Synology HDD Compatibility 2026: Which Drives Work After DSM 7.3?

If you’ve been confused about which drives work with Synology NAS in 2026, you’re not alone. The 2025 drive compatibility controversy created massive uncertainty, but the good news is that Synology reversed course. This guide explains exactly what happened, which drives work today, and our recommendations for every Synology model.

Table of Contents

• What Happened: The 2025 Drive Policy Saga
• Current Status: DSM 7.3 Compatibility
• Complete Compatible Drives List
• Best NAS Drives for Synology
• Surveillance Drives for Synology
• Synology-Branded Drives (HAT Series)
• Drives to Avoid
• Troubleshooting Drive Issues
• Frequently Asked Questions

What Happened: The 2025 Drive Policy Saga

Understanding the background helps you make informed decisions about Synology and drives going forward.

Timeline of the Controversy

What the 2025 Policy Actually Did

During the restricted period (April-October 2025), the 2025 Plus series models:

• Blocked DSM installation if only third-party drives were present
• Showed constant warnings about “unverified” or “at risk” drives
• Prevented storage pool creation with non-approved drives
• Displayed alarming messages to users migrating from older systems

Affected models included: DS925+, DS1525+, DS725+, DS425+, DS225+, DS1825+

Why Synology Reversed Course

The reversal came after:

• Massive community backlash on Reddit, forums, and social media
• Poor sales of 2025 models compared to expectations
• Negative coverage from major tech publications
• Competition advantage as users explored QNAP, UGREEN, and TrueNAS alternatives
• Regional availability issues with Synology-branded drives

Current Status: DSM 7.3 Compatibility (February 2026)

The bottom line: Third-party drives work again on ALL Synology models, including 2025 series.

What DSM 7.3 Changed

The DSM 7.3 update (released October 2025) introduced the HCL 5.0 framework:

• Third-party drives accepted without warnings or restrictions
• DSM installation proceeds normally with any compatible drive
• Storage pool creation works without compatibility errors
• No “unverified” warnings in Storage Manager
• All standard DSM features available including snapshots, encryption, and Hyper Backup

The Only Remaining Caveat

Support limitations: Synology’s technical support may limit assistance for issues proven to be caused by non-listed hardware.

In practice: This rarely matters. NAS drives from WD, Seagate, and Toshiba work flawlessly, and drive-related issues are typically hardware failures rather than compatibility problems.

Compatibility by Model Generation

Complete Compatible Drives List (2026)

Here’s our comprehensive compatibility matrix for Synology NAS drives.

NAS Drives — Fully Compatible ✓

Surveillance Drives — Fully Compatible ✓

For Synology Surveillance Station, use surveillance-optimized drives:

Enterprise Drives — Fully Compatible ✓

Best NAS Drives for Synology (2026)

Here are our top recommendations with current pricing.

Best Overall: WD Red Plus

Why WD Red Plus:

• CMR technology — Consistent write speeds, no SMR slowdowns
• NASware 3.0 — Firmware optimized for NAS and RAID
• 3D Active Balance Plus — Vibration protection in multi-bay systems
• Proven Synology compatibility — Works perfectly with all models
• 180TB/year workload — Sufficient for home and SMB use

Available capacities: 2TB, 3TB, 4TB, 6TB, 8TB, 10TB, 12TB, 14TB

Best Value: Seagate IronWolf

Why Seagate IronWolf:

• Rescue Data Recovery included — 3-year in-house recovery service
• IronWolf Health Management — Integrates directly with Synology DSM
• AgileArray — Dual-plane balancing for multi-bay vibration tolerance
• 7200 RPM — Faster than WD Red Plus (5640 RPM)
• Competitive pricing — Often matches or beats WD Red Plus

Best Budget: Toshiba N300

Best for Business: WD Red Pro

Capacity Recommendations by Use Case

Surveillance Drives for Synology Surveillance Station

Running Surveillance Station? You need surveillance-optimized drives for best results.

Why Surveillance Drives for Surveillance Station?

• AllFrame/ImagePerfect firmware — Prevents dropped frames during recording
• Higher workload ratings — Handle constant 24/7 write operations
• Optimized for sequential writes — Video recording is sequential
• Lower cost per TB — Often cheaper than NAS drives
• Longer 24/7 design life — Built for continuous operation

Best Surveillance Drives for Synology

Related Guides:

• WD Purple Complete Guide
• Seagate SkyHawk Complete Guide
• Synology Surveillance NAS Setup

Synology-Branded Drives: HAT3300 vs HAT5300

Synology sells their own rebranded drives. Here’s an honest comparison.

Synology Drive Options

When Synology Drives Make Sense

• Enterprise compliance — Need single-vendor accountability
• Guaranteed support — No potential limitations on tech support
• Reseller bundles — Discounted when purchased with NAS
• Peace of mind — If budget isn’t a concern

When Third-Party Drives Make Sense (Most Users)

• Home and SMB use — 99% of users fit this category
• Budget-conscious — Save 25-50% vs Synology drives
• Drive availability — Easier to find locally
• Flexibility — Mix and match brands as needed

Our recommendation: For most users, third-party NAS drives from WD, Seagate, or Toshiba provide identical performance at significantly lower cost.

Drives to Avoid in Synology NAS

Not all drives are suitable for NAS use. Avoid these:

Desktop Drives — Not Recommended

Why Desktop Drives Fail in NAS

• SMR technology — Causes severe write slowdowns under NAS workloads
• Not rated for 24/7 — Designed for 8-12 hour daily use
• No vibration protection — Fail faster in multi-bay systems
• Aggressive head parking — Wears out drives prematurely in NAS
• Lower workload ratings — 55TB/year vs 180TB/year for NAS drives

Related:CMR vs SMR: Why It Matters for NAS

Troubleshooting Drive Compatibility Issues

Problem: Drive Not Detected

Solutions:

1. Update to DSM 7.3+ — Essential for 2025 models
2. Check SATA connections — Reseat drive in bay
3. Try different bay — Rule out bay issues
4. Test drive in PC — Verify drive works
5. Check max capacity — Some older models have limits

Problem: “Unsupported Drive” Warning (Pre-DSM 7.3)

Solution: Update to DSM 7.3 or later. This completely resolves the issue for 2025 models.

Problem: Initialization Failed

Solutions:

1. Verify DSM version — Must be 7.3+ for 2025 models
2. Check drive health — Test S.M.A.R.T. status in PC
3. Try single drive first — Initialize with one drive, add others
4. Contact Synology support — If issue persists after DSM 7.3

Problem: Slow Performance

Possible causes:

• SMR drive — Replace with CMR NAS drive
• Network bottleneck — Check switch and cables
• Failing drive — Check S.M.A.R.T. in Storage Manager
• Background tasks — Wait for indexing/parity checks to complete

Related:Synology NAS Troubleshooting Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Guides

Drive Installation Best Practices

Getting the best performance and lifespan from your drives requires proper installation and configuration.

Physical Installation

1. Power off the NAS completely before installing drives
2. Ground yourself — Touch the metal chassis to discharge static
3. Insert drives firmly — Push until you hear/feel the click
4. Lock the drive trays — Use the included key on Plus models
5. Verify all drives appear in Storage Manager after boot

Initial Configuration Checklist

• ☐ Update DSM to latest version (7.3+ for 2025 models)
• ☐ Create Storage Pool with SHR (recommended) or RAID 5/6
• ☐ Choose Btrfs file system (enables snapshots)
• ☐ Enable S.M.A.R.T. monitoring and alerts
• ☐ Configure email notifications for drive warnings
• ☐ Schedule regular data scrubbing (monthly)

SHR vs RAID: Quick Decision Guide

Model-Specific Drive Recommendations

Different Synology models have different needs. Here are optimized configurations:

2-Bay Models (DS224+, DS225+, DS723+, DS725+)

4-Bay Models (DS423+, DS425+, DS923+, DS925+)

5+ Bay Models (DS1522+, DS1525+, DS1621+)

Mixing Drive Brands and Sizes

One of the most common questions: Can you mix different drives?

Mixing Brands (WD + Seagate + Toshiba)

Verdict: Yes, this works fine.

• All major NAS drives use standard SATA interface
• SHR handles mixed brands seamlessly
• No compatibility issues between brands
• May have slight performance variations (negligible in practice)

Best practice: Buy the same model for initial setup, but don’t worry about matching brands when expanding or replacing.

Mixing Capacities (4TB + 8TB + 12TB)

Verdict: Yes, if using SHR.

• SHR maximizes mixed capacities — Uses all available space efficiently
• RAID 5/6 wastes space — Limited to smallest drive × (n-1)
• Example: 4TB + 8TB + 8TB + 12TB = 24TB usable in SHR, only 12TB in RAID 5

Best practice: Use SHR for mixed sizes. Use RAID only with identical drives.

Mixing NAS and Surveillance Drives

Verdict: Possible, but not recommended.

• Different firmware optimizations may cause minor issues
• Better to use surveillance drives for surveillance, NAS drives for general use
• If you must mix, it will generally work in SHR

Drive Health Monitoring

Synology DSM includes excellent tools for monitoring drive health.

S.M.A.R.T. Monitoring

Key attributes to watch:

IronWolf Health Management (IHM)

Seagate IronWolf drives include IronWolf Health Management, which integrates directly with Synology DSM:

• Prevention: Monitors drive health indicators
• Intervention: Suggests actions when problems detected
• Recovery: Integrates with Seagate Rescue service

To enable: Storage Manager > HDD/SSD > Health Info > IronWolf Health Management

Setting Up Notifications

1. Go to Control Panel > Notification > Email
2. Configure SMTP server (Gmail, Outlook, etc.)
3. Enable notifications for: Drive warnings, S.M.A.R.T. errors, Volume degraded
4. Test notification to confirm delivery

Expected Drive Lifespan in Synology NAS

Factors affecting lifespan:

• Temperature: Keep below 45°C for optimal life
• Workload: Stay within rated TB/year
• Power stability: Use a UPS
• Vibration: Proper mounting in multi-bay systems

Cost Comparison: Third-Party vs Synology Drives

Here’s the real cost difference for a typical 4-bay setup:

4-Bay Configuration Cost Comparison

Bottom line: Third-party NAS drives save 25-30% with identical performance. The savings can go toward more capacity or a better NAS model.

NVMe SSD Compatibility for Cache

Synology Plus models include M.2 NVMe slots for SSD caching. Here’s what works:

Compatible NVMe SSDs

Cache Configuration Tips

• Read-only cache (1 SSD): Improves read performance, no redundancy needed
• Read-write cache (2 SSDs): RAID 1 for redundancy, improves both read/write
• Size recommendation: 10-20% of your total HDD capacity
• Skip cache for: Surveillance (sequential writes don’t benefit)

Synology Guides

• Synology NAS Storage Guide (Main Hub)
• Best Synology NAS 2026
• Synology RAID Guide: SHR vs RAID
• Synology Surveillance NAS Guide

Drive Guides

• WD Purple Complete Guide
• Seagate SkyHawk Complete Guide
• CMR vs SMR: Why It Matters
• Complete Surveillance Drives Guide

Last updated: February 2026. Prices and compatibility verified against current Synology DSM 7.3+ requirements.