Synology is making ready to roll out new restrictions on third-party arduous drives in its future community connected storage (NAS) gadgets later this 12 months, the corporate confirmed to Ars Technica. The modifications might make it a lot more durable to make use of third-party drives in Synology’s gadgets for typical use circumstances, like backing up family computer systems or as native media servers. The excellent news is that in case you already personal a Synology NAS, the corporate says the change gained’t have an effect on you.
Synology says in an EU press launch that “beginning with Plus Series fashions launched in 2025,” solely Synology-branded drives and people the corporate has licensed to satisfy its specs will “provide the complete vary of options and assist.” According to Ars, Synology plans to replace its compatibility lists to mirror which third-party drives that it has licensed.
The new restrictions imply that with out Synology-approved drives, you won’t have the ability to do issues like pool storage between disks or reap the benefits of drive lifespan evaluation provided by the corporate’s software program. The change doesn’t apply to Synology J- and- Value-series gadgets, and gained’t have an effect on consumer-grade Synology Plus gadgets that have been launched in 2024 and earlier. Nor will it have an effect on arduous drives which are migrated to this 12 months’s gadgets from its current NAS techniques, in response to Synology’s press launch.
As for why it’s making this alteration, a Synology spokesperson informed Ars, “Extensive inside testing has proven that drives that comply with a rigorous validation course of when paired with Synology techniques are at much less threat of drive failure and ongoing compatibility points.” The firm says related issues in its press launch, writing that the restrictions will “cut back compatibility points and enhance system reliability and efficiency.” Synology didn’t instantly reply to The Verge’s request for remark.
Restrictions like this are irritating. To Synology’s credit score, it’s introducing them in a manner that’s much less egregious than one thing like a printer firm blocking third-party ink with a software program replace. But that doesn’t repair the truth that house owners of its future NAS gadgets can have fewer selections — and due to this fact fewer probabilities to economize — on the subject of shopping for the drives to stay into them.
