Migration Guide Synology NAS macOS
Google Takeout exports strip real dates and buries GPS in JSON files. Uploading directly to Synology NAS causes thousands of photos to appear as "taken today". FolioSort completely restores your EXIF metadata locally on your Mac before your migration.
FolioSort connects to any Synology NAS via SMB. If your Synology is on your local network, FolioSort can see it.
Request your export at takeout.google.com. Download all zip parts. Extract into a local folder — ~/Google-Takeout-Raw/ works well.
Use Takeout Import mode to merge JSON sidecars into EXIF. Correct dates and GPS are written directly into each image. Duplicates are resolved by content hash.
In Finder, press ⌘K and enter smb://your-nas-ip-or-hostname. Authenticate with your Synology account. The share appears as a network volume in Finder and FolioSort.
Set the source to your fixed local library. Set the destination to your Synology share (e.g. \\NAS\Photos\). Pick a template like {YYYY}/{MM}/ and preview.
FolioSort transfers directly over SMB with real-time speed display, automatic retry if the connection drops, and checksum verification of every file at the destination.
Open Synology Photos on your NAS. Your library appears with correct dates in the timeline, GPS locations on the map, and zero duplicates. Done.
Not every file manager handles network volumes well. FolioSort was designed for exactly this.
FolioSort detects mounted SMB and AFP network volumes automatically and shows them with a network badge. No configuration — just mount in Finder and FolioSort sees it.
If the SMB connection drops mid-transfer (wake-from-sleep, network blip), FolioSort retries automatically with exponential backoff. Your multi-hour transfer doesn't fail at hour 3.
After writing each file to the Synology, FolioSort reads it back and verifies the checksum matches. A corrupted file on the NAS is caught immediately — not discovered months later.
See MB/s and estimated completion time throughout the transfer. Helps you plan around large overnight transfers to a Synology over gigabit ethernet.
Running Immich on your Synology or a server? This guide covers the Immich-specific upload workflow after organizing with FolioSort.
QNAP, Western Digital, TerraMaster — the NAS migration guide for any brand that supports SMB.
Prefer keeping everything on your Mac or external drive? This guide covers the local-only workflow.
FolioSort fixes your Takeout export and transfers it directly to your Synology with checksums. Pro includes direct NAS support.