Synology backtracks on 3rd-party HDD ban as NAS sales plummet

Synology restores 3rd-party HDD support on its 2025 consumer-grade NAS devices, but some restrictions remain

Earlier this year, Synology placed restrictions on its newest NAS models (including its DS925+, DS1825+, and DS425+) that restricted users who didn’t use Synology-branded hard drives. This policy forced users to purchase more expensive Synology hard drives, limiting their choice while significantly increasing the cost of using a Synology NAS.

This change caused an immediate consumer backlash. Users refused to upgrade, and many longtime Synology customers purchased alternative hardware. Now, Synology has backtracked on its new policy with the release of its DSM 7.3 software. Now, Synology has enabled support for 3rd party drives on its 2025 DiskStation Plus, Value, and J Series models. There is also a commitment to certify more storage drives for use with their NAS’. Note that Synology has not committed to enabling 3rd party HDD support on its 2026 devices.

While Synology says that using its own storage media enabled increased reliability, consumers saw it as a needless restriction. Furthermore, it was a change that forced users to purchase more expensive HDDs needlessly. Remember, Synology is not an HDD manufacturer; their drives come from other manufacturers.

Expanded storage flexibility

Synology is committed to delivering reliable, high-performance storage systems. Rigorous validation of both hardware and software components has long been a core development priority. Synology storage drives, together with the third-party validation program, are engineered to provide the highest levels of reliability with DSM.

Synology is collaborating with drive manufacturers to expand the range of certified storage media, delivering more reliable options. In the meantime, 2025 model-year DiskStation Plus, Value, and J Series running DSM 7.3 will support installation and storage pool creation with third-party drives. Together with the existing support for third-party drive migration, DSM will provide users with greater flexibility in managing their storage deployments.

– Synology

This isn’t a full reversal from Synology

As we noted above, Synology’s statement does not guarantee that future consumer-grade NAS devices will not ship with restrictions. Only “2025 model-year DiskStation Plus, Value, and J Series running DSM 7.3” will support all HDDs. Furthermore, only M.2 SSDs on Synology’s HCL (hardware compatibility list) are supported. In other words, M.2 SSDs remain restricted, and 2026 NAS devices may have HDD restrictions.

HDD restrictions remain in place for Synology’s enterprise-grade products, markets where higher pricing is acceptable if it comes with increased support and reliability. Synology is unlikely to forgo its large margins in this market. That said, it is clear now that Synology’s consumer backlash has had an impact.

While Synology has opened up HDD support on its 2025 consumer NAS devices, its lack of commitment to 3rd party HDD support for next-generation NAS is concerning. Furthermore, continued restrictions on M.2 devices remain an annoyance. The good news for consumers is that there are plenty of non-Synology NAS devices available on the market. If you don’t feel that Synology’s reversal has gone far enough, continue buying and recommending NAS’ from other brands.

You can join the discussion on Synology reversing its ban on 3rd party HDDs on the OC3D Forums.