Fix for DSM 5.0 and 5.1 updates failing on Synology NAS

For the past several months I have been receiving regular e-mail notifications from my DS213+ that a system update is ready to be applied, I’d proceed to open Control Panel > Update & Restore with an Administrator level User account and hit Update. Nothing would happen…

Here’s the fix straight from Synology Support which is not mentioned on any well ranked forums or posts when searching for this error. I’ve pasted the original from Synology Support as well as an English-friendly version.

If you have updated your NAS to DSM 5.0 and above there is no security/malware concern to be worried about. If you are receiving e-mail notifications that a new system update is available but it does not appear on the Update & Restore screen please do the following:

  1. Open Control Panel > Network as an Administrator level User account
  2. Under the DNS options on this screen set the following primary and secondary DNS entriesPrimary: 8.8.8.8
    Secondary: 8.8.4.4
  3. Click Save Changes
  4. Open Control > Update & Restore and click Update Now

Original response from Synology Support:

If you have managed to update system to DSM 5.0 there has security concern that needs to be worried. On the other hand regarding e-mail you received has a new software for update but no update was available on system, please apply Google DNS 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4. for your DiskStation under Control Panel > Network > General (Preferred DNS Server) for changes to take effect. Then, check if the issue resolves then. – Technical Support, Synology

Update: This post seems relevant for DSM 5.1 users too…