How to Set Up & Configure Synology Drive (Beginners Tutorial)

Cloud aside is there any benefit to using it locally versus SMB shares? I heavily use SMB locally and I can’t really see how Synology Drive fits in…

Thks so much for this video, how to make thats synology nas accessable from local network to public internet access?thks so much

Made that as clear as MUD

One thing to consider carefully before committed to fully move from Google Drive to Synology Drive is those suite of Google web apps and their tight integration with Google Drive. For example, you could create Google My Maps files from your Google Drive and be able to open your maps directly from it. Aso those suite of office apps like Google Doc, Google Sheet, etc. that may have a different level of features support comparing to Synology Office app.

But, painfully slow! (On entry level NAS)

Hi, one question, video thumbnails does not show in client drive, its a pain in the ass having to open the files to look at them, I have been looking for a solution without any luck, any suggestion? thank you

Off topic but what computer speakers are those?

I'm curious if the synology software collects telemetry and crap and sends it back to synology.

which synology do you use?

Curious..what's the difference between this and just using NFS share.. I share a folder, and access it from explorer or linux file tool.. enter creds and map/star/link to it so I can open it up anytime easily. Is there any benefit to the Synology Drive vs direct folder access on NAS?

I appreciate your vids - very helpful! I'm enjoying Synology Sync but it is a little difficult when you're dealing with staff who can access some subfolders and other staff can access others - maybe a future video? Question: Can syn users actually collaborate on a document/spreadsheet the way they can in Google Drive? I need at least a few people editing the same doc at the same time. Thanks for your help.

Quick connect was compromised end of last year and Synology didn't fix it right away. Don't use QC, as this is the second time it has had severe venerabilities. Great video otherwise.

Can Synology drive and OneDrive co-exist on a folder?

Any theory if/when Synology will retire DS File? DS File seems unnecessary now that Drive can sync and access NAS files.

Is there a way for me to have a temp save, where it doesn't take up my device space, but it also won't be using all of my data.
For example, I would l8ke to be able to watch videos in an "offline" mode, similar to the way YT all9ws for offline vid playback or similar to any streaming service that offers an offline connection feature.

Great.
How would I go about properly setting up the synology box & my router to have a secure access to it over the internet?

I can’t seem to open a spreadsheet and edit it on my phone like I can with having the file on Dropbox….. any ideas ?

Is there a feature to ignore a certain file or folder? Or better yet, an option to ignore EVERY folder named "node_modules"?

THANK. YOU. SO. MUCH! Truly amazing work, helped me set up my Synology Drive with my MacBook. I'll be diving in more to fully configure for my music production business. Been following you for a while and love the new look!

Hey man, thank you so much for the video it is perfect and informative, we are going to use it daily. By any chance can you help with the bare metal backup?
Thank you.

You're use case scenario sounds exactly like mine so I want to thank you for this video and detailed instructions. The only major difference is I'm learning and running Linux, Linux Mint to be precise.

So far the biggest issue Is establishing a seemless connection to Synology folders from the desktop. Linux wants to mount Synology folders as drives using Samba and there's always a delay. Sometimes it will timeout and freeze if I'm not continually accessing them. Not sure if this is a Linux issue or Samba, I'm still learning.

But you've given me some new ideas to try now and I'm feeling encouraged. Thanks again for the info and instructions. Your explanations are invaluable!

Por fin puedo ver el rostro de la persona que siempre nos habla claro detrás de cámara!!! Saludos Caballero!

I think there are three good applications for such a syncing-approach: 1. Large files that require random access (e.g., video files) and from multiple devices. For those it is good to have them locally, as well as on a shared location. 2. Sharing files with users outside your network. For the latter Google Drive (or similar) is much better. 3. Being able to work on files while being completely offline. For anything else, I find it easier and less storage redundant to use Samba shares. Perhaps there is a fourth reason for a syncing-approach which is to cover devices that cannot handle Samba shares (like phones). I like Google Drive, as it supports collaboration with users outside my network and allows me to work on the files while I'm offline. As I don't have any need for "1." above and "2." is not supported by NAS-based syncing, and I don't need to non-local copies of files that I'm not sharing with users on other networks, I don't think Synology Drive makes any sense for me. Am I missing something? FWIW, your videos are really good, but to round this one off, I think it needed a section as to when a Samba share is just sufficient or even the better solution.

Dude, love the new concept!! No surprises with my drive setup, and that’s a good thing. Love to see more of these ‘standard’ apps setups so I can check these with my own setups.

Especially interested in your upcoming vid about external accessibility because I use my synology and drive setup a lot away from my own network thru my MacBook, iPhone etc.

it been trying out logseq and used Synology drive to sync up everything and works perfect

Amazing video!

Excellent video Frank. As always. In depth, clear and concise. I personally love Synology Drive and can even remember using google drive.

This new format really works IMO - fantastic upload, thank you.

I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts on Synology C2 Cloud Password Manager. I noticed you're using what looks like a Logitech Brio 4K webcam that has Windows Hello enabled - I nearly bought one of these expensive cameras just so I could log into C2 Password Manager with my face rather than typing in my Master Password so often.

Great video and I like the new format! I used reverse proxy to connect to synology drive outside my network and to expose some services to the internet. However, I stopped as it is less secure and have been using tailscale/twingate to connect to drive (and synology photos) when I am outside my network.

Also, to share files with users outside my network, I use cloudflare zero trust (thru DDNS in Synology through External Access > DDNS) to share links externally (in drive and photos). I had to update my domain name in DSM > Login Portal > Applications > Drive > Customized domain. It was kinda tricky because at first my URL would go directly to the login page of DSM (which is a No No imo) so I after a bit of playing around, it turns out that external links for synology drive are appended using "/d/s" at the end (photos use "/mo/sharing"), so once I added this in cloudflare (by adding a path called "d/s), it worked beautifully and I no longer have to worry the login page being exposed for possible attacks.

Nice speakers. :)

This software conflicts with my device and replicated it on other devices. Not sure if it is Nivida or MSI specifically. I will research further.

I've been using this for a while only certain things don't make sense. Example. I have a folder titled Sina on my pc which is synced to my nas. I also have drive on my phone syncing my photos. However, I can't find them anywhere on my nas. Go figure!

Btw wanted to thank you. Your written guides on your webpage are one of the best I have see. Totally easy to follow. Also thanks for the OpenWRT best routers of 2023. I was looking for a new router to replace my old dum AP as it CPU didn't handle the supermassive SSID Vlan combo I was running.

P.S. Were you thinking maybe as well to play with OPNSense? I use it on daily basis. But OPNsense doesn't have so many guide videos on YT. I think with your presentation skills you could create awesome guides for people that are thinking to use it.

I can relate what you described. I went off from Google to my NAS using Drive, Photos + Synology office. This basically replaced any dependency of google cloud services. Using VPN gives me access anywere from the world to it. For me at least the NAS already payed for it vs paying google for storage.

P.S. in Synology drive client you can sync individual folders. This is awesome in case you run it across multiple machines and don't need every folder to sync in you Home folder.

P.P.S using the backup feature is great, I use it to Sync specific folder from my PC that serves as Home folder for my work. Why you may ask? That's because before I had the NAS this folder structure existed but I wanted to have it backed in case my work laptop dies. The only negative is that you can have only 1 backup task. I believe that's because Synology intended this feature as backup for a whole Folder structure of your machine.

Nice video. I've recently started moving over to Synology drive from SMB shares. What are your thoughts on the "homes" folder usage vs. separate SMB "shared folders" which are permission locked to one user. Synology Drive does have the 'selective sync' which, unlike SMB, can allow you to keep a local copy of certain files. SMB permissions on a shared drive are probably the easiest to manage. Note: I use some shared drives as actual shared drives with multiple users accessing them (e.g. family photos), whereas other drives are specific only to a user.

Another great video. Thanks

By far the best Synology channel. Great, in-depth, and straight-to-the-point tutorials.
Thank you.
P.S. loving the new format.

Outstanding video As always! A pleasure to watch.

I would like if there was a video which explains how to sync (backup) Drive, which is on my DS220+, with my old DS115 which is on different location (different network).
So far I didn't find any video which explained how to do it.

Btw. new format is great, keep doing videos this way, they're more interesting to watch 👍

Thks buts synology drive is just too complicated for me.
Really the concept of local client caching of a remote NAS data is straight-forward.
However I never came across a good top-down explanation of synology drive yet.

Don't forget Synology Photo's mobile as one of the best synology apps. A bit offtopic offcourse.
Nice to see your face for the first time. I must say I had a completely other idea who you would be. But I am affraid to say 😂 (Much older).

Great instructional video, as always! Do you have any experience with Bit Defender reading "false negatives" from Synology sync folders? I use Synology Drive (love it). When I was away in June and accessing and updating files, I started to received daily messages about how Bit Defender had found threats and was removing the threat. Further indication indicates the threats are found in temporary Synology files - thousands of them. They are showing up in the Synology Drive temp folder. When I run a full scan, Bit defender doesn't find anything. Any suggestions?

Look at this guy. Years of vids no face, now face. That’s a big step!!!

I am using Synology since 2 years. But I am not able to Do speedy Download or uploads, even after hooking up with 500Mbps internet !!! Plz help, the max Speed I am getting when downloading via other device is 500-700 Kbps only !!!

I've had a 4 bay synology NAS sitting idle for about 5 years with just old photo backups from previous phones. I added home assistant to it about a year ago but I'm still only using Smartthings

back at it again👍

WunderTech gang 🤙🏻