Preventing vibration noise on a Synology NAS

Posted on By Mark Wilson
This content is 8 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.

My Synology Diskstation NAS (DS916+) has been a great purchase but I have had some issues with noise from vibration. Over a course of a few weeks, complaints from family members meant that I had to move the NAS from my desk, onto the floor, then into the garage (before I brought it into the kitchen to be next to the Internet connection – but that’s another story). You should be able to hear the noise in the video below (though it seems much louder in real life!):

As can be heard, the vibration noise reduces when I put pressure on the chassis. It seems that it’s actually caused by the screw-less drive carriers that Synology use on their NASs.

Thanks to advice from Chipware on Reddit, I was able to add some sticky-backed Velcro (just the fluffy side) between the disk carrier and the disk, and on the outside of the disk carriers. They now better fit the NAS and, crucially, the Velcro serves as a shock absorber, preventing any more vibrations…

And, at just £2 for a metre of sticky-backed Velcro (which I only used a few centimetres of), it was a pretty inexpensive fix.

Chipware says in his post that:

“I definitely think the 4 Velcro pieces connecting the sled to the cage solved the problem. The pieces between drive and sled connection provides negligible dampening.”

I initially only put 4 pieces on the outside of the carrier (2 of them can be seen in the picture) but my experience was that adding 2 more pieces on the disk itself (underneath the carrier) also helped. Of course, your mileage my vary (and any changes you make are at your own risk – I’m not responsible for any problems it may cause).

After making these modifications there’s no more noise, just a relatively quiet fan noise (as to be expected) and the NAS is back on my desk!

14 thoughts on “Preventing vibration noise on a Synology NAS”

  1. I have exactly the same issue with my 1515+. But the vibration noise comes and goes. I will definitely try the velcro!
    Can you please explain where you put the velcro? Right in the middle under the disk?

  2. Hi, I put a piece of Velcro (“fluffy side”) on each disk, roughly half way along the long sides. Then I put 2 more pieces on the drive carriers, each side (you can see them in the photo on the post) – 6 pieces in total (per disk), each about 2.5cm long. Hope that helps.

  3. That’s nice to feel not being the only one.
    That’s working ! On my side, just put the four on each side to test first and problem solved.
    Thanks a lot :)

  4. Hello,
    I am running into a similar problem with my 916+ where I get random vibration noise, sometimes if I put my hand on the case it goes away or at least dampens. Plus I have drive noise, but I believe that is the drives.

    For some reason I cannot see the article in the blog post, only the comment, it is possible to send me a couple screenshots of what you did to reduce the noise? Also how does the Velcro affect the temperature of the operation of the drives/system?

    Thanks,
    Nathan

  5. Hi Nathan, thanks for flagging the issue with the site. I’m trying to find out what’s causing the content to not show but, in the meantime, I’ve emailed you the details from the blog post. Please let me know if it doesn’t make it to you. Mark

  6. Can you please email them to me as well? Vibration noise is really getting on my nerves! Thanks for your help

  7. Hi Konrad – the details I emailed to Nathan were just the same as the blog post above (at the time there was a problem with the site and only the comments were visible!). You should be able to see the text and the pictures above? Thanks, Mark

  8. “I put a piece of Velcro (“fluffy side”) on each disk, roughly half way along the long sides”

    Do you mean like right dead centre on the visible side of the HDD once fitted into the disk carrier?

    Thanks

  9. 1 piece on the long narrow side of the HDD (roughly central) before fitting the carrier (so between the HDD and the carrier) x 2 sides
    2 pieces on the side of the carrier (one each end) – as can be seen in the picture – x2 sides.

    6 pieces of Velcro in total

  11. Thanks so much for the tip, especially also to the guy who posted on Reddit with additional photos: https://www.reddit.com/r/synology/comments/2tc4og/synology_and_vibration_problems_my_velcro_solution/

    I also used 6 pieces of velcro per disk and the noise is much much better than before, even though the regular operating noise (when not reading or writing to disk) would be much quieter in an ideal world. But the way it is now, I can most certainly live with it 100 times better in my living room.

    Thanks again and cheers

  12. I can confirm that the 6x velcro per hardrive worked magically. Now what worries me the most is that Synology failed to address this issue for so many years. That’s clearly a bad sign.

  13. Is there any fire risk issues using the velcro pads inside the casing? I guess I will use it at the front furthest away from the power and motherboard electrics

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