After months of silence and community frustration, Synology has finally decided to loosen the grip it tightened on its rather loyal following of NAS users. And I, for one, couldn’t be happier. Starting with DSM 7.3, available today, the company is reopening its NAS systems to third-party drives on its 2025 models.The latest DSM 7.3 update restores third-party drive compatibility with some limitations. On paper, it sounds like a simple technical update to fix a simple problem — which, let’s be honest, shouldn’t have even existed. In reality, it’s a full-blown course correction. Synology is once again allowing 3.5-inch HDDs and 2.5-inch SSDs from third-party brands to be used freely in its 2025 range of NAS devices. The company says this change comes after working with drive makers to expand its certification list, promising greater flexibility without compromising reliability.