How to strip down and upgrade your Synology DS218+ to 16 GB RAM

If you follow the instructions below you will abandon your warranty. Due to the fact I feel like a tinkerer, I see the warranty seal anyway as some kind of trophy – with it comes a Synology DS218+ 2 Bay DiskStation NAS (Diskless) with a Celeron CPU (DUAL Core, supporting AES acceleration), hot-swap capable HDDs, RAID5-Level and eventually phat 16 GB RAM.

As factory default, the DS218+ is equipped with 2 GB RAM and with 2, 4, or 8 GB additional RAM in the empty slot you can upgrade it to 4, 6, or 10 GB. But that’s not the end of the road. With some skills and guts, you can upgrade it to 16 GB, because each RAM channel can handle up to 8 GB memory. But the apples at Synology’s trees hang high. They covered the first memory slot with a metal case (feel free to play a disappointing fanfare of your choice at this point. I’ll take the one fro the 80th arcade game Pitfall).

So below you can see a rough description of how to upgrade your DS218+ to reach the full capacity of memory and make it a NAS mo-mo-monster MACHINE!

That’s a machine able to serve as by far more than a file server, media player, streaming machine, and network storage – this one natively runs docker containers and with 16 GB RAM extension (my choice: Crucial CT2KIT102464BF160B 16GB (8GB x 2) Speicher Kit (DDR3L, 1600 MT/s, PC3L-12800, SODIMM, 204-Pin)) can also provide some developer environment and a wheelbarrow more of services. Grant yourself the Christmas present you really like and which you can work on if the kids are in bed.

Update in the very last minute

Between picture 8 and 9 is an important step missing. Before you can remove the motherboard from the lower plastic case you need the spudgers again. Try to open the spot between the front USB-port and the case. You need to lift the motherboard some then it should slip into your hand. Be careful not to damage the motherboard or any components on it!

Tools you will probably need are screwdrivers and spudgers.

After removing the HDDs a simple L and R on it will help avoid to place them back in wrong position.

Unscrew all five screws on the backside - four holding the fan and its safety protection, one securing the case cover.

Not trivial and needs some skill: Push back the clips with a spudger or two, wish you three hands and push the cover backwards approximately half an inch. Then it easily slips off.

If here the first RAM slot was not covered with a piece of metal by synology it was by far easier to upgrade your DS218+

Remove the screws holding the inner metal cage on the plastic case - four more screws.

This little distance piece holds the fan in postion. Remove it.

After getting the whole mainboard out you remove the metal cage and eventually also the attached metal cover on the backside.

After removing the metal cage (a riser card - how clever) bring the two 8GB DIMM properly in the right place, if you don't want to open this box again!

Put all together again in reverse order. 🙂 Done! 16GB on your Synology DS218+

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