logo

Info

Reviewbucket.co.uk scanned the internet for Synology DiskStation DS218 reviews.
You can find all Synology DiskStation DS218 reviews and ratings on this page.

Read the reviews.

Analysis

For Synology DiskStation DS218, 41 customer reviews collected from 2 e-commerce sites, and the average score is 4.6.

Detailed seller stats;
Amazon has 36 customer reviews and the average score is 4.5. Go to this seller.
Ebay has 5 customer reviews and the average score is 5. Go to this seller.

Detail

Click to list all products in this category.

Similar Items

12.12.2019

This second DS218 8TB DiskStation fitted with two 4GB Red WD40EFRX drives I bought separately and fitted myself works brilliantly. The options for use are varied and very flexible with lots of Apps available to install to suit ones own particular requirements. I bought this (in addition to my existing DS218) primarily as a much faster backup unit to replace an old DS212j which is so much slower and becoming a bit full.The DS218 (not a 'j' and not a '+') has a fast processor and an ample amount of RAM. Big transfers on Gigabit Ethernet from the four-year-old DS212j ran at between 180 and 270 Mbit/s (a 5GB folder of MP3s took five minutes) showing the limitations of the processor in the DS212j sitting at 99%.However, direct from the PC or an old Seagate STCG2000200 it ran at just under 1Gbit/s (560GB of my video footage and stills took less than 2 hours) with the processor in the DS218 snoozing at around 25 to 30%.After using Synology Assistant on the PC to find the DiskStation on the network and open a dedicated browser Window (NOT another Tab), configuration as the DiskStation’s administrator took about an hour, and while I’ve done it before, I left the very clear and unambiguous Help window open to remind me of the syntax for the various stages. One needs to download to the PC from the Synology website the relevant latest .dss file (176MB at time of writing), and be prepared to find it on the PC from the DS218 to initialise the operating system. Then it is simple to set up the two drives in the relevant mode (RAID1 for me), assign network choices (LAN backup and server only, no streaming or remote web access) and user permissions (three users and relevant folders mounted as network drives on our machines).I installed a few of the more usual utilities including the Security and Performance checks, but ignored the vast majority. I also let it run a ‘scrub’ to eliminate any bad blocks that might have happened during the rough journey the drives endured courtesy of DPD – the outer carton was very, very bashed - but the packing within was unmarked and both drives seem OK with no bad sectors reported.The power supply runs only about 5°C above ambient, even during the busiest time of the big transfer. The DS218 box remains at room temperature and the fan is only just audible even when it is shifting a lot of air at the busy time.According to W7P, after taking into account the block cleaning and Synology system overhead, these WD Red drives give me 3,932,992,659,456 bytes (3.57 TB) of available storage space.I hope this second DS218 proves as reliable as the old DS212j did and the first DS218 has so far.
Read more..

29.3.2018

The DS218 8TB DiskStation fitted with two 4GB Red WD40EFRX drives and supplied by Kikatek works brilliantly. The options for use are varied and very flexible with lots of Apps available to install to suit ones own particular requirements. I bought this primarily as a much faster backup unit in addition to my existing old DS212j which is much slower and becoming a bit full.The DS218 (not a 'j' and not a '+') has a fast processor and an ample amount of RAM. Big transfers on Gigabit Ethernet from the four-year-old DS212j ran at between 180 and 270 Mbit/s (a 5GB folder of MP3s took five minutes) showing the limitations of the processor in the DS212j sitting at 99%. However,direct from the PC or an old Seagate STCG2000200 it ran at just under 1Gbit/s (560GB of my video footage and stills took less than 2 hours) with the processor in the DS218 snoozing at around 25 to 30%.After using Synology Assistant on the PC to find the DiskStation on the network and open a dedicated browser Window (NOT another Tab), configuration as the DiskStation’s administrator took about an hour, and while I’ve done it before, I left the very clear and unambiguous Help window open to remind me of the syntax for the various stages. One needs to download to the PC from the Synology website the relevant latest .dss file (172MB), and be prepared to find it on the PC from the DS218 to initialise the operating system. Then it is simple to set up the two drives in the relevant mode (RAID1 for me), assign network choices (LAN backup and server only, no streaming or remote web access) and user permissions (three users and relevant folders mounted as network drives on our machines).I installed a few of the more usual utilities including the Security and Performance checks, but ignored the vast majority. I also let it run a ‘scrub’ to eliminate any bad blocks that might have happened during the rough journey it endured courtesy of DPD – the outer carton was very bashed - but the Synology packing within was unmarked and both drives seem OK with no bad sectors reported.The power supply runs only about 5°C above ambient, even during the busiest time of the big transfer. The DS218 box remains at room temperature, and the fan is only just audible even when it is shifting a lot of air at the busy time.According to W7P, after taking into account the block cleaning and Synology system overhead, these WD Red drives give me 3,932,992,659,456 bytes (3.57 TB) of available storage space.I hope this DS218 proves as reliable as the old DS212j has.
Read more..

30.1.2020

I wanted a device to consolidate all my photos , spread across multiple phones, tablets, laptop and desktops (mostly apple). I didn't want to have them on a cloud service so NAS seemed the way to go. My review compares the decisions I was trying to make and compares what I expected find with my experience after a month or so of use.Synology vs QNAP ? Apparently QNAP are better made and a bit more "Pro" whilst Synology software was thought to be more comprehensive and capable. I have been very impressed at every turn with the Synology software on the NAS and the client apps for iPhones etc. I can't fault the hardware - but its early days I suppose.It was extremely easy to set up and get working - although I had to buy a cheap ethernet switch as my router didnt have enough spare ports, and it didnt startup on first try as I hadn't pushed the disk in firmly enough.There are several apps to manage photos. I went for Photostation. This has less automatic functionality to categorise photos than the more recent "moments" and does everything I need for now.Which model ? I went for the 218 (rather than the 218+ or above) as I wasnt wanting to transcode 4K videos, just manage 20,000 or so photos. I am glad I didnt go for any of the slower models as whilst the machine performs well there are some tasks (like creating the 20,000 thumbnails that took 48 hours to complete). I would probably get the more powerful and expandable 218+ if I were doing this over. The noise on the NAS (fan) is audible - but only just -Which Disk. In the end I went for the Ironwolf (not the pro) drive 4Tb. but I suspect more NAS specific drives are fine. My main worry (Apart from reliability) was noise - and this drive is proving to be more or less silent.OverallThere is enough functionality in the software to allow basic management (Not editing) of the photos so I can start to rationalise my collection (de dupe, organise into folders etc) from whichever laptop I am using - so the tasks actually get done.Speed of access is quicker than the HDD/Router setup I had before (I suppose because of the painstaking creation of the thumbnails).The iPhone photo backup seems to work well.I was able to access across the internet and on my LG TV with no extra effortSo far so good (I am backing it all up onto a separate HDD!)
Read more..

20.9.2018

So far I'm very pleased. Initial setup was extremely easy, and it takes almost no time to reach a point where you are adding your files to the storage.A couple of minor (or maybe not so minor) irritations.Firstly, the latest version of the management operating system (called DSM) now uses something called Synology Drive for local folders on your network devices (phone, pc's etc). It's very similar to Dropbox or Google Drive in concept.This is great, except that as it turns out, Drive is a direct replacement for 2 other packages, called Cloud Station Server and Cloud Station ShareSync.You should install the new Drive (because the other two are deprecated), there is no real indication of this when you begin,and the documentation is not really very clear on this.If you install the older packages first, then try to install Drive, you are warned that the other packages are incompatible and will be removed. I could go into more detail, but for anyone reading this before you install any packages, just don't install the old two, install Drive only.To add to the confusion, there is another package called Cloud Sync. This isn't related, and is used for backing up your NAS to your Cloud Drives such as Dropbox, Google Drive or Baidu.Fine, you will work that all out eventually, it's just a transitional period, and Drive is ultimately going to be a better solution anyway.The next thing I had trouble with though, was setting up the NAS for external access using my own custom Domain name (not DDNS). You are almost funnelled down the route of using the Synology DDNS service.It's a pain in the proverbial backside. This is clearly something aimed at "home" users, so if that's you, then actually it's pretty nice, but if you want to use this as storage for a small business, and would like to use your own domain name an you also have a static IP address, do not make the mistake of setting up DDNS and allowing the NAS to configure your router ports, because you will only have to undo all of that, and then set up your port forwarding manually.So a couple of irks, but overall I'm very pleased. Definitely a good buy at the price.
Read more..

1.9.2019

Now that i have this up and running its great. But what hassle getting it set up. Unbelievably there is NO guidance for setting this up and despite watching youtube reviews and so on i had a relative nightmare getting this going. Now that may be because im not as tech savvy as some and it did need my IT department to log on and sort things out. In the end i just hadnt clicked on a few buttons to make cerain files visible but it would have been so easy to write some documentation to get you going. Still giving it 4 stars because as a unit its great. Small, sits out of the way in complete silence doing its thing. I think 2 hard drives will be plenty for most people and i have started with 2x3Gb which i think we will see me good for a number of years.If you have thousands of large photos, perhaps taken on an slr then you will probably need bigger. But as i said, once running it think its great, well built and discreet. Once im using the full features of what it can do this will be a gamechanger i reckon. So far im just touching the tip of the iceberg with using Plex for movies.On a significant sidenote: Be warned that if you think you're just going to plop all your blurays and dvds on this thing then think this through. Again, not being massively tech savvy, i had no idea that the transcoding process is so paaaaaaaaaaaaainstaaaaaaaaaaaking. It would be better to call it a labour of love, because oh my god its labour intensive. My PC has been on 24/7 for the last couple of months first converting the bluray to mkv file and then transcoding using handbrake which literally takes 2-12 hours per Bluray and i have a i7 6700. It does crunch a 40Gb to between 2-8Gb but it involves a lot of attention and ideally a powerful CP. But in the end its worth it and after 2 months i have gone through about 180blu rays so far!
Read more..

19.5.2018

My old Synology 211, while still alive and functioning, was beginning to struggle to keep up with the demands placed on it so I bought this unit as an upgrade. I originally targeted the 218 play but this unit was only £20 more and has double the RAM, a "better" case and the capability to do "hot swaps" on the drives so I thought it was worth the extra. I began the migration with some trepidation, expecting to have to spend half my weekend re-building settings but needn't have worried. My old 2TB HDDs moved really easily into the new enclosure and the set up was extremely painless By following the synology instructions on their website one can migrate very straightforwardly including all existing user accounts and settings.It even transferred across the details of my IP surveillance camera and recording settings.Following installation all I had to do was change the IP address on my router so that the new unit used the same address as the old one, thereby allowing all other devices that pointed to my old NAS (eg other computers that I back up on the synology HDD) to automatically connect to the new one.The unit is extremely responsive and fast and data transfer speeds seem pretty high.Only minor disappointment is that the unit is no quieter than the one it replaced. It doesn't mean its loud, but in my study the fan noise is quietly audible even on the "quiet" setting.So far so good, I hope it lasts 6 years like its predecessor!
Read more..

3.5.2020

If Win10 drops the connection you need to download Synology Assistant. Then unplug the drive (not cool but necessary) Even if you can see the drive in Synology Assistant, search again to find a fresh link, and then the 'Set Up' button should appear. Press that and log in as administrator. The Desktop should eventually appear (takes a few minutes) then click File Services/ Advanced / and scroll down for WS. Click that to allow Win10 to link to the drive. After that the link should be rock solid and stable. It took me 2 solid days to find this solution.Don't try following some of the more technical solutions on youtube which can lead nowhere (I tried)and there is always the danger of clicking the wrong option and forgetting what you did. This solution is simple and safe.
Read more..

22.9.2018

My last Nas was purchased over 7 years ago And I moved over only when it started developing problems recently. As you can imagine the world of NAS-es has moved on significantly since then.This product was a like for like slot in for my previous one, except it offers far richer features and is on top of the most recent security developments - something I was very keen on.The instructions for set up were very easy to follow, the software is very intuitive and pretty much updates itself. I can access it from everywhere and anywhere, which is perfect.It also offers support for optional features if i ever wanted to use it in a professional setting - which is great.It does what I want and is very very very quiet!Ticks all the boxes. Highly recommended.
Read more..

15.3.2018

I bought a Synology NAS about 10 years ago with the intention of streaming audio around the house, but put it on E-Bay after a couple of weeks because it played album tracks in alphabetic order of title, not the order on the CD. There was no way of changing this.and Synology did not seem interested in patching the OSTimes move on and you can now define the play order on a number of parameters. And I can listen to my music via my phone using the Synology app when I am away from home. Brilliant !It is a great bit of kit, and I'm still experimenting with it. Hosting web sites is easy, but getting SMTP working is ongoing. An excellent Photo album app.is provided. Excellent provision for backup.Runs cold and silent.B ery pleased with this purchase
Read more..

3.7.2020

This is my second Synology NAS and the performance gain is definitely noticeable.The front panel pulls off giving quick access to the drive bays.Tool free and hard drives fitted in a less than 5 minutes.A spare pair of WD red 4tb hard drives that were pulled from my desktop where they were configured as a RAID 1 NTFS.When I logged into the DS218 it was nice too see it had formatted the hard drives and created RAID 1 without any intervention from me (I don't remember the same happening when I bought the DS218j).I've done some tests with 4K movies shared across the network with box NASes streaming to my xbox one x and the DS218 is more responsive.A faster processor and more RAM than the DS218jas well.A happy a Synology user.
Read more..

23.8.2019

This is a good product with a lot of features for the price. Initial setup was straightforward, and the documentation and online help should get you up and running quickly. There are a lot of settings which allow you to configure it to your own needs. Downloadable packages let you use the NAS for more than just storing files on your network.The web based interface to the device provides access to the settings and applications. It is a bit clunky by the current standards of UI design, and some settings can require a bit of searching to locate them. Also, some of the settings are advanced so require some understanding of the technology.

21.6.2018

Great piece of kit, up and running within a few hours (most of that time was migrating my data to it) - although it took a few days to figure out and set up all the features I wanted.I now have my iMac Time Machine backing up to it plus 4 Windows laptops (Win8 and Win10) and iMac using Synology Drive - realtime mirroring of files.If that wasn't enough I have my two previous Lacie external drives connected to the rear USB3 ports - the larger 3TB drive serving as a backup to the DS218 using Hyper Backup (hourly) - and for good measure I'm also using Hyper Backup for daily backups to my Amazon storage (took 5 minutes to set up).

9.5.2018

I got minimal expectation from NAS server. If is capable of sharing my data in local network and can store safely what is on it then fine.This piece of equipment is going a bit further. It is hard to tell about all options offered as a standard, but it is quite few.I had no time to discover even 10% of them, but I believe I already have found some interesting stuff.I got only one hope, that Synology will contact me in the future to let me know when this product technical suport will finish and it is going to be 10years+ :-)In general I am very happy with this model. Seems good quality at reasonable price.

17.1.2019

Purchased this 4Tb version to store all my media files (music/video/photos) on a centralised location without having to pay ongoing subscriptions. Was also able to set up a partition of the drive to Apple’s Time Capsule back ups but this was a slightly challenging task for someone who doesn’t work in IT (refer to support pages on Synology’s webpage). So far it’s been bullet proof reliable and I can now access my files from anywhere or any device which is a bonus.

18.1.2019

After much research I decided to follow the reviews and purchased the DS218 to replace my NETgear READYNAS Duo. So far I've not been disappointed. It was very easy to setup and the apps available do the job well. Easy to access your files from your mobile or for watching films on a smart TV. Nice looking unit and runs very quietly in the background. I would definitely recommend this model.

List All Products

Terms and ConditionsPrivacy Policy