Synology has backtracked on one of its most unpopular decisions in years. After seeing NAS sales plummet in 2025, the company has decided to lift restrictions that forced users to buy its own Synology hard drives.
You hit a point in life where you don’t want to constantly fuck with stuff and want something “that just works”. That’s why I switched from a rooted Android to an iPhone (that and features not on Android). I’ve had my Synology for 5 years and it just works. But the biggest draw for me is form factor. I don’t have space for an old ATX tower where all my networking equipment is. The synology just fits right on the shelf just fine. It also does everything I want with backups, docker, etc.
Could I use an old PC and do it all myself? Yup, easily. Is my time and effort worth the savings? Not as much as it used to be.
You hit a point in life where you don’t want to constantly fuck with stuff and want something “that just works”. That’s why I switched from a rooted Android to an iPhone (that and features not on Android). I’ve had my Synology for 5 years and it just works. But the biggest draw for me is form factor. I don’t have space for an old ATX tower where all my networking equipment is. The synology just fits right on the shelf just fine. It also does everything I want with backups, docker, etc.
Could I use an old PC and do it all myself? Yup, easily. Is my time and effort worth the savings? Not as much as it used to be.