The Complete Guide to Remotely Access Synology NAS - All 5 Options Explained

This is the complete guide on how to remotely access your Synology NAS from any computer in the world over the internet. This allows you to easily view your files from within MacOS finder or Windows File Explorer.
Link to the post on the forums: forums.spacerex.co/t/5-ways-t...
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TUTORIALS REFERENCED:
How to Connect Synology NAS to Windows File Explorer: • How to Connect Windows...
How to use WebDAV on Windows: help.dreamhost.com/hc/en-us/a...
How to use OpenVPN on Synology NAS: • OpenVPN Server on Syno...
TOC
00:00 Introduction
02:47 Option 1: Quick Connect and DSM
05:59 Option 2: Synology Drive
11:55 Option 3: TailScale
18:58 Option 4: WebDAV
25:43 Option 5: OpenVPN Server
31:07 Conclusion
#openvpn #remote
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[@SpaceRexWill]

UPADTE: OpenVPN connect for Windows recently updated, and broke this config. This is the fix: www.spacerex.co/how-to-fix-synology-openvpn-server-windows-unknown-unsupported-options/

[@madamerosario]

Thanks for making this video, I found this very helpful. I wanted to leave an update that I just set this up using the latest versions of VPN Server and Open VPN Client on Windows and I did not have to remove "pull." In fact, removing "pull" caused the config to break. So I would caution anyone doing this for the first time, try it first without commenting out "pull"!

[@DrunkenGolfer]

Thank you very much for your video. It helped me immensely in doing what I needed, and in choosing which option was the best for me. For the record, as of jan. 2024, the fix you link to (commenting the "pull" line in the config file) caused my Windows OpenVPN client to not be able to connect, so I ended up using the file exactly as generated by the Synology application instead.

[@Mrgiggels711]

I know this is a year old but blurring isn't destructive.. use a black bar or somthing that is destructive instead to hide sensitive information in videos. Just to stay safe my friend.

[@timotmon]

The T-Rex toy doesn't go unnoticed. Well done.

[@lukastemberger]

He needs a little helmet so he can breathe in space.

[@benpapafilms]

Thank you, this video was exactly what I needed. I'm working on setting up a NAS for a small creative team, all of which are located in different areas of the country and this seems to provide good options on how to access remotely.

[@looppp]

Your videos have been incredibly helpful for a first timer setting up my DS423+. Thank you SpaceRex

[@erronymous]

Bro, thank you. I've been using Synology Drive Client, and it was starting to really piss me off when how often it simply fails to sync properly, but I'm not so great with understanding networking and thought that I was just stuck having to deal with it. I watched the segment about OpenVPN and my issues were resolved in like 5 minutes. Awesome, thank you.

[@venomblade891]

Amazingly helpful guide. Set up the OpenVPN method with no issues. You're a lifesaver!

[@davidkusztor9278]

do you have a description what have to setup in the router ? I missed from this video what router settings to make. Thanks!

[@allenryan65]

You have made this set up incredibly easy. Thank you so much!

[@screamday]

Excellent video with great information. I found this video while searching for info on how to access my Synology through the internet. Thank you!

[@DarkNoggin]

You rock as always SpaceRex! You've helped learn everything I know about my new NAS. Thank you!

[@jcyt2023]

amazing tutorial! you are so succinct and clear. Simply the best tutorial I have ever come across for synology nas on youtube.

[@CityPlannerPlays]

This couldn't have come at a better time! I'm trying to set up VPN access for an editor. Thank you!!

[@CoastalArchitecture]

Thanks for posting this video. I couldn't figure out how to sync new shared folders I created to sync to my windows computer. Something was not working right with my Synology Drive Client. Once I uninstalled and re-installed, it worked seamlessly. I thought I was doing something wrong. Followed your steps and got it all figured out!

[@garydrago]

You've been an amazing help for getting my NAS set up man. Thank you 🙏🏼

[@DrKasden]

Thanks Will! Hope the move went well for you and you are all settled in.

[@hectoralicea1023]

You read my mind. I was going to ask you to do exactly a video about accessing my NAS remotely. I live in NYC, but travel to San Juan often for a few weeks at a time. This video will help me decide the best way to access my files while I’m away. Thank you very much for taking your time to make this video. It is much appreciated.

[@SpaceRexWill]

Glad it helped!

[@g.o.9513]

Use TailScale? Curious about its performance on Mac.

[@dienekyes1976]

Thanks for the Videos SpaceRex! They always help me out!

[@PowerUsr1]

you got a smooth voice...jesus like..its really relaxing. Enjoying learning about my Synology. Im honestly going to make me an old fashioned and just drink and watch.

[@fxaman]

Yeah, he could do ASMR videos about NAS and have so many new followers :D

[@Hewi94]

Excellent video, easy to follow and exactly what I was looking for :) thanks a lot!

[@cyc00000]

Awesome video, thanks for posting and helping me with the decision to purchase. Bro also, I'm surprised you're not bleeding more after all the cuts.

[@ViktoriaUrbanek]

THANK YOU sooooooo much! Wonderful tutorial - you've saved me loads of time! Really appreciate you making these videos!

[@evan]

Thanks so much for this one! I ran into a problem that took me 6 hours to figure out whereas for some reason, none of my port forwarding was working. Ports weren't opening, and I could not establish a connection to my server from outside my LAN. I thought it might be because of my Eero 6 Pro router, but no. Just commenting here for anyone else to find. Hyperoptic, my UK ISP, holds back static ip4v addresses unless you call them and pay £5 a month. Now that I've done that, everything is working smoothly. Cheers for the great series

[@thewordprofessor]

great explanations - painless installation of the 3 and 5th methods. op show!

[@albanet]

a huge thank you, as you made me successful in one simple task I was failing since months !!

[@albanet]

Do you know what kind of transfer speed I can achieve between two 500 Mbit/s /up and down networks with this openvpn settings and by adding the 10.8… network share to the finder ? Right now, it struggles beyond 5Megs…

[@rogerjones9984]

I've been using Zerotier on a couple of Synology models (DS220+ and DS1621+) for the last 18 months which works really well. As others have pointed out in this discussion, CGNAT is becoming more widespread and Zerotier works transparently with CGNAT. Possibly a bit harder to setup than some of the options in the video, but certainly no harder than TailScale. The big plus from my viewpoint is on the "client" side - the connection setup appears to work regardless of how the client is connecting to the internet, especially when using a mobile/LTE connection. In the past I've had connection issues when my laptop was using a 4G/5G modem or a cell-phone "hotspot". I've never (yet!) encountered any issues with ZeroTier when using those types of connectivity

[@DuDeMBR]

I need this, oh my god. But I have been struggling setting all of this network stuff up, always pushing through till I get it right eventually. Did you install in on root or with docker? I hope I can manage to set it up

[@algo7574]

I wonder why this channel doesnt have at least 5 times its current sub. Really good vid 👍🎉

[@TehMezdawg]

Your videos are awesome man. Thanks for everything.

[@jamesbennettackland]

Awesome tute as always Will!

[@amrikw]

Thank you for making this video. For the first time I was able to setup my remote webdav access following your instructions which did the trick. Very helpful and useful video. Already sub'd you.👍

[@SpaceRexWill]

Thanks man!

[@bashmedia]

thanks , finaly i did it , im looking for this video long time a go 🙏🏻

[@tonyvalenti6614]

FYI … Just got an email yesterday from Tailscale. The free version just got a whole lot better. 😊 Here’s what they said … “Some significant changes are that the Personal plan is now called Free, and it includes nearly everything that Tailscale has to offer for up to 3 users and 100 devices. You read that right, your plan just got better.“ Can’t beat that! 😎👍🏻

[@dbpike]

Great video…as usual. I use VPN Plus to connect through my Synology router when I am on my laptop and away from home. However, I use Quickconnect and Drive to access files on my iPhone. Would I be better off connecting my phone to my LAN through VPN rather than Quickconnect and using Drive to access files that way? It is a little more cumbersome to connect but perhaps more secure and maybe quicker as you are not relaying through Synology’s servers.

[@ATNL4]

Thank you so much for the nice tut, really it was very useful ☺🤗

[@joeriley192]

Great video. Thanks for putting it out.

[@tonysullivan9867]

Thought I could do this myself but I was wrong, many thanks for your help!

[@US_Joe]

Like many of us, we have NAS as multimedia & pic sharing. One common and easy access on your local net often unaware & overlooked is DLNA! All smart TV's and even my Bluray player have built in DLNA players for photos, videos, & pics. Can all be done wirelessly (although I recommend ethernet). Synology has provisions for this. Great episode Rex👍

[@SpaceRexWill]

That is a good one! DLNA is clunky, but tends to be the most reliable way to get media on smart TV's

[@jasonhodges2860]

Great video. Thank you. I am using windows. My mapped drives continue to work whether on my LAN (without Tailscale running) or remotely (with Tailscale). So you can use the netbios or multicast dns name perfectly. They can also be used to access the web gui for the Synology NAS. (at least this was my experience)

[@Pitagora72]

God bless you ! Such a precise, neat and usefull tutorial!! Thanks so much !

[@AinzOoalG0wn]

it's nice you mentioned tailscale. however for vpn server you should probably add setting up vpn server using router besides just the inbuilt synology vpn server setup. Some people prefer setting up vpn server on the router rather than the nas. It's fine if you want to show how the later is done, but don't neglect showing the former as well. Also tailscale is supported as a package on pfsense, so that is one less headache for setting it up compared to say hosting it directly on the NAS itself that requires a few more complex steps to setup.

[@6thistari]

Good point. @spacerex, if the VPN server is installed and a router also exists on the network, will other devices on the network still be able to access the shares. Does the VPN isolated the NAS resources from the wider local network?

[@Andy001z]

Wow the timing of this video is perfect. I have been trying in vain to setup my Synology NAS with PPTP (I know old and weak) on my Android phone but it did not play ball at all. This came into my feed and BINGO OpenVPN worked first time with your help. Thank you. Just a quick question on the OPENVPN setup it asks if access to the LAN is required, by default it is OFF, I assume this would route requests from the external VPN network to the local network via the Synology router?

[@randomadvice2487]

5 ways???? That’s why I don’t have this going 😅 But I will soon..thanks for this and all your videos! Hope you and your wife are enjoying Raleigh.. Lived there once in my early IT days..Will move back to Raleigh in 3-4 years.. beautiful place

[@leonprofes8544]

The best Synology channel with the best haircut !!!

[@MyStuffhappens]

Great video, very well done, thanks!

[@BasBerkhuijsen]

Very helpful Will

[@SpaceRexWill]

Thanks so much!

[@davidwensboposaric5498]

SpaceRex rocks & Synology Drive rolls!

[@brianparks7096]

Couldn't have come at a better time. I am currently setting up a 1823XS+ right now.

[@SpaceRexWill]

Awesome man! How do you like the DS1823xs+?

[@brianparks7096]

Fantastic so far although I havent had time to really "play" with it. Ive been getting the raid setup and all the users and passwords squared away so far. Then comes the migration and remote access fun.

[@radar3d479]

Great video, thanks

[@user-tr9em7vt8i]

Hey. Thanks for all the content. It helps me a lot. I made a backup via Synology c2 And I can't recover files through the software. And not through the Nas. I would appreciate it if you could make a video on the subject. Thanks ❤

[@Adamtronik]

You are amazing, thankyou!

[@ArminSteiner]

Hello, great Video thank you. Now I have a Question since Ian looking into getting a 4 Bay NAS and have to consider my budget I am looking Arcturus DS423 (Value Series). I know a plus model would be better but what are your thoughts on the 423? Thank you

[@juanserfontein1267]

Fantastic explanations - thank you! I used WebDAV previously, but changed my ISP which now runs behind a CGNAT, so I am unable to use the WebDAV option further as I do not have a public IP address any more. I currently only use Tailscale, and it works fine, but have been interested in the VPN Server option. Do you have any advice on whether the VPN Server will work if being behind a CGNAT as I suspect the DDNS will not connect due to the public IP issue. Any feedback will be appreciated! Many Thanks!

[@wfp9378]

There was a new DSM update yesterday due to a SSL vulnerability. 2-3 days ago all of my units using quickconnect and other remote access have been emailing me of this change. Synology’s help pages are pretty poor on explaining this. Will you be doing a video on how to fix this?

[@Gian96zzz]

Thank you for your video! I was wondering if the Tailscale method would work with any file manager in Linux (in your video you state MacOS and Windows)? Thank you! 🙂

[@AinzOoalG0wn]

also if you are talking about remote access, then you should also cover the security aspects for this type of setup. There are so many instances of newbies getting wrecked because they setup remote and it was not done properly. So maybe some guidance on security tips for this type of setup should also go hand in hand with this topic you covered. the best security setup is to keep nas for lan usage only. but if you need remote, then the security aspect needs to be discussed so you don't slip up.

[@g.o.9513]

Let's discuss the security setup. Explain..

[@crashcopter6000]

Thank you for the help! My wife has about 90,000 photos and videos spread across multiple devices. I'd like to consolidate them in a single place with a raid-1 type backup so she can view/edit all photos from her iPad. Max of around 2TB of data. Is the Synology system my best bet for making this work? Liked and subscribed!

[@KaceyGreen]

Perfectly timely, I just got a block of static IPs from my ISP and was looking at how I wanted to go about self-hosting a VPN

[@KaceyGreen]

The forums look great, signed up at the first video the algorithm showed me that you mentioned it in

[@SpaceRexWill]

Thanks man! Glad you like them! They have been a ton of fun so far

[@ivan1991cro]

Hi, thanks for great turtorial. I manged to add it to my laptop, how do i add it to another users laptop

[@ShawnKirk007]

Thanks for this video, it helped a lot. On a side note, I have to say that based on your persona and your looks ... you could have easily been a replacement for Jeffrey Donovan (aka Michael Weston) on 'Burn Notice'. I love that show.

[@filiperodrigues4188]

NICE! THX SO MUCH, YOUR MY HERO!

[@SuperZardo]

Thanks. 1 Question: For the 5 methods described, I presume the authentification and the files are send over the internet encrypted? With a strong encryption?

[@jalarcon01]

Thanks for all you do!! I’ve learned a lot from your videos. I was just able successfully to setup an OpenVPN connection using my router and works well but when I disable quickconnect my iPhone’s synology drive stops working (vpn or home network). Am I doing something wrong? Would the outcome be different if I setup the vpn connection through my NAS?

[@luisdiegosalas]

Thank you, very interesting! Could you elaborate on the issues that happen with the on-demand Synology Drive implementation for Mac? I started using it last week along with Cloud Sync for Dropbox, which I have been using for some time already. I was hoping to stop using Dropbox once and for all. But since I started using Synology Drive Client on my Mac it has been taxing it with high CPU and RAM usage until it hangs after some hours.

[@g.o.9513]

Is there still problems with MAC? (Perhaps TailScale will serve best.)

[@timbarker4189]

Watching this video for second time and weighing different options. I want security but also flexibility if possible. Which of these options plays nice with Plex? Or do they all? Thank you in advance.

[@ppkscott]

Have you tried Cloudflare tunnels with synology yet?

[@FranzPilgerstorfer]

Thank you so much! finally I got my VPN working!

[@SupraDRFT]

Who would've thought Jimmy Tatro was so good with tech tutorials

[@kaizoku004]

Hi thanks for the great tutorial. I have a question about using quickconnect vs open VPN. A). When you transfer files (large amount) from one drive/folder to another. which is faster? If I'm not mistaken, with quicconnect Synology does the work, but using VPN my mac is in charge of the transfer and depending on my connection does thing go slower? B). Plus I can't close my mac until the transfer is over right? where as with quick connect, even if i close my browser the transfer should continue.

[@PatrickBijvoet]

Whow, tailscale is just perfect!

[@g.o.9513]

What do you use it for? Curious if its transfer speeds are strong enough for music production and/or video editing.

[@PatrickBijvoet]

@@g.o.9513 I use tailscale for the things which I can do at home, but normaly not at other locations. The second part of your question you really do have to ask Wil, because I don’t know. I think it depends on the speed of the internetconnection you have at home and at the location you are at and that sort of factors. Video editting and music production via tailscale is not a good idea I think.

[@868_av8r]

Hey, does it mount like a local drive? Western Digital just pulled the WD Discovery! so I lost "local" mount. I just need it mount so I can use windows explorer

[@pigrebanto]

thanks. From the Synology Drive can you only choose one folder to sync? What if I need multiple folders? Also, are the users and permissions respected? thanks again.

[@markynio]

23:39 If you click "Show certificate" it will pop up a Certificate description and you can check the "Always trust" thingy and then you won't see that message again.

[@WeauxPiano]

Great video, thank you! For the OpenVPN option I am stuck on the last step, importing the profile. Neither through importing the OVPN file nor connecting by URL. It keeps giving me a timeout error and I have no clue what exactly is wrong. So close, yet so far. I hope I can figure it out, any tips would be appreciated!

[@JLBA14]

Amazing Will! Thank you.. Once question.. since im giving my remote editor access this way (Step 5) is it safe to just leave the port forward port open the entire time? or is it safe haha... am i even asking a question that makes sense.

[@chucksw1]

Port forwarding is the least secure.

[@sylvainalain6637]

I was thinking about tailscale, is it possible to use Synology photo and upload every videos and photos during a trip ? I think it’s a good idea maybe. What do you think ? Right now , I use synology photo only on my local network and I let run synology photo on my iPhone from time to time to upload everything to my nas.

[@lamar9525]

Thank you. Great YT.

[@daq2006]

Hi, Will, very good job on providing these tutoring videos. Thank you very much. Here is my question, if my friend used option 1 and gave me his quickconnect link, a local user name and password, what is the easiest way of download files/folders to my Synology NAS? He doesn't want to bother with other methods. Thanks again.

[@SpaceRexWill]

You would have to download them and then upload them to your nas

[@digitalhublearningws]

Thank you so much for your videos and detailed explanation, I tried using the tailscale and it seems to workfine, however how can the other users who have limited access to the files in the Synology also get access through tailscale as Im using a specific gmail account for my user account, would love to see a video or an explanation about that.

[@2rst187]

Hei, nice video. Started using Tailscale, but the hyperbackup won't connect over tailscale. Hope u adress this in a upcoming vdeo.

[@boutrosbounahraarchitectur9046]

Thanks!

[@brunoerni5880]

Good overview, thank you! Can I use the OpenVPN method through my synology NAS to *phone in* from abroad and watch my US netflix shows? In other words: pretend I’m watching from home when I’m abroad?

[@SpaceRexWill]

Yes! This is actually better then using a paid VPN, as this is your literal home IP address, so it will not get flagged. You just want to make sure that you do not use split tunnel, you want to send all your traffic to your home! You can customize this with that openVPN config file

[@pixelbakery]

How do these all compare as far as transfer speed goes?

[@IstadR]

With more and more ISPs using CGNAT WebDAV and OpenVPN is just something to dream about. And this year it is 25 years since IPv6 became a Draft Standard. Still almost no ISP use it, at least in Norway.

[@SpaceRexWill]

thankfully there are a ton of services coming out like Tailscale, which are designed for big companies, but allow people with CGNAT to still get remote access to the NAS!

[@daniel.g90]

what is the best in synology nas tailscale, twingate, cloudflare, zscaler? remote access from ds file/photos on smartphone

[@user-bq9du6xg7h]

Please show in detail how to build a website from start to finish, as well as how to set the public IP

[@sh03man13]

Great video! Is it possible to connect to a NAS through smb if I am connected to a wire guard server hosted on my udmp? I haven’t had an issue doing this with apple devices but my pc won’t work

[@SpaceRexWill]

Yes you can!

[@PatrickSchouten]

Great explaination. is it pissible using the last method to restrict users to a group/folder on the nas so we can work together on the files in that folder without giving them access to the rest of the nas?

[@SpaceRexWill]

Yes. All of these methods also require the user to be granted permissions to a specific folder

[@user-xh7rp8su2r]

What would be the best way to have a server at home for my small business and at my office have 3 or 4 workstations accessing an EHR program on the home server? Would it work if I had a windows server on it that my employee can access?

[@charlesfield9286]

You rock! thanks

[@TeddyWalla]

Is QuickConnect and DAV the same thing? by using the Synology DNS does still go through their servers?

[@keepitshema]

what about the slow speed via QuickConnect while having the "Synology relay" is checked? once I unchecked this option it started to work fast, but there are a few drawbacks for example my "sharing links" don't work in local wifi or can't play videos in Synology drive (while connected to the same wifi as my server) - it says my certificate is not valid.

[@charlesfield9286]

You are a god send.

[@Jebsvibe]

Can you sync one Synology drive with two different folders in two different computers?

[@bjornahh87]

did it not come with 2gigabit Ports? If you happen to have a layer3 gigabit switch with link agregation, wouln't that help speed things up too??

[@Appalling68]

Very interesting video, thank you. I've been considering a NAS for over a year, mostly to replace the Apple iCloud service my wife and daughters are currently using as I'm sick and tired of the monthly payment bs (talking about iPhone backups here). My chief concern was how does everyone in the family connect to my "home cloud" outside of the house. Something for me to mull over a little more. As a side note and completely unrelated, I must say that your style of presentation and enunciating are quite interesting and even a little humorous (not trying to denigrate you here). I can't figure out if you sound more like "Bill S. Preston Esq." or "'Ted' Theodore Logan" or even if you're from San Dimas, but heck I enjoy your content nonetheless. Thank you! 🙂

[@DavidM2002]

I believe that Will did videos on using Time Machine to back up Apple products to Synology. IIRC, there were 2 videos; one for a single Apple device and another when backing up several Apple devices. ( I have an Apple phone but don't use TM.) I do use Tailscale on my laptop and my iPhone and it works brilliantly.

[@kateydrummer]

Can I use only Synology Drive to access files from external networks? Or do I always need to use this together with Quick Connect?

[@silvahawk]

which method would be best for using Plex server remotely? I had quickconnect opened in the past, but I kept getting notfication from my ISP saying someone was trying to access my device and got blocked, so I set the firewall to only local network now, still looking for the best way to open it up to remote access

[@AJax2012]

Definitely a lot of great options. I'm curious why you didn't mention cloudflare tunnels though? I'm just curious if you think it's less secure than these other methods or something. I've been using it for the past few weeks and, outside of not being able to use the mobile apps with the domain I set up, it works great for me.

[@SpaceRexWill]

I would put CloudFlare as more or less an equivalent as TailScale. There are pros and cons to each, but both being solid options. TailScale is probably easier to setup for the average person!

[@marcinjn]

@@SpaceRexWill with Cloudflare you can have as many users as you want and set up on your Synology Disk, with your own domain forwarding

[@g.o.9513]

Is Cloudflare a paid service? @@marcinjn

[@Faisal1504]

In order to be able to run a VM which lowest cost synology model will allow this ?

[@mr10pink]

Hi Will, in which of your videos do I find this basic info? Watched many but struggle to understand this. I want my projects data be on the Synology Nas. Not sure yet if it best to just sync the files from desktop to nas or to directly work from Nas. I have no plans to access it from outside. What would be the best approach? Kind a overwhelmed with the options Synology offers, in a way that was no able to use it properly for long time.

[@ralphbiggs4549]

you can just setup the nas and map it as a network drive if you are just using it locally.

[@bohemianfx2573]

Nice thanks for option 3 with Tail scale! I hope to use that as I have been having the issue where I can only access my nas/ DDNS setup on the LAN!! Going to test this now I have it setup after I have completed a file trasfer. And hopefully it works when I test it over my hotspot! as then Im sorted when I travel and need to edit! So thanks. And is there anything I can to to increase my speed to my NAS? It is doing around an hour for a 140-180 gigabyte transfer. Thanks:)) Mon 11.3.24 21:49pm

[@interestingengineering291]

Can you combine several options here?