Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
After months of silence and community frustration, Synology has finally decided to loosen the grip it tightened on its rather loyal following of NAS users. And I, for one, couldn’t be happier. Starting with DSM 7.3, available today, the company is reopening its NAS systems to third-party drives on its 2025 models.
The latest DSM 7.3 update restores third-party drive compatibility with some limitations.
On paper, it sounds like a simple technical update to fix a simple problem — which, let’s be honest, shouldn’t have even existed. In reality, it’s a full-blown course correction. Synology is once again allowing 3.5-inch HDDs and 2.5-inch SSDs from third-party brands to be used freely in its 2025 range of NAS devices. The company says this change comes after working with drive makers to expand its certification list, promising greater flexibility without compromising reliability.
However, as much as I’m happy about Synology realizing the impact of its folly, it’s hard not to feel disillusioned by the stance of the brand. You see, the announcement is arriving in a very different tech landscape. While Synology was the de facto choice in 2015, 2025 offers a plethora of alternatives. More specifically, it’s a tech landscape where trust is harder to earn, and competition is more capable than ever. And with Synology’s shenanigans with consumer freedom, I’m not sure how forgiving it’s core userbase is going to be.
Does Synology's updated hard drive policy change your opinion of the brand? 142 votes Yes, I'm open to buying new Synology hardware as long as it supports third-party drives. 27 % No, I don't trust Synology to stick to the policy. 55 % I run my own mini-PC already and am not interested in a pre-built NAS. 18 %
How Synology boxed itself in
Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
For years, Synology was the name you recommended when someone asked which NAS to buy. Its systems were reliable, the software was polished, and you could mix and match drives however you wanted. That combination made it the go-to choice for both beginners and seasoned home lab builders.
Then, earlier this year, came the hard drive restrictions. Synology began limiting compatibility to its own drives or a small set of “approved” third-party models. The company argued it was about quality control and reliability but from a user’s perspective, it felt like an unnecessary lock-in strategy. Suddenly, drives that worked fine in older systems were blocked from creating new storage pools on newer ones.
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