Table of Contents
Personal data is super important and sometimes, the hardest part is figuring out where to store it all. If you’re like me and have a ton of videos, photos, files, and more, you’re likely wondering if there’s a convenient place to put your data without compromising security.
Synology is a company that builds hardware and software meant to store all your data in a safe and secure place. But a company that specializes in these kinds of things really needs some serious credentials right?
So the question is, is Synology a trustworthy company?
With regards to safety and security, it’s clear that Synology has upheld multiple levels of security and service. The company started in 2000 where they’ve continued every year to improve, add features and upgrade the software. Synology puts a minimum of 5 years of warranty on nearly all their newest devices.
Let’s go into the details about Synology as a company and what you’ll expect from them.
What is the origin of Synology?
Synology was a company that was founded in the early 2000s. Cheen Liao and Phillip Wong who worked at Microsoft decided to quit and form their own company.
Now, they both had different skills. But, they both eventually left their jobs at Microsoft in Taiwan to create both a NAS hardware and software solution.
Their first device came out in 2004 called the DiskStation DS-101.
Ever since then they’ve regularly updated the software and the hardware to be more powerful than it was ever before.
Synology is a company from Taiwan
With all the issues going on with China, you might be wondering if Taiwan is similar.
The simple answer is no. Taiwan is more so considered a democratic country that exists within the Republic of China. There’s always been this behind-the-scenes tension between Taiwan and Mainland China regarding their economic and political beliefs.
This is due to the fact that the two countries have different governments with different ideologies. It’s a democratically elected government that is recognized as its own country by several nations.
In fact, there’s an ongoing dispute in Taiwan wanting to become independent from China. The tensions have been getting worst in recent news.
What security features does Synology have?
If you look at the features that were created for every firmware update you notice that there are some. heavy considerations on security and safety.
The company doesn’t seem to slouch when it comes to security and for good reason. They have a huge competition based around the world and it becomes vital that they create a tool that is as secure as they can make it while at the same time being easy to use.
Throughout the years, Synology continues to innovate and create more locked doors against hackers.
They’ve created features that help you stay up to date with enabled notifications for when your NAS is being used. They’ve enabled two-step verifications for that extra layer of security.
Synology has also created something called security advisor which is an application that scans your NAS for any configuration issues that may leave you vulnerable to attacks.
They also have features such as HTTPS Let’s Encrypt which offers a free and automated certificate for your organization allowing you and even your shared files to easily secure their connections to your device.
You can even create custom default ports which can help deter common threats that often attack predefined services. It’s like changing your address so that the hackers can’t find you.
Encryption is obviously a part of Synology as well. You’re not missing out on any of that. You can share folders and keep them encrypted at the same time.
What do the people who use Synology think about it?
It’s pretty clear from reading about all the reviews that buyers think that Synology has one of the nicest hardware and software combinations on the market. Some would even say it’s the best out of all the major competitors.
Some of the more advanced small businesses are now using Synology exclusively to store all their backups and files.
One user quoted, “the hardware quality is good, the software is a breeze to set up, and the performance is good for the price.”
Pros
- Easy to use
- Very premium looking hardware
- Controls and settings are powerful
- Pricing is very competitive
- Constant monitoring and updating of the software
Cons
- Customer support can be delayed due to the type of problem
- Reporting issues is highly technical
Most customers tend to slide along with how good Synology handles simple server file-sharing.
What’s a typical in-warranty repair like with Synology?
This wasn’t too long ago but when I purchased my Synology NAS, I had used it up to almost 2 years when one of the bays started to fail to save data.
While struggling to figure out why that single drive did not work I was up to my ends meet.
Calling customer service was actually not so hard. I was almost immediately brought up to a customer service representative in Synology’s chat support on their website.
We went through one test to see if a certain slot in my Synology drive was working and when that didn’t work he took no time but to tell me that one of my bays had failed.
With no hesitation, he immediately issued me an RMA with the instructions and the labels ready for me at my email address.
There was no argument, no further troubleshooting, no further investigation. It was one of the most smooth, and frictionless experiences with me getting a service repair approved.
I also understand that sometimes if small parts and pieces of your device were to fail, you can simply call and ask for that replacement part to be shipped to you.
Take, for example, a customer who had called Synology’s customer support and asked if they could purchase a replacement fan for their older model NAS.
The representative over the phone took a minute, but came back to the phone and responded by asking for that person’s shipping address.
The customer responded with the shipping address and about 4 days later that person got a brand new courtesy free fan placement part in the mail.
Needless to say, he will be a returning customer.
So in the end with Synology, if your device is still within warranty you can almost be sure that the company will honor their word and repair your device or replace it for you at no charge.
I didn’t even have to pay for shipping.
And also, in some rare cases, the company will also provide you with a courtesy replacement part. I’m assuming this will occur if whatever you’re requesting is not too much of a valuable item.
In my opinion, this is great support.
Be prepared to hear the bad news for repairs outside of the warranty
Now, in many situations when your device is out of warranty, a company has no obligation to fix or replace it for you without charging you.
In the case of Synology, there have been customers who have called Synology to see if they can repair a device that is several years older and outside of the warranty window.
Many times, Synology will actually refuse to repair or replace any parts for these devices. The main reason for this is that the devices or replacement parts may end up costing the customer way more than what it would be to just buy a new device.
Sometimes the product is no longer available and its parts are no longer manufactured.
This actually causes a lot of frustration for a lot of customers, but Synology will try their best to find you a replacement part if that’s the case. However, if they are unable to find a suitable solution for you then they’ll likely deny your request for repair.
It may also be very difficult to repair these devices yourself since the parts are strictly unique to Synology.
Once the device falls into what is termed as ‘end of life’ status, it will not be on sale anymore nor will the parts be manufactured again.
Keep this in mind, if you have a really old Synology device and you’re thinking of repairing it and using it again, there’s a chance that you may have to purchase a new device because either repairing this machine or finding the replacement part may actually cost just as much as buying a brand new device.
The bottom line
So what makes a company trustworthy? Synology has put years of decades of work, blood, sweat into their product. As a privately-owned company, they focus on customer service and produce a product that focuses on security.
From all of this, customers have overwhelmingly found Synology to be overwhelmingly trustworthy in that they can trust their files and their data when using a Synology NAS to store that data.
Other interesting articles:
