The Seven Voyages Of Steve
Synology stops punching themselves in the balls, but the damage is done methinks. I've already been researching UnRAID and TrueNAS and probably won't go back next time despite being a Synology user for 15 years https://www.guru3d.com/story/synology-reverses-policy-banning-thirdparty-hdds-after-nas-sales-plummet/
Synology Reverses Policy Banning Third-Party HDDs After NAS sales plummet

Synology has backtracked on one of its most unpopular decisions in years. After seeing NAS sales plummet in 2025, the company has decided to lift restrictions that forced users to buy its own Synology hard drives.

www.guru3d.com
Oct 8, 2025 at 10:30amWeb
Show threadDavid AmadorOct 8, 2025
@sinbad I somehow missed this entire thing even though I have one for ~10years. glad they reverted
Show threadkarttuOct 8, 2025
@djlink @sinbad My most recent Synology is from '18 and I've been putting off updating it with a newer model exactly because of this. Happy to hear they learned a lesson. After all, it's Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks...
Show threadSimon RolfmoreOct 8, 2025

@sinbad I’ve got a QNAP NAS that I’ve never had available online (and I’m glad, given all of QNAP’s issues).

I’m going to go with Unraid as the project suits what I’d like to do with a more powerful machine, and it’s not like I’m short of PC kit lying around.

A couple of friends run it and have said it gives them next to zero fuss.

Show threadThe Seven Voyages Of SteveOct 8, 2025
@cloudthethings I had QNAP years ago and I preferred Synology, not just because of the security problems. Ugreen look pretty good, they’re a bit too new at making software but they support installing Unraid or TrueNAS on them & they’re tidy boxes. But I might also look at Jonsbo Mini ITX NAS cases
Show threadSimon RolfmoreOct 8, 2025

@sinbad yeah - I don’t regret buying the QNAP because it was cheap as chips and proved to me that it’s worth having a NAS/home server, but I don’t think I’d buy another.

I’m not bothered by the box taking up space and I have a spare desktop PC case. If I have to shut it down to replace a failed drive, that’s not a big deal to me.

Didn’t know Ugreen make NAS enclosures! Will take a look :)

Show threadDaniel GibsonOct 8, 2025
@cloudthethings @sinbad
There's also asustor - no idea if their software is any good, but the hardware is ok and you can install a normal Linux (or Unraid or TrueNAS) on them, at least on the x86-based ones
Show threaddredgraveOct 8, 2025

@sinbad I've fun FreeNAS (the precursor to TrueNAS) for twelve years. ZFS is a game changer with trivial backup, clone and snap-shots.

I've run it on various HP microservers.

I likely won't move to TrueNAS as I prefer BSDs but the product is rock solid.

Show threadJohn KaniarzOct 9, 2025
@dredgrave @sinbad ZFS saved my data in a way no other file system could. My SATA controller would very rarely glitch and corrupt a block before writing it to disk. Because the data would read back without error there’d be no way to tell which of the raid mirrors was the real version. But ZFS’s checksumming, which crosscuts the traditional layers, figured it out.
Show threadRog Dolos 🏳️‍⚧️Oct 8, 2025

@sinbad Why would anyone want to buy a NAS that restricts drives?! Yeah that's Synology just deriding their own business.

Especially when there are open options and a massively wide availability of hardware that can be converted to a NAS. These aren't printers.

Boggles my mind.