The Synology DiskStation delivers exactly what you'd expect from a top-tier NAS: reliable performance, intuitive setup, and a stellar suite of software options. From seamless file sharing to powerful backup tools and media streaming apps, its ecosystem feels both robust and user-friendly. Ideal for home users and small offices alike. The DiskStation Manager (DSM) operating system deserves special praise. It’s sleek, responsive, and packed with features that make storage management feel almost elegant. App integration is strong, with options for surveillance, virtual machines, and cloud syncing that rival full-scale servers. However, there’s one notable caveat: hard drive compatibility. You're locked into using Synology-branded drives. While these drives are optimized for performance and integration, it limits flexibility for users who may already have high-quality third-party HDDs. I have 2 Seagate IronWolf Pro, 16 TB, Enterprise NAS Internal HDD –CMR 3.5 Inch, SATA 6 Gb/s, 7,200 RPM, 256 MB Cache for RAID Network Attached Storage, and they do not get picked up. If you're okay with that trade-off, the DiskStation remains one of the best NAS solutions out there. Once they update to clarify that they do not support other drives, I will give them a 5 star. Read more

Pretty great features, active backup for 365, cloning from other units, C2 integration. Great low cost tier3 backup. The only drawback is using synology-branded drives, luckily the synology 16TB drives (rebranded Toshiba) were cheaper than any other 16TB drives. Probably sacrificed features, and less warranty that seagate/WD. Was able to use third party RAM without issue. Unless you need 2.5gbe (I do), consider the DS423+. Same CPU, features, no drive lock-in. Read more

great product but giving 3 starts due to them locking down drive compatibility to push you to buy their branded drives which are super expensive. have to use a 3rd party script to trick it and make other drives work Read more

If you are getting a Synology for the first time get the Synology 4TB HAT3300 HDD going for £111.xx (time of writing) as the evenly priced WD Red Plus 4TB £111.xx (time of writing) and the bit cheaper Seagate IronWolf 4TB £95.xx (time of writing) will NOT work with this Synology unless you are migrating the Drives from an older Synology. (This is NOT why I have only given 3 stars for that's the next bit) I was able to migrate my WD purple but I get a warning that they are NOT certified and if one fails I'm out of luck So we can NOT use "WD purple / Seagate Skyhawk / Toshiba surveillance" and Synology do NOT offer any surveillance or Video type of hard drive and this makes me uncertain about surveillance station future as it costs £250 for Official Synology Camera License 8 Pack and Synology IP Cameras are a lot so I hope they don't stop support for 3rd party IP Cameras rendering them Synology Camera License Packs useless or are they going to drop surveillance station altogether or are they planning on getting surveillance drives certified or Synology plan on releasing some surveillance drives (Tip Synology if you release any surveillance drives give a free Camera License with it) The 2nd reason for 3 stars you can only use (for now by the looks it) Synology M.2 SSDs I have some Intel Optane M.2s 16GB\32GB\64GB and 1TB this DS425+ uses the Intel J4125 quad-core processor this is 100% compatible with Intel Optane BUT not on this line of Synology. I'm sorry Synology but locking out SSDs is a big no all you had to do was put restrictions like gen 4 or newer like what Sony did with the PS5 so you need to unlock this ASAP. Read more

I recently upgraded to the DS 425+ from a Synology DS 224+. Along with this upgrade, I added 4GB of RAM and a pair of 400 GB NVME drives configured as a storage pool for Synology Photos and Plex and some other packages which benefit greatly from installation on the NVME drives (media still residing on the HDD's). Regarding Plex, this processor supports transcoding which is rare now for a Synology NAS. I also migrated a pair of 12 TB Synology Drives (competively priced) to this NAS. Synology has caused quite an uproar (deservedly so) by requiring their HDs, RAM and NVME drives to only be Synology branded for 2025 models. Along with this constraint, you are greeted with a 5+ year old CPU, but at least now a 2.5 GB Ethernet connection upgrade (essentially the only upgrade from the 423+). Frustrating too is that this 2025 model did not increase built in RAM from 2GB to 4GB, which would have at least maxed-out the RAM with the 4GB upgrade to the 8GB total which is the technical max of the included CPU. Yes, along with this frustration too is a premium price (especially for the RAM and NVME - outrageously expensive, but server quality) compared to the competition (informed readers are now screaming out loud UGREEN and other brands for their far superior technical internals and freedom from non-Synology branded upgrades). Yet, despite all of this, without hesitation, this is a 5/5 product for me. Why? This is because Synology DSM is rock solid and home to numerous mature, stable and we'll-designed included Apps (e.g. Active Backup for Business). Despite underwhelming hardware, the system is fluid, reliable and incredibly efficient and and fine tuned. The "whole really is greater than the sun of its parts" when you deploy a Synology NAS in their ecosystem. Moreover, if there are issues, Synology support is very responsive and excellent. If you're one wanting to tinker with your NAS, test out some VM's, push your system to the max or have non Synology Drives you want to use, this product is NOT for you. If, however, you can tolerate the Synology price premium and want a mature, refined and truly enjoyable experience with solid performance (my primary goal) and have an understanding of it's limitations, this is a wonderful product. As said in the title, 5 out of 5, but with that asterix. Read more

Why did you pick this product vs others?: Not compatible with the Seagate drives I got. This has been the most frustrating process ever. Read more

Bisher habe ich alle Server von 4-bay bis 8-bay bei Synology gekauft - guter Support, gute Technik, relativ einfache Handhabung. Ein Server (DS420Plus) hatte nun Probleme und bevor ich irgendwelche Datenverluste riskiere, tausche ich lieber den NAS-Server aus. Interessant war für mich die neue Generation DS425Plus, da dieser Server endlich mal einen 2,5 GB-Port hat. Auf Nachfrage beim Support hießt es, dass eine Migration der HDDs problemlos möglich ist, auch wenn die Festplatten nicht in der Kompatibilitätsliste von Synology stehen. Ich setze Helium gefüllte Festplatten ein (Toshiba NAS300 12TB), also genau auf NAS-Betrieb optimierte, gute HDDs. Die Migration funktioniert einwandfrei, auch wenn ich danach alle Synchronisations-Jobs zu anderen Servern neu aufsetzen muss. Dann sehe ich die Information des DS425Plus-NAS, dass die eingebauten Festplatten sofort gegen Festplatten in der Kompatibilitätsliste ausgetauscht werden müssten. Soll ich jetzt mehrere einwandfrei funktionierende NAS-Festplatte entsorgen, nur weil Synology die Firmenpolitik ändert? Zusätzlich die Anzeige, dass die in der DS420Plus vorher installierten Cache-Speichermodule von Crucial in der DS425Plus nicht akzeptiert werden – also auch in den Müll müssen nach Ansicht von Synology.. Ein Blick in die Kompatibilitätsliste von Synology zeigt, dass nur noch Komponenten von Synology selbst (Festplatten und Cache-Speicher) von ihren neuen NAS-Servern akzeptiert werden. Natürlich kann Synology versuchen, für ihre Geräte einen "Closed-Shop" einzurichten und nichts mehr zuzulassen, wo nicht Synology draufsteht. Ob sie damit Kunden behalten werden, wage ich stark zu bezweifeln. Ich lasse mich jedenfalls von niemanden in einen Closed-Shop zwingen und die nächsten NAS-Server werden daher ganz sicher nicht von Synology sein. Es gibt vergleichbar gute Produzenten von NAS-Servern (wie QNAP), die noch ein ungestörtes Kunden-Lieferanten-Verhältnis haben. Vorläufig setze ich nun noch eine nachgekaufte DS420Plus ein, um sicherzustellen, dass nicht nach einer Wartefrist nach der Migration meine Festplatten von Synology einfach abgeschaltet werden. Echt schade - Synology stellt richtig gute Produkte her - aber so geht man nicht mit Kunden um! Read more