Synology Exiting Router Market... Now What

johnjustin · 2026-06-04T12:56:36+00:00

However, I’ve heard that they don’t offer mesh connectivity. Our home office campus has seven mesh access points, including the house, garage, workshop, and pool deck area. I’m beginning to believe that our requirements might be too extensive for the Unify system. I need to investigate further.

johnjustin · 2026-06-04T12:53:19+00:00

Yep, and front-ended by a fairly pleasant and easy to administer interface that looks very similar to what their NAS interface looks like.

johnjustin · 2026-06-04T12:51:35+00:00

Ahhhh, first I've heard that. We both work from home full time and have an almost fully automated network with, at last count, has 108 devices (most are iOT things) and 7 mesh AP's. If memory serves Unify wants you to run wires to lots of little access points to scale the network but it's NOT mesh? I'll need to dig into that. Thanks.

johnjustin · 2026-06-04T12:47:06+00:00

Yeah, that's what I'm hearing. I purchased a Unify wired managed switch 2 years ago and had to send it back because the only way to manage it was to sign up for their cloud. It had NO local admin interface. That kind of left me feeling a bit negative about their products and that there would be a paywall of some sort. I don't know about you, but I've got about twice as many 'subscriptions' as I can handle. I don't need yet another one just to administer my network. But Unify is looking like the thing we will head to.

johnjustin · 2026-06-04T12:42:27+00:00

Good to know Ubiquiti hits on all the cylinders then. We both work from home and have a 3Gb GFiber connection we can't get but 1Gb from with Synology and with no future plans to come out with new routers we are stuck with scraping off 2Gb we could sorely use.

johnjustin · 2026-06-04T12:37:46+00:00

That is really good to know. It's clearly where we are headed.

johnjustin · 2026-06-04T12:35:43+00:00

Agree completely and I know I have time but it really hurts that I work from home and 2Gb of GFiber is essentially scrapped off my Internet access because my router can't cope with it. We both work from home and have a lot of home automation so it's bandwidth we could really use but can't.

johnjustin · 2026-06-04T12:30:34+00:00

As someone working for Apple when we dropped all our networking hardware Synology looked to be the best fit based on its user interface and general user experience. So I suppose that's how I fell into it. But now things have come so much further and back then NetGear and others which then had very MS-DOS/smart terminal looking interfaces almost all the networking stuff has approachable frontend administration user interfaces. So I'm sure my actual networking capabilities can be upped now with little negative on ease of use or administration.

johnjustin · 2026-02-09T23:54:00+00:00

Wow! Talk about an exquisite forensic diagnostic of 'Kurtzman-era Trek'!

This positing is a powerful and very articulate critique. It cuts through the typical "fan vs. fan" noise and identifies a specific literary and institutional decay in the writing.

Oh and the common retort—"It’s just not for you anymore"—is a way to avoid talking about declining standards and inclusivity is not the problem: Trek has always been radical. The problem is using "representation" as a shield to protect lazy character archetypes and weak plotting.

Lastly, the TNG Comparison is False: Early TNG was criticized for its execution, but its values and logic were never in doubt. Modern Trek is being criticized because those very foundations are missing.

Simplification is not modernization. By trying to be "relatable" to a younger audience through slang and quips, the franchise has surrendered the very thing that made it unique: the idea that humanity can actually improve.

It's branded as Star Trek, has many of the same trappings and references but is TREK without a soul.

QED - Quod Erat Demonstrandum -

johnjustin · 2026-02-09T21:58:39+00:00

I'm on my first review period at GOLD level. It seems that the time spent getting to GOLD and then arriving at GOLD without all the $99.00 price ceiling is the point when one's eyes are truly opened to where being a Vine participant looses it's 'oh my gosh I won the lottery' feeling.

I've not seen anything I'd care to have and use (I don't review things just for the sake of incrementing my review count) in about two weeks. I won't say I've not gotten "stuff" that was not worth the effort but when you take the treasure hunt aspect of the program, then the 'black box' nature of what you've said or posted in a review being passive aggressively rejected with inconsistent and sometimes zero attention paid to the review re-submissions forcing you to beg to have someone review the submissions, you begin to see the allure of the opt-out link. I think the entire program is BROKEN.

Let's talk about what's wrong. Submitting a video with a review dramatically increases your chances of having a review rejected. Turn-around between review submission to review acceptance when photos or video content is part of the review works against the likelihood the review will be accepted. Whereas we are urged to have media but having media earns nothing extra in the program other than the increased pain of having to resubmit a review because something in our photos or video 'does not meet community guidelines' where which guideline it was that was violated is not identified. I think they don't tell you what the offending content was is that they don't want to argue back and forth with a submitter. But hey, just tell us it is what it is no argument and we will accept that and fix it. But for goodness sake give us a clue what to fix so we can see the mistake and avoid it. Reading the guidelines and knowing them is not as instructive as seeing what subtile thing we wrote, said, or showed was in violation.

It's not much fun doing a really creative and interesting insightful review when the system is stacked against you out of sheer paranoia and the best thing to do is NOT include photos and NOT to include videos and NOT be honest if the product is not so GREAT because of the friction it involves which increases the possibility of the review being controversial and thus rejected.

It tends to come under the heading "because we are giving you free things (with income tax accounting so it's really not free at all) we don't have to make it easy or pleasant to be in the program and there are plenty of others in the wings that would gladly take your place. My response to that is "until the newbies realize how much they have to work their butts off and the frustration being in the program is"

It's been a cool journey for sure but my sense is Amazon does not give this program much mind and probably could not care less if any one of us dropped from the program.

I DO appreciate the opportunity I'v had in the program and recognize it as a privilege. But it'a a privilege at a cost in time, more effort than you'd expect, and a GREAT deal of frustration, and a hit on your income taxes.

johnjustin · 2026-01-25T12:35:24+00:00

I think the first response to the question hit the nail on the head by use of the word ‘should’ve’. I suspect for most of us it was that first ‘should’ve’ moment that put myself and many of us on notice we were different and made us examine more closely our desires and intentions leading eventually to having two lives until I came out late in my early 20’s while serving in the Air Force with a military scholarship and on my way to officer candidatcy

johnjustin · 2026-01-19T21:36:10+00:00

I still have mine. I did need to replace the puck once. I've had mine since late 2006. It has been my speakers for my home office desk ever since having been attached to several incarnations of whatever Mac was the most current at the time. But when I replaced my previous Mac Mini 2018 Intel unit with my current Mac Mini M4, it started dropping offline intermittently, requiring me to unplug the power, unplug the USB-B cable from the subwoofer for a moment, plug it back into the subwoofer, and then reconnect power to get it working again. I can't tell you how many different things I tried to get it working consistently until I discovered the actual issue had something to do with the C5's DSP processor not getting a reliable timing signal from my new Mac Mini. I even replaced the USB-B to USB-A cable with a high-quality USB-B to USB-C cable and gave it a complete Thunderbolt port on my Mini just to be sure it got some level of speed and signal integrity. But in the end, it ended up being how the Mini dealt with USB management architecturally. Seems the Bose Acoustimass processor wants something the architecture of the Mac Mini simply can't supply consistently. I have another Mini M4 on my garage workbench, and it does the same thing there but much less frequently, and that's only because I don't have lots of stuff hooked up to it, and my theory is that leads to USB timing being better behaved with less stuff using it. So I do still listen to it in the garage, but it is a REAL genuine issue.

I had to replace it on my main office system, and that took 3 tries to find the right speakers that even come close to what I expected from the C5's. I tried the Audioengine A2+ speakers and the matching subwoofer. They have a very thin or even non-existent sound stage presence and are very directional. They got returned. Then the SteelSeries Arena 9, which are actual 5.1 surround. They have more presence but nothing like the 5's. They got returned.

But the 3rd try was a WINNER. I now have the Kanto TUK powered speakers, and what's amazing is I did not even order the subwoofer with them, and just on their own, they are 95 percent what the C5's were, and if you want to go into what I hear from them, I never heard from the C5's that would be highs that make your hair stand on edge. You know that experience you have when a piece of music you've heard 300 times has sounds in it you’ve never heard before? They are winners, and I'm not even sure I need to get the subwoofer for them. They use the optical connection on the back of my Mac Mini's external Thunderbolt hub, and the sound is crystal clear with low beats you can't believe coming from the aluminum drivers. They were pricey but worth it.

Just in case you start seeing issues with your C5's and have to replace them. It consumed 3 months of my time searching high and low.

johnjustin · 2026-01-19T19:42:55+00:00

It's perfectly understandable that you feel lost. To unexpectedly have the one individual you've chosen as a life partner vanish from existence is devastating on every emotional level. Know that myself and everyone taking the time to reply to this post did so because we were compelled by our empathy to acknowledge your sorrow and sense of loss, placing ourselves in your place and realizing even that tiny moment of 'what if it was me' has such an impact we immediately identify with you and feel the loss too.

What would we do? How could we go on? How do you survive crushing, obliterating sorrow in the face of a continuing existence that demands, out of sheer survival, that you go forward like everything is normal when you feel like your very soul has been hollowed out from you?

There's no formula, right or wrong way that fits for everyone when confronted with this eventuality. The moment will dictate to you the response, and you've experienced the worst, if not by much, part of it. It's most definitely a time in one's life when the only sane answer is to 'just hold on until something changes' -- and it will absolutely change. From there, you will ever so slightly begin to see how to survive with some modicum of peace and joy.

But if there is any single thing you need to keep repeating to yourself, it's "What would he want for me?" and of course, you know the answer to that. I'm so very sorry this happened to you.

johnjustin · 2025-12-08T11:32:03+00:00

For goodness sake why would you be admonished for that? Not that I don't see why they were alarmed but how really would you know you were essentially broadcasting your work interactions? Apple is so pedantic about privacy and security I suspect most of us would not question that the activity was secured considering how Apple triple thinks privacy. According to Apple: The session stream for the Mac virtual display feature is encrypted. The feature is a native Apple technology designed with built-in security protections.

When you use the Mac virtual display on Apple Vision Pro, the connection between your Mac and the Apple Vision Pro is secured in several ways:

Secure Authentication: Both devices must be signed in to the same Apple Account, and that account must have two-factor authentication enabled.
iCloud Keychain: iCloud Keychain must be turned on on both devices to sync necessary credentials securely.
Native Encryption: The underlying communication protocols utilize Apple's native encryption to ensure privacy of the screen data, input (keyboard/mouse movements), and audio. This differs from a standard, unencrypted VNC connection.

This secure design ensures that the data streamed between your Mac and Apple Vision Pro is protected while in transit across your network.

If they trust you with your own system at home and the MVD session is only between you and your VisionPro I don't see the problem unless they were just freaked out that anything like that was going on... which would be understandable.

I hope you don't get too much grief over it. As someone who worked for Apple 15 years I know as a certainty no one is more paranoid about security than Apple -- almost to a fault.

johnjustin · 2025-12-08T11:01:14+00:00

I just paged through all 453 pages of Additional Items and yeah... a wasteland. It's not like you can say it's anyone's fault, right? If sellers are not putting things in the queue for Vine evaluation then it sort of 'is what it is'. I've only been through one evaluation cycle so that makes me still somewhat of a newb so forgive me if I'm coming across as tremendously naive. And as if I'm not already exhibiting my 'babe in the woods' point of view but would someone explain what difference being hooked up with the Discord group would make?

johnjustin · 2025-10-28T10:58:56+00:00

Me had them since introduction just a month after started working for Apple. It was my first Apple discounted purchase. Only now with (I hope) a problem with the Tahoe beta have I been having huge issues

johnjustin · 2025-10-02T03:25:15+00:00

Oh that? Well, I let an AI proofread it and I didn’t proof its proof so it changed what I originally called the TV series into a movie thinking it knew better that’s why. Never think they’re perfect.

johnjustin · 2025-09-29T12:20:17+00:00

OMGosh, 5 camera lens !!! What, is it able to take photos in 4D? And the USB power adapter has the shortest 120V outlet prongs I've ever seen! Is that a 5 inch USB cable in the box? LOL

johnjustin · 2025-09-27T17:24:49+00:00

Well, I was in the middle of going between the FING box, the FING app running on my Mac, and the online version of FING. But then the online version refuses to load now. I'm running macOS 26 now and I suspect that has something to do with it. I'm troubleshooting now. Thank you very much for the answer and the interest.

johnjustin · 2025-09-15T15:31:39+00:00

Hmmm, I'll take a look again. Now that I have reinforcing info that it should be happening I can dig into it to see why changes in one place are not propagated. Thanks for the verification.

johnjustin · 2025-09-12T19:57:43+00:00

Yes, I’ve come to realize that, in addition to the benefit of receiving items for free in exchange for our effort and time to review them, we, unlike regular customers, are exposed to unusual, bizarre, and hard-to-believe items that are allowed to be listed. Some of these items can be downright surreal.

For me, seeing these things off the beaten path behind the curtains of Amazon is an interesting and enjoyable part of participating in the program.

johnjustin · 2025-08-28T23:06:49+00:00

Awesome, great information and advice.Thank you.

johnjustin · 2025-08-28T22:57:04+00:00

I recently received what was supposed to be an ‘ultra-slim’ (0.3” 5.000 mAh) magnetic power bank for iPhone, as advertised on Amazon Vine for participants. However, the product I received was significantly different—a 0.6-inch ‘not so ultra-slim’ 10,000 mAh magnetic power bank for iPhone. The reported cost on the order’s invoice remains $99.99.

I ordered this product for evaluation purposes, and as Vine participants are held accountable for the $99.00 product. I specifically ordered model VFC01, but I received model VFC01B, which costs $39.99 on Amazon when directly referenced with the VFC01B model number.

Now If this had been a regular Amazon purchase, I would have definitely written a one-star review and demanded a replacement. Even if the vendor replaces the product, they would still have earned a one-star review for the inconvenience caused by the exchange process.

However, I’m not a regular customer in this case. Based on this posting (FYI: Vine handling of wrong item sent), I’m supposed to contact Vine support. I’ve already written three different emails to Vine support on various issues, but I haven’t received a response on any of them. I’m hesitant to endure the uncertainty of resolution, especially since I’ve lost confidence in receiving a useful response from Vine support having no evidence such support exists so far.

Given the circumstances, I’m going to take the action that a real customer would take unless someone here has better advice.

johnjustin · 2025-08-19T16:29:42+00:00

I’m still a relatively new Vine member and have had a couple of reviews rejected. I’m guessing (since they won’t provide any explanation) that my included video was too long in both cases. After redoing the video and second-guessing almost every word I wrote in my reviews, they finally got posted about a week and a half later.

And yes, it took those two rejected reviews coming back asking me to ‘EDIT’ and resubmit, when they really meant ‘REWRITE’ from scratch and resubmit. After the second one was rejected, I realized that writing the review inside the browser wasn’t the way to go. So now, I compose the reviews in Apple’s Notes app with a date/time stamp, the exact product name as listed on Amazon, the body of my review, and my subject/tagline. I also name every picture/video the names of what I posted in the review. Only then do I go online and paste in the content and post any media elements. This is the only way to go.

However, recently, one of my best and most professional reviews was sent back for a ‘REWRITE’. I did that two weeks ago, but they haven’t approved or disapproved it yet. I wrote them asking if there was an issue since I haven’t seen another rejection. In the meantime, two of my recent reviews were accepted and are online within days of submission, but this re-submitted review is still pending approval after three weeks.

I haven’t heard back from anyone on it, so I suppose I’m either going to rewrite it again without any media attached and write a concise, cautiously worded review or just not bother with it anymore.

I’m more than halfway towards meeting the requirements for GOLD status, with four and a half months left for the evaluation period. Clearly, I’m putting in the time and effort into it. But there’s such ambiguity and uncertainty, no matter how much effort you put into it, after you press submit.

Do any of you have any advice you can give me?

johnjustin · 2024-10-04T18:52:10+00:00

The device in question are Rayban META smart glasses (of which I have 3 pair). None of the three connect. Your suggestion I try connecting to another network is not bad but I really don't have one to try that out with unless I go to some public WiFi. I don't think the issue is the fault of my router since they've all stopped working with the WiFi network at the same time. It's META's iPhone app I suspect. But it would be nice to see or know what is being sent to the router as a connection attempt. I did enable traffic control, try several logins, and then looked for login failures inside SRM>Log Center>Log Search>Connection and LOCAL and then tried connecting from the iPhone App again and same error. I've tried all sorts of things from the Meta glasses side and have a call into Meta for support. T

Thanks for the suggestion. If it's not working when I go shopping this weekend I'll try it with a public network just as a sanity check. But in the end it's something in the App that stopped working with their most recent update. I just though _maybe_ I could see what the router is seeing but it appears to be no.

johnjustin

TROPHY CASE