Synology Adds Free VPN Plus Licenses for Remote Working

We have seen a massive shift to work from home solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. One solution that has been in enormous demand is for virtual private network (VPN) services. Many small businesses have been rushing for solutions, and many of them without dedicated IT support to do so. Synology is offering its easy-to-use VPN Plus licenses at no charge starting Monday, April 6 to help these smaller organizations.

Synology Adds Free VPN Plus Licenses for Remote Working

Synology’s RT1900ac, RT2600ac, and MR2200ac wireless router owners will be able to purchase VPN Plus Client VPN Access and Site-to-Site VPN licenses for free. This is good for both new and existing customers. You still need to purchase the licenses, this is not an OTA feature upgrade, but then again they are free instead of $10 each.

Here is a quick look at how Synology licenses their VPN. As you can see, one gets a free Synology SSL VPN, WebVPN, SSTP concurrent account access license with the device, then needs to purchase additional licenses after the first.

Timing for the free deal is between April 6, 2020 and September 30, 2020. While Synology is very late to the COVID-19 remote working relief efforts, several weeks behind many other companies, it is also extending their offer well into September 30, 2020. Also, these $10 licenses are being given away on a perpetual basis. They do not require additional fees after September 30, 2020.

The Synology RT2600ac supports up to twenty VPN Plus clients while the Synology MR2200ac, RT1900ac and ten.

Final Words

Getting VPN services set up for small businesses transitioning to remote work is certainly a pressing issue in the VPN space and it is good to see that Synology is stepping up to offer help. Others, such as Netgate are already offering free technical support for small business pfSense VPN setup. It is great to see that Synology is finally offering some relief.

To STH readers, if you use the Synology RT2600ac, MR2200ac, or RT1900ac, this is an opportunity to upgrade your unit to additional licenses. We are publishing this about a day and a half before the free license offer starts, so we would urge our readers who are looking to purchase VPN Plus licenses over this weekend to hold off until Monday if they want these savings over having access now. Further, if you were considering getting a second RT2600ac for a spare, this may be an opportunity as 19 free licenses are a $190 value on top of a $199 product.