The number one mistake people make when migrating from Synology to Unraid is assuming drives can be moved directly between the two systems. They cannot. Synology's volume format is incompatible with Unraid. Do not use Synology RAID or SHR member drives as a direct Unraid migration method. Back up and verify the data first; if those drives will become newly formatted Unraid array disks, they will be erased. The correct sequence is: back up first, then migrate, then restore. In that order, with verified backups before any hardware change.
In short: You will need an external backup destination large enough to hold all your Synology data (external drive, cloud storage, or a temporary NAS). Any Synology drives that you reformat for reuse as Unraid array disks will be erased; new destination drives and external backup media are not. Transfer time varies with data volume, file sizes, storage and network throughput, and the backup and restore methods; estimate it from measured transfer speeds. Treat running Unraid directly on Synology hardware as experimental and model-specific. An x86-64 CPU alone is not sufficient; verify bootloader or BIOS access and storage, network and USB driver compatibility, or use separate general-purpose x86-64 hardware.
Before you begin: Confirm the exact CPU architecture on Synology's specification page. DS418play and DS920+ use Intel x86-64 processors, while DS923+ uses a 64-bit AMD Ryzen R1600; CPU architecture alone does not establish that the appliance can boot Unraid. ARM-based J-series Synology units (DS223j, DS423) cannot run Unraid. Check your model's specification page at synology.com before purchasing Unraid or additional hardware.
What You Need Before Starting
| Backup destination | External USB drive or NAS with capacity equal to or greater than your current Synology data |
|---|---|
| Unraid boot drive | A USB flash drive, 4GB minimum; avoid cheap no-name drives. Sandisk, Kingston, or Samsung recommended |
| Unraid licence | Starter ($49 USD, up to 6 attached storage devices), Unleashed ($109 USD, unlimited attached storage devices), or Lifetime ($249 USD, unlimited attached storage devices and lifetime updates) |
| Existing hardware | Separate general-purpose x86-64 hardware with verified Unraid-compatible boot, storage, network and USB controllers; do not assume a Synology appliance is compatible from its CPU architecture alone |
| Time budget | Allow enough time for a complete backup and verification; duration varies with data volume, file count, storage performance, network speed and backup method. |
Step 1: Verify Your Synology Is Compatible
Unraid requires an x86-64 processor. Most Synology Plus-series units (DS420+, DS720+, DS920+, DS923+, DS1522+) use Intel Celeron or Pentium processors and are x86-64 compatible. J-series and some value-series models use ARM processors and cannot run Unraid.
Check the exact CPU model and architecture, but do not infer that a Synology appliance can run Unraid solely from Celeron, Pentium, Core, Atom or Ryzen branding; boot firmware and device-driver compatibility must also be verified.
If your Synology uses ARM, you will need to source separate x86-64 hardware for the Unraid build. A budget option is a used Intel NUC, mini PC, or decommissioned desktop with an HBA for drive connectivity. See our homelab hardware sourcing guide for current AU options.
Step 2: Create a Complete Backup
This is the critical step. Do not proceed until you have a verified, complete backup of every file you care about. There is no recovery path if you discover a backup gap after wiping the drives.
Option A: Synology Hyper Backup to external USB drive. Connect a large external USB drive to the Synology. Open Hyper Backup, create a new backup task to the external drive, include all shared folders, and run a full backup. When complete, verify the backup by browsing files through Hyper Backup Explorer. This is the safest method as Hyper Backup includes versioning and integrity checking.
Option B: Direct file copy via File Station or rsync. If you do not use Hyper Backup, connect an external drive and use File Station to copy all shared folders manually. Alternatively, enable SSH on DSM and use rsync from a computer on your network to copy data to a network share or external drive. This method is simpler but does not include Hyper Backup's versioning.
Option C: Cloud backup. If you use Synology Cloud Sync to back up to Backblaze B2, AWS S3, or similar, verify the cloud copy is complete and current before proceeding. Cloud restore to Unraid is slower but works if you lack local backup space.
Verify before you proceed. After backup completes, browse through the destination and confirm files are accessible. Open several files at random. Run Hyper Backup's integrity check if you used Option A. A backup you have not tested is not a backup.
Step 3: Prepare the Unraid Boot Drive
Download the Unraid USB Creator tool from unraid.net. Insert a fresh USB flash drive (4GB minimum; use a quality brand). Run the USB Creator, select your USB drive, and follow the prompts. The tool writes the selected Unraid OS image to the USB drive.
The USB drive remains the boot device when flash boot is selected, but Unraid 7.3 and later can move the installation to supported internal boot storage during onboarding. The boot device does not normally store array user data, but it does store Unraid OS files, configuration and licensing information; the Linux core is loaded into RAM during startup. Use a reliable USB drive and put it on an internal USB header inside your case rather than an exposed external port where it might be accidentally knocked out.
After first boot, use the WebGUI to start the free trial or purchase and register a licence. For USB boot, the licence uses the flash device's unique hardware GUID; formatting the drive does not assign that identifier.
Step 4: Hardware Setup
Do not assume that attaching an Unraid USB drive to an x86-based Synology will boot it. Verify a model-specific, tested method for firmware or bootloader access and hardware-driver compatibility before altering the appliance; otherwise use separate x86-64 hardware. Check the iFixit teardown for your specific model to locate internal USB headers.
If you are building on separate x86 hardware (a mini PC, tower, or used server), install the drives from the Synology into the new machine if you intend to wipe and reuse them. If you are sourcing new drives for the Unraid build, install those instead.
Boot from the Unraid USB drive. The Unraid boot menu appears; select the standard boot option. Unraid boots to a CLI that displays its IP address. Access the web GUI by entering that IP address in a browser on your network.
Step 5: Configure the Unraid Array
In the Unraid web GUI, navigate to the Main tab. You will see all attached drives listed as unassigned devices. Assign drives to their roles:
- Parity drive: Assign your largest drive as the parity drive. The parity drive must be equal to or larger than the largest data drive in the array.
- Data drives: Assign remaining drives as data drives. These can be different sizes.
- Cache drive (optional): If you have an SSD, assign it as a cache pool. The cache pool is separate from the array and is used to stage Docker container data and fast temporary storage.
Set the desired filesystem for each data drive-XFS is the default-then start the array. Confirm that only the intended drives appear as unformatted, explicitly format them, and allow the initial parity sync to complete. Initial parity-sync time varies with drive performance, controllers, configuration and concurrent workload; use Unraid's displayed progress estimate for the actual system. Let it complete.
Step 6: Create Shares and Restore Data
Once the parity build is complete, create shares in Unraid that mirror your Synology shared folder structure. Go to Shares and create new shares for each folder you had on Synology (documents, photos, media, backups, etc.). Set the share settings: SMB/NFS enabled, appropriate access permissions.
Now restore your data from backup:
- From Hyper Backup: Install Hyper Backup Explorer on a computer, connect it to your backup destination, and restore files to the Unraid SMB share by mapping it as a network drive.
- From direct file copy: Connect the backup drive and copy files to the Unraid share via File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) over SMB, or use rsync over SSH.
- From cloud: Set up rclone on Unraid via a Docker container and sync from your cloud provider to the Unraid share.
SMB restore speed and duration vary with file sizes, disks, parity activity, network conditions and system configuration; estimate completion time from the sustained rate observed during the restore.
Step 7: Install Community Applications and Configure Services
With data restored, install the Community Applications plugin from the Apps tab by clicking Install. This gives you access to the Docker container library. Search for and install the containers you were running on Synology:
- Plex or Jellyfin for media streaming
- Vaultwarden for password management
- Nextcloud for file sync (if you were using Synology Drive)
- Home Assistant if running on the Synology
Point each container at the appropriate Unraid share for its data directory. Community Applications templates provide starting defaults, but required paths, permissions, credentials, networking and other settings vary by application; follow the documentation for each container.
Common Issues and How to Resolve Them
Drive not showing in Unraid: Check connections and verify the drive shows in BIOS. Some SATA drives implement the PWDIS feature on power pin P3; if the power connector supplies 3.3 V there, the drive may not power up. This is a power-delivery compatibility issue, not an HBA misreading a Synology drive. Try a different SATA port. If using an HBA card, verify it is supported by Unraid (LSI-based HBAs are the standard recommendation).
SMB shares not visible on network: Check that SMB is enabled in Unraid's Settings and that the workgroup name matches your network. For Windows 11, troubleshoot network discovery, credentials and SMB2/3 access. Enable SMBv1 only when connecting to a confirmed SMB1-only legacy device, because Microsoft has deprecated the protocol.
Slow transfer speeds: Verify gigabit ethernet is active on both the Unraid server and the source computer. Unraid reports network interface speed in the Main tab. If you see 100Mbit instead of 1Gbit, check the cable and switch port.
Plex not finding library: Ensure the Plex container's media library path inside the container maps correctly to the Unraid share path outside it.
Australian note on hardware sourcing: If you need additional drives for the Unraid array, IronWolf and WD Red Plus drives are available at Scorptec, Umart, and Mwave with manufacturer warranties and, for eligible purchases, automatic consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law. For your first Unraid build, stick to new NAS-rated drives from AU retailers rather than eBay SAS drives until you are comfortable with Unraid's drive health monitoring tools. See our homelab power consumption guide to calculate what the new build will cost to run annually.
Related reading: our NAS buyer's guide, our Synology brand guide, and our NAS RAID guide.
Free tools: RAID Calculator and RAID Rebuild Time Estimator. No signup required.
Use our free NAS vs Cloud Migration Cost Calculator to compare the total cost of migrating from cloud to your own NAS.
Related reading: our NAS explainer.
See also: our complete Synology NAS Australia guide.
Can I use my Synology drives in Unraid without wiping them?
No. Synology volumes use Btrfs or ext4, often layered over RAID or SHR storage assembled with Linux RAID and volume-management components. Unraid 7.2 and later supports XFS, EXT4, Btrfs, ZFS, NTFS and exFAT in documented configurations, but that filesystem support does not by itself make Synology RAID or SHR member disks directly usable as Unraid array disks. Any drives moved from Synology to Unraid will be wiped during the Unraid array format process. Back up all data before moving drives.
Can I run Unraid on a J-series Synology NAS?
No. J-series Synology models (DS223j, DS423, DS124) use ARM processors. Unraid requires an x86-64 processor. If your Synology uses an ARM CPU, you will need to source separate x86-64 hardware to run Unraid. The drives from your Synology (once backed up and wiped) can be reused in the Unraid build.
How long does the Unraid parity build take?
Initial parity-build duration varies with parity-drive capacity, drive performance, controllers and concurrent workload; rely on the progress estimate reported by the actual server. Run the parity build overnight. The array is usable immediately even before parity is complete, but drive protection only becomes active once parity has been written.
What happens to Synology apps I was using?
Synology first-party apps (Drive, Photos, Surveillance Station, Moments) are DSM-only and cannot be migrated. You will replace them with equivalent Docker containers on Unraid: Nextcloud replaces Synology Drive, Immich or PhotoPrism replaces Synology Photos, Frigate replaces Surveillance Station. The feature parity is good but the migration requires initial setup time and some re-learning of different interfaces.
Do I lose my Synology mobile app connection during migration?
Yes. DS File, DS Photo, DS cam, and other Synology mobile apps connect to DSM. Once you migrate to Unraid, these connections stop working. You will set up alternative access after migration: Nextcloud has official mobile apps, Immich has an excellent iOS and Android app, and most Docker services are accessible via their web interfaces over Tailscale or a Cloudflare tunnel for remote access.
Deciding between Unraid, TrueNAS, and Proxmox for your new build? The full comparison covers what each platform does best.