Synology DS425+ overview
The month of May has been very dynamic in terms of the rollout of the new X25 NAS devices. This week alone, Synology has released three updated models on top of the previous three in the past thirty days.
Luka Manestar
The overview of the new 4-bay model the DS925+
Luka Manestar
The overview of the new 5-bay model the DS1525+
Luka Manestar
The overview of the new 8-bay model the DS1825+
Today, Synology rolled out a new 4-bay NAS device that resembles the DS925+ in appearance but differs in specifications. It's tailored to meet the needs of mid-range customers seeking adequate power and features for backup, synchronization, and collaboration.
Here is the new 2025, DS425+.
The DS425+ provides intuitive and comprehensive file management, media organization, and backup capabilities
For those that do not require a lot of horsepower or expandability, but still want a rock-solid solution with a decent amount of storage for their SOHO or small business environment, the DS425+ might be just the right choice.
: Specifications
Of all the models that we have seen so far in the 2025 lineup refresh, the DS425+ compared to its predecessor has the least upgrades, in fact, there is only one.
The NAS still comes with the same Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core CPU, and 2GB of DDR RAM (up to 6GB), as well as two NVMe slots on the bottom for caching or storage pool needs (with compatible disks!).
An ideal edge device for branch offices or retail locations for small firms or large enterprises
The only noticeable change that we have seen so far on all the models this year is the 2.5GbE network upgrade. While the DS425+ has two LAN ports, unlike the DS925+ with a dual 2.5GbE port, the DS425+ has only one. The other port is still running on 1GbE speeds.
Another thing that has also not changed is the 3-year warranty period that can be extended to up to 5 years via the Synology Extended Warranty Plus program.
Versatile all-in-one solution for data sharing, synchronization, backup, and surveillance
The DS425+ should globally be available start of July with a suggested price of around 500€ (tax included) depending on the market.
: Synology and 3rd party drive support
Based on the official information that was announced on April 16th, the following changes are in effect.
Düsseldorf – April 16, 2025 – Following the success of the High-Performance series, the company is now increasingly relying on Synology’s own storage media for the Plus series models, which will be released starting in 2025. Users will thus benefit from higher performance, increased reliability, and more efficient support. “With our proprietary hard drive solution, we have already seen significant benefits for our customers in a variety of deployment scenarios,” said Chad Chiang, Managing Director of Synology GmbH and Synology UK. “By expanding our integrated ecosystem to the Plus series, we aim to provide all users—from home users to small businesses—with the highest levels of security and performance, while also offering significantly more efficient support.”
For users, this means that starting with the Plus series models released in 2025, only Synology’s own hard drives and third-party hard drives certified according to Synology’s specifications will be compatible and offer the full range of functions and support.
There will be no changes for Plus models released up to and including 2024 (excluding the XS Plus series and rack models). Furthermore, migrating hard drives from the existing Synology NAS to a new Plus model will continue to be possible without restrictions. The use of compatible and unlisted hard drives will be subject to certain restrictions in the future, such as pool creation and support for issues and failures caused by the use of incompatible storage media. Volume-wide deduplication, lifespan analysis, and automatic hard drive firmware updates will only be available for Synology hard drives in the future. Tight integration of Synology NAS systems and hard drives reduces compatibility issues and increases system reliability and performance. At the same time, firmware updates and security patches can be deployed more efficiently, ensuring a high level of data security and more efficient support for Synology customers.
This means that on day one of the release, no official 3rd-party drive will be supported unless they have passed the certification. How the certification of 3rd-party drives will go remains to be seen, but we can see that Synology drives will not be, in fact, exclusive.
The DS425+, Synology supports all 3.5", 2.5", and NVMe drives. Additionally, due to recent policy changes, drives migrated from an earlier model will also function, although they may operate with limited features.
Another note to point out is that this new policy is affecting the HDD lineup of drives, not SSDs. Meaning that while 3rd party SSDs will be unverified they will still be usable.
The up-to-date 2025 policy is also explained in more detail in the Synology KB article on the following link.
Synology Inc.
While not the most exciting in terms of updates, this model has its customer base, if for no other reason than its support of hardware transcoding, thanks to Intel's QuickSync CPU feature, which is not present in all other AMD models.
A hands-on review will be up on the site as soon as possible once the model becomes available—maybe sooner than that—so be sure to check it out.
