App Profile: Synology VPN Plus

OMG Yeti

Rating: 3/5

It’s a great app. Works amazingly. I run a PiHole instance on my Synology Server, and this allows me to VPN into my network from anywhere and route my traffic through that to eliminate ads no matter where I am in the world. The only downside is that it obliterates my battery life whether I’m using the VPN or not. Something I noticed immediately after installing it since I was no longer making it through entire days on a single charge. I recently bought a higher storage size of the iPhone 13 Mini and decided to pit it against the one I was trading in. So I uninstalled VPN Plus on my old 128gb iPhone 13 Mini with iOS 16(96% battery health), and installed VPN Plus on my new 512GB iPhone 13 Mini with iOS 16. I then left them sitting on my counter all day playing a playlist loop since it was a weekend and I had the time. At the end of the day the old Mini had 39% battery with Apple Music being the biggest battery drain. The new iPhone Mini was at 8%, and VPN Plus was at the top of the battery usage list with 35% despite the VPN being switched off the entire time. I’m not sure what it is about this app that just absolutely crushes battery life like this, but its a significant enough level that you will want to weigh the pros of having this VPN capability vs what it will mean for your battery life. For me I just uninstall it unless I’m going on a work trip as I carry external batteries with me on those anyways.

Zap B.

Rating: 3/5

A great VPN solution.. when it works. But the most recent update broke the app. Now it just says something about a certificate, and there’s a ‘Proceed’ button, but the button doesn’t do anything. So the VPN never connects. It used to work fine Synology.. please fix it.

TheRealMohammad

Rating: 5/5

This was easy to set up, Synology is offering free licenses for up to 20 devices because of Covid-19 . Even if you had to pay for it, $10/ license is still a bargain. You do need a Synology router for this to work.