Synology has perhaps been the most beginner-friendly NAS brand out there. It’s got something for everyone, even if you’re looking for a basic single-bay NAS that stores your files and photos and nothing more. Even its ‘real’ NAS models that run DiskStation Manager (DSM) offer a neat, familiar experience that is easy to start with, even for someone who has never set up a NAS before. It offers the kind of handholding that no other NAS brand offers, let alone DIY NAS projects.
But Synology’s perception as the ideal NAS brand for consumers who wanted the basics sorted and excellent support has taken a solid dent — and to nobody else’s fault. One of Synology’s most controversial decisions in the last few months — one that drew a lot of backlash from all over the internet — is its call to restrict its NAS models only to its own HDD models. For something as open in its fundamental concept as network storage, Synology was clearly barking up the wrong tree. A turnaround has indeed come, but it’s a tad too late.
That’s called course correction
But I wish it had come sooner
With the release of DSM 7.3, Synology has finally rolled back its drive restrictions (though M.2 limits stay), giving a lot of users a sigh of relief — and probably to its sales charts too. I, too, wanted to feel relieved and even happy for those who have been holding out on their purchases. Instead, I shrugged. The move felt long overdue — in fact, one that shouldn’t even be needed in the first place if Synology hadn’t gotten into the everything-in-house frenzy.
The problem was that by the time the company admitted it had gone too far and backtracked, the damage was already done. Many of us had already packed up and moved on. In a product category that thrives on user control and transparency, Synology not only broke user trust but also lost it for a long time. It may even appear to be a nearly impossible task to win those users back since NAS is a long-term commitment and not something people replace every couple of years.
It was never about the drives
It’s more than that
Locking out third-party drives from its newer systems proved to be the tipping point, but it still doesn’t encompass the entire story. It symbolized — and for the first time, put it out in the open for everyone to see — a mindset shift from empowering users to controlling them.
Being the Apple of the NAS world, Synology has developed this need to steer the experience for its users, even if it means building high ecosystem walls and keeping its users locked in. You can get away with that when you’re making an iPhone, but not with devices like servers that aren’t standalone products but have to be open enough to integrate into other hardware and software tools.
These restrictions may work for some users, giving them a solid experience without having to play with the hardware, but for a lot of us, it deviates from the earlier idea of a polished, intuitive, and reliable experience that was open — and still just worked. NAS users are caretakers of their own data; they like choices, control, and most importantly, the freedom to tinker — all of which got snatched away and then handed back like nothing happened.
The DIY alternative changed everything
Why go back when you’ve tasted freedom?
The funny thing is that I didn’t even plan to move away from Synology. My first DIY NAS build started as a side project — a secondary unit in addition to my Synology — that I used to experiment with tools and features. It was made up of spare parts and a few used drives — yes, I did use desktop drives in a NAS early on, but I now know better. I didn’t intend to replace the Synology; I just wanted to see what all the TrueNAS and Unraid hype was about.
The more I played with them, the more I realized that I’d never go back.
Branded NAS models, Synology or not, afford you the kind of plug-and-play (used loosely, considering the sheer number of moving parts NAS enclosures have) convenience that is essential for those who don’t want to play with the hardware too much. They are designed to work out of the box with minimal tinkering.
However, the moment you start building and managing your own NAS, you see how much you were giving up in the name of convenience. You get to decide what runs where, the expansions are freer, swapping parts comes with zero restrictions, and even moving your entire system doesn’t require checking compatibility first. Want to run a Docker container that Synology doesn’t officially support? Go right ahead.
Sure, you have to get your hands dirty by taking control of every single aspect of the device, with no single customer support to seek help from when you’re stuck. But the flexibility and the community effect of seeking help from fellow Redditors is intoxicating. The payoff — the freedom to choose whatever hardware or software you like — is worth giving up your convenience for.
Freedom means something
And not something you toggle on and off at whim
Synology may continue to make great NAS units for people who want plug-and-play simplicity, and I may even once again start recommending it to people who actually need something like it, but the confidence I earlier had in it seems to have faded. Sure, its decision to reverse course on drive restrictions is a rare example of a company actually listening, but would it result in learning, too? Doesn’t seem like it.
While Synology has backtracked on the hard drive restrictions, it still requires M.2 SSDs to be from its Hardware Compatibility List, proving that Synology is willing to loosen its grip just enough but not give up completely. Synology may have a lot of nice things going for it, but it will also need to work hard to prove its user-first approach to win my trust back.