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🔐 Synology VPN Guide

Set Up VPN on Your Synology NAS Reach Your Files Securely From Anywhere

Your files sit on the NAS at home. You are somewhere else. A VPN on the NAS builds one encrypted road between the two — and Synology's own free package does the whole job if you set it up in the right order.

✍️ Technical Anshu🗄️ Synology DSM⏱️ About 20 minutes
🎥 Watch the full Synology VPN setup in the video, step by step

Most people meet remote access in the wrong order: they install something, it fails, and they cannot tell which of five settings is responsible. This guide keeps the order honest — fixed address first, server second, permission third, name fourth, router last — and finishes with a test that actually proves the road works: your files, on mobile data, away from home.

DSM · VPN Server · OpenVPN Settings
Enable OpenVPN serverOn
Port1194 UDP
Dynamic IP range10.8.0.x
Allow clients to access the server LANYes
Privilege · your VPN user · OpenVPNAllowed
The VPN Server console on a Synology NAS. These five lines decide whether remote access works at all.
1

First Give the NAS a Fixed Address on Your Network

A VPN forwards traffic to one fixed address. If your NAS gets its address automatically, that address can change after a restart and the whole setup silently breaks.

  1. Open Control Panel → Network → Network Interface
  2. Select your LAN connection → Edit → choose Use manual configuration
  3. Give the NAS a fixed address inside your network, for example 192.168.1.10
2

Install the VPN Server Package

Synology gives you the server for free as an official package. Nothing to download from any third-party site.

  1. Open Package Center and search for VPN Server
  2. Click Install and wait for it to finish
  3. Open VPN Server from the main menu — you will see OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec and PPTP listed
3

Turn On OpenVPN and Allow LAN Access

Of the three protocols, OpenVPN is the one to build on. It is encrypted, actively maintained, and works on Windows, Android and iPhone through one free app.

  1. In VPN Server, open the OpenVPN page and tick Enable OpenVPN server
  2. Keep the default port 1194 and protocol UDP for your first setup
  3. Tick Allow clients to access the server's LAN — without this, you connect but reach nothing
  4. Click Apply, then use Export configuration later in step 6
4

Allow Only the Right User to Connect

A VPN account is a key to your whole home network. Never hand that key to your main admin account.

  1. Create a normal DSM user only for VPN, with a long unique password
  2. In VPN Server → Privilege, allow that user for OpenVPN only
  3. Keep DSM's Auto Block on (Control Panel → Security → Account) so repeated wrong passwords lock an attacker out
5

Give Your Home a Name With Synology DDNS

Your home internet address changes from time to time. DDNS gives your NAS one permanent name that always points home.

  1. Open Control Panel → External Access → DDNS → Add
  2. Choose service provider Synology and sign in with your Synology Account
  3. Pick a hostname, for example yourname.synology.me, and confirm the status shows Normal
6

Open Exactly One Door on the Router

Your router must pass VPN traffic through to the NAS. This is one rule, for one port, to one address.

  1. Log in to your router and find Port Forwarding
  2. Forward external UDP port 1194 to the NAS fixed address, the same port 1194
  3. Also allow VPN Server in the DSM firewall: Control Panel → Security → Firewall
  4. From the OpenVPN page, click Export configuration and save the .ovpn file — if it contains your old public IP, edit the remote line to your DDNS name
7

Connect and Test From Outside Your Home

A test on your own Wi-Fi proves nothing, because you are already inside the network.

  1. Install the free OpenVPN Connect app on your phone and import the .ovpn file
  2. Enter the VPN user's name and password and connect
  3. Turn off Wi-Fi, stay on mobile data, and open your NAS address 192.168.1.10 or a shared folder
  4. If your files open on mobile data, the setup is genuinely finished
🔴 Two honest warnings. Do not enable PPTP — its encryption is broken and it survives in the list only for very old devices. And if your internet provider puts you behind CGNAT, no port forwarding in the world will make inbound VPN work; check the CGNAT guide on this site before blaming your settings.

🎥 Watch the Complete Process in the Video

The video shows this whole setup on a real Synology NAS — this page is the checklist to keep open beside it.

▶️ Watch Full Video
❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Synology VPN Server package free?

Yes. VPN Server is an official Synology package in Package Center and costs nothing. OpenVPN Connect, the client app for your phone and PC, is also free. You pay only for your NAS and your internet connection.

Can I use QuickConnect instead of setting up a VPN?

QuickConnect is easier and fine for opening DSM in a browser, but VPN traffic does not travel through the QuickConnect relay. A VPN gives every app on your phone a secure road into the whole home network, including shared folders and other devices. QuickConnect cannot do that.

Why does my VPN not connect from outside at all?

Work through the three usual causes in order: the router port forward (UDP 1194 to the NAS fixed address), the DSM firewall allowing VPN Server, and a changing public IP with no DDNS. If all three are right and it still fails, your provider may be using CGNAT, which blocks inbound connections entirely.

This guide is based on the Technical Anshu Synology NAS VPN video • Stuck on any step? Ask in the video comments — you will get a reply there 🙏