Synology is making ready to roll out new restrictions on third-party laborious drives in its future community connected storage (NAS) gadgets later this 12 months, the corporate confirmed to Ars Technica. The adjustments 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 for those who already personal a Synology NAS, the corporate says the change gained’t have an effect on you.
Synology says in an EU press release that “beginning with Plus Collection 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 help.” Based on Ars, Synology plans to replace its compatibility lists to replicate which third-party drives that it has licensed.
The brand new restrictions imply that with out Synology-approved drives, you may not 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- Worth-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 laborious drives which might be migrated to this 12 months’s gadgets from its current NAS programs, in keeping with Synology’s press launch.
As for why it’s making this alteration, a Synology spokesperson instructed Ars, “In depth inside testing has proven that drives that observe a rigorous validation course of when paired with Synology programs are at much less danger of drive failure and ongoing compatibility points.” The corporate says related issues in its press launch, writing that the restrictions will “scale back compatibility points and improve 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 means that’s much less egregious than one thing like a printer firm blocking third-party ink with a software update. However that doesn’t repair the truth that house owners of its future NAS gadgets could have fewer selections — and subsequently fewer possibilities to save cash — relating to shopping for the drives to stay into them.
