In case you have missed this information for the past 1.5y, the time has come. As of November 1st, 2020, Amazon will no longer support Synology Hyper Backup and Cloud Sync applications because they are terminating the usage of their API.

So what does that mean for you? If you have been using Amazon Drive as your cloud provider for an off-site backup, you will have to make other arrangements.

One thing to bear in mind is that your data will still be accessible using Amazon Photos web, desktop, and mobile apps, just not via Synology apps.

Now what?

No worries, Synology has a solution for both scenarios. If you are unfamiliar with Synology’s own cloud service, have a read about their C2 platform. I wrote some articles on the matter as well, and as a user of their service for a few years now (since beta), I can say it is really well done. Bare in mind that you will be locking yourself into their ecosystem, however, you will still be able to access your data even if you decide to leave Synology park one day.

So, C2 will, in a combination with HyperBackup, solve your remote backup problems for any amount of data that you need.

To make this whole bitter situation even better, Synology is offering free C2 storage until March 31st, 2021! So, users affected by this transition can apply before January 31st, 2021 here.

NOTE: This offer applies to users that currently don’t have a C2 plan with Synology.

Another reason you might consider looking into C2 direction is the upcoming changes to both C2 and DSM 7 (the upcoming NAS OS currently in internal preview). While there are no official announcements yet, we have proof from Synology 2019 conference that they are working on HybridShare features. What that will offer is using your C2 storage not just as a cloud backup destination that it is today, but also as an extension of your local NAS storage. More info in the article.

And what of syncing?

What about CloudSync and accessing your files using a web interface or a mobile device? For that, as an alternative, you can use Synology Drive Server solution. Now, this is more than just a sync tool. Drive offers client backup options, sharing, and collaboration using the web interface and almost all those functions are available on the mobile platforms as well. With customizing permissions and advanced sharing options you can manage your data the way you want, how you want it.

As much as this is a pain, it can be handled. I can see this being a big problem for users that have 10+TB of data over time in the Amazon cloud and maybe not a fast internet connection, but this might also be a good time to think about getting a new NAS for off-site backup/sync. If you have an option to place another NAS on a remote location (a friend or family) you could use that NAS as your “cloud” backup and that same location can use it as their main NAS. Also, you could have both NAS devices in sync or simply use them as their own backup destinations. Price vise, it will be worth more considering that a NAS offers much more functions then a simple could backup destination. Think about it and let me know down in the comment section.