Participating in Synology's internal tour and asking questions about 'limiting storage of other brands' will reveal the results



Synology, a major NAS manufacturer,

restricts the integration of third-party storage into its NAS systems . NAS Compares, a NAS-related media outlet, attended a Synology tour and asked employees questions about the storage restrictions.

I went to Synology HQ and Asked About Hard Drives… – NAS Compares
https://nascompares.com/2025/06/02/i-went-to-synology-hq-and-asked-about-hard-drives/

A NAS is a storage device that can be placed on a network. By installing a NAS, you can back up data from multiple PCs and smartphones in one place and use it for external file transfers. Most NAS devices can accommodate multiple storage devices, making it easy to replace storage devices to increase capacity or in case of a malfunction. While many NAS devices can accommodate a mix of storage devices from multiple brands, Synology has introduced a policy in April 2025 that restricts the use of non-Synology brand storage devices for its consumer NAS devices, sparking backlash from users.

Synology releases 'NAS that limits storage from other companies', but the overwhelming majority of users online say 'switch from Synology to other companies' NAS' - GIGAZINE



The restrictions on storage from other brands are wide-ranging, and it has been reported that even Synology's basic management system, DiskStation Manager (DSM) , cannot be installed when a third-party brand HDD is installed, making the system virtually unusable.



Synology held a tour of its headquarters in Taiwan to coincide with the electronics trade fair '

COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2025 ' held in May 2025. NAS Compares participated in the tour and asked Synology employees questions about storage limits, and has published the results.

Here's what the tour looked like:



Synology also had a stress testing area set up within the company, where they were testing NAS devices released up to now, including some released in the early 2010s, for compatibility with the latest DSM. The guide explained, 'The inclusion of so many legacy devices in the testing demonstrates Synology's emphasis on software longevity and cross-generational hardware support.'



The tour also included a Q&A session with Sales Director ZP Kao and Regional Manager for the UK and Germany Chad Chiang, during which NAS Compares posed several questions about storage brand restrictions and received answers. The questions and answers are as follows:

question:
What has changed in the validation process for drives that can be used with Synology NAS? Are there any Western Digital or Seagate drives currently being validated for support?

Synology's answer:
Synology is constantly thinking about 'what people consider when choosing a NAS.' The answer is that they want data drives that are safe, reliable, and hassle-free. Analyzing our support history, we have clear data that systems using Synology-branded drives have a 40% lower problem rate compared to systems using third-party branded drives. This result highlights the importance of using thoroughly tested drives. We cannot disclose details about which third-party vendors' drives we test.

question:
Users can use DSM if they replace drives from an older Synology NAS with drives from other manufacturers in a NAS released after 2025. However, features such as RAID recovery, RAID expansion, and hot spare are still unavailable. Why is this?

Synology's answer:
Advanced operations such as RAID recovery, RAID expansion, and hot spare carry a high risk of data loss if an inconsistency occurs. Drives that have not undergone Synology's validation process may behave unpredictably under heavy load, affecting stability and performance. For this reason, these functions are limited to validated drives as a precaution to protect your data and ensure the long-term reliability of your system.

Synology also revealed that it plans to add third-party HDDs to its compatibility list at COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2025 and is inviting vendors to participate in its verification program. According to Synology, third-party branded HDDs must meet more than 7,000 hours of testing and benchmarking standards before they can be included on the compatibility list. NAS Compares criticized Synology's previous decision, stating, 'Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba, and other manufacturers' HDDs will almost certainly be added to the compatibility list in the coming months. So what was the purpose of Synology's brand restrictions?'

・Continued
Synology partially lifts NAS storage usage restrictions, reviving support for third-party HDDs and SSDs in 2025 models - GIGAZINE



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in Hardware, Posted by log1o_hf