/04/23/synology-ds925-nas-released-in-the-east/ |url-status=live |access-date=26 Jun 2025 |website=NAS Compares}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=3 May 2025 |title=Synology 2025 NAS Hard Drive and SSD Lock In Confirmed – Bye, Bye Seagate and WD |url=https://nascompares.com/2025/04/16/synology-2025-nas-hard-drive-and-ssd-lock-in-confirmed-bye-bye-seagate-and-wd/ |url-status=live |access-date=26 Jun 2025 |website=NAS Compares}}</ref> At launch, only Synology-branded drives were supported,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" /> though the company pledged to later add a compatibility framework for third-party drives, and claimed that users could submit drives for testing.<ref name=":3" />

At time of writing (June 2025), users report that if a new unsupported drive is inserted into an affected NAS device, it will appear as unrecognized, blocking DSM installation and rendering the drive unusable.<ref name=":7" /> If this is the only drive in the device, the NAS itself is effectively unusable as well.

Unsupported drives can regain some functionality by migrating from a Synology NAS device that still fully supports it,<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":0" /> but several functions are restricted that are often considered essential, including creating storage pools, drive health reports, deduplication, lifespan analyses, and automatic firmware updates.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":6" />

There is an [https://github.com/007revad/Synology_HDD_db open source project] dedicated to bypassing these restrictions, although this is not officially supported and could be patched by Synology in future updates, so users should use this at their own discretion.

Synology claimed users would benefit from improved performance, reliability, compatibility, and support as a result of this change.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":5" />

==Consumer response==
Responses to this change have been mixed. Some speculate that the move to only supporting certified hardware is to ensure that connected drives support the features that were restricted, especially deduplication.<ref>https://linustechtips.com/topic/1609619-synology-is-implementing-drm-for-storage-drives-in-some-of-their-nas-units/</ref> Concerns have also been raised about shipping times and the potential for supply chain issues to affect the ability for first-party drives to remain in stock.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/synology/comments/1k7ufgf/what_happens_with_synologys_drive_lock_if_drives/</ref>

==Consumer impact==
This change impacts potential purchasers of Synology consumer-grade NAS devices, as their ability to use third-party drives has been considerably diminished, reducing choice and increasing vendor lock-in.<ref name=":3" /> It is currently unclear whether this policy will affect consumer-grade NAS devices outside of the company's Plus Series.

==References==
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[[Category:Incidents]]
[[Category:Synology]]

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Synology requiring proprietary-branded drives to be used with its NAS