TBF, the picture in TFA only shows rack-mounted Synology devices, where noise is not really a concern.
Synologoy SMB/SOHO NAS devices should not be affected by the drive lockdown (for now).
Synologoy SMB/SOHO NAS devices should not be affected by the drive lockdown (for now).
I have been a happy enough Synology user since 2014, even though I had to hardware repair my main DS1815+ twice in that time (Intel CPU bug and ATX power-on transistor replacement).
Other than two hardware failures in 10 years (not good), the experience was great, including two easy storage expansions and the replacement of one failed drive. These were all BYOD, and the current drives are shucked WD reds with a white sticker (still CMR).
I happily recommended them prior to this change and now will have to recommend against.
Will new firmware updates to everything before this require the Synology branded drives ?
If you’re going to buy a DSM unit, I’d definitely buy a 2024 or earlier model. But even as an overall happy user under their old go-to-market approach, I can’t recommend them now.