I examined the DiskStation DS925+ when it debuted earlier this 12 months, and whereas I appreciated the adjustments to the {hardware}, Synology’s HDD limitation — the place it disallowed any WD and Seagate drives from getting used within the NAS — in the end made it a non-starter. The transfer meant that you just could not use the finest NAS HDDs with the DS925+, and this in the end harm the model, permitting rivals like UGREEN to make appreciable inroads.
Fortunately, Synology is making amends now; the model is rolling out the DiskStation Supervisor 7.3 replace, which removes the HDD limitation. This makes it potential to make use of WD Pink, Seagate IronWolf, and every other NAS HDD with 2025 DiskStation fashions. The transfer additionally signifies that Synology’s newest fashions are now not hobbled, and I am desirous to get my arms on the brand new launches to see how they maintain up towards their predecessors. The caveat is that the M.2 drive limitation remains to be in impact, so you may solely slot in Synology’s SSDs to create storage swimming pools.
The 2025 portfolio consists of the 2-bay DiskStation DS225+ and DS725+, the 4-bay DiskStation DS425+ and DS925+, and the fanatic fashions: DiskStation DS1525+ and DiskStation DS1825+. I examined the DS925+ and have the DS225+ and DS425+ available to check in the meanwhile, and can share my opinion on these NAS fashions shortly.
To be clear, this limitation solely affected the 2025 DiskStation fashions; earlier NAS servers did not have this explicit limitation. Once I requested the model about what HDD fashions it examined with its 2025 portfolio, I used to be informed that DSM 7.3 removes any restrictions on this space, so any HDD will work with the newest NAS fashions. The most effective half is that this can prolong to value-focused and J sequence fashions launching down the road:
“Synology is collaborating with drive producers to develop the vary of licensed storage media, delivering extra dependable choices. Within the meantime, 2025 model-year DiskStation Plus, Worth, and J Collection operating DSM 7.3 will help set up and storage pool creation with third-party drives¹. Along with the present help for third-party drive migration, DSM will present customers with higher flexibility in managing their storage deployments.”
Along with lifting the HDD limitations, DSM 7.3 comes with new options in Synology Drive, e-mail moderation in MailPlus, and safety updates. To its credit score, Synology clearly listened to person suggestions by walked again its earlier coverage, and the power to make use of WD and Seagate drives on its newest NAS fashions places the 2025 DiskStation fashions again into competition.
