Best NAS for backing up iPhone photos with Immich (2026)
Updated 2026-11-08
Short answer. Buy the UGREEN NASync DXP2800 ($389.99; buy: https://dealectric.com/go/ugreen-nasync-dxp2800), the best NAS for backing up iPhone photos with Immich at its 2026 price, $389.99 diskless on 2026-11-03: an Intel N100 with the 8 GB of RAM Immich recommends (to 16 GB), two M.2 slots for Immich's database and thumbnails on SSD, and Docker Compose in UGOS, with UGREEN's own Immich setup guide. On iPhone, Immich backs up only when iOS allows it: Background App Refresh on, and open the app now and then.
What to know: do the first upload in the foreground; originals must be downloaded if iCloud "optimize storage" is on, and the app needs a route to the server from outside the house (Tailscale, or a domain with HTTPS through a reverse proxy; never forward port 2283 bare). The first machine-learning pass over a big library runs hours to days on an N100 (one owner saw about 300 photos an hour with ML on, 5,000 with it off), so import first and let faces run after. UGREEN's ARM DH2300 ($239.99) has no Docker and 4 GB, so it is out.
- UGREEN NASync DXP2800, $389.99. Buy: https://dealectric.com/go/ugreen-nasync-dxp2800
Published 2026-11-03 · prices checked 2026-11-03.
| Model | CPU / RAM | Immich route | SSD for the database | Warranty | Price | Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UGREEN NASync DXP2800 Buy: https://dealectric.com/go/ugreen-nasync-dxp2800 | Intel N100, 4C; 8 GB DDR5 (16 GB) | Docker Compose (UGREEN guide, article 577); Portainer guides | 2× M.2 NVMe | 2 years | $389.99 | No discount code applies. |
| TerraMaster F2-425 Plus | Intel N150, 4C; 8 GB DDR5 (32 GB) | TOS 6 Docker (a review notes Immich 'takes longer' on the N150) | 3× M.2 | 2 years | about $399 launch; $599.99 on TerraMaster's store | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
| TerraMaster F4-425 Plus | Intel N150, 4C; 16 GB DDR5 (32 GB) | TOS 6 Docker | 3× M.2 | 2 years | $569 launch; $519.99 tracker | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
| Synology DS225+ | Intel Celeron J4125, 4C; 2 GB (6 GB): below Immich's 6 GB minimum until upgraded | Container Manager | None | 3 years | $339.99 (Newegg) | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
| Synology DS925+ | AMD Ryzen V1500B, 4C/8T; 4 GB ECC (32 GB): ML needs an upgrade | Container Manager | 2× M.2 (Synology SSDs for pools) | 3 years | $639.99 list; $511.99 Prime Day | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
| QNAP TS-264 | Intel Celeron N5095, 4C; 8 GB fixed | Container Station | 2× M.2 | 3 years | $489 (tracker, June 2026) | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
| Asustor Nimbustor 2 Gen2 (AS5402T) | Intel Celeron N5105, 4C; 4 GB (16 GB) | Docker/Portainer | 4× M.2 | 3 years | $369–461 (resellers) | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
| UGREEN NASync DH2300 | Rockchip ARM, 4 GB | No Docker in UGOS on the DH series | None | 2 years | $239.99 (UGREEN NAS store, 2026-11-03) | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
| Beelink ME mini | Intel N150; 12 GB soldered | Bring your own OS (TrueNAS, Proxmox) and Docker | 6× M.2, no SATA | Not found | $209 barebone; $329 with 2 TB | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
| Raspberry Pi Pi 5, 8 GB, with NVMe HAT | Cortex-A76 arm64; 8 GB | Docker; ML on CPU is slow, Immich suggests disabling or offloading it | NVMe via HAT | Varies | Not priced here | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
Rows marked with a code and buy link are products Dealectric lists: the price was verified on the brand's own US store on 2026-11-07 and the code is tested daily in that brand's cart; the date shown is its last pass (last check 2026-11-13). The other rows (Asustor, Beelink, QNAP, Raspberry Pi, Synology, TerraMaster, UGREEN) are included so the comparison is complete; their figures and prices were read from the makers' own US pages on 2026-11-03 and are not re-checked daily. The buy links are affiliate links: they open the brand's official US store at no cost to the shopper, and the commission pays for the testing; see the disclosure.
Immich's iPhone rules
- Background: turn on Background App Refresh for Immich; iOS decides when the task runs and the app cannot force it, so open Immich from time to time; the first big upload is best done in the foreground. Immich 3.0 moved sync and upload to run in parallel inside iOS's short background window, and later 3.x releases list more iOS fixes.
- Wi-Fi: upload is Wi-Fi only by default; the charging-only option is documented for Android.
- iCloud: with "Optimize iPhone Storage" on, Immich downloads each original to its cache, hashes and uploads it, then clears it, which costs data and space; Immich's "Free Up Space" deletes from iCloud too (30 days in Recently Deleted), so keep iCloud as a second copy or treat the NAS as the only one knowingly.
- Albums and formats: album sync is phone to server only, duplicates are skipped by checksum, Live Photos upload with their video (since 1.36, manual link/unlink since 1.115), RAW files are viewable.
Server and machine learning
Immich wants 6 GB minimum and 8 GB recommended, 2 cores minimum and 4 recommended, an x86-64-v2 CPU for the ML container since version 3 (the N100 qualifies), and its Postgres database on local SSD, never a network share; thumbnails and transcodes add 10–20% to the library. Machine learning can be disabled or run on another machine. The one N100 owner report (a DXP4800 Plus, 43,000 photos) saw about 300 photos an hour with ML on against 5,000 with ML off, so expect days for a big first import unless ML waits. Video transcoding can use Quick Sync (experimental; encoding only by default) through the QSV compose extension and /dev/dri.
Remote access
Immich's guide offers three routes: a VPN such as WireGuard (needs a forwarded port), Tailscale (works behind carrier NAT with the app on phone and NAS, no open port), or a domain with HTTPS through a reverse proxy, which the mobile app reaches without a VPN; it warns never to expose port 2283 directly. UGREEN's own relay carries UGREEN's apps, not Immich.
Sources
- UGREEN NASync DXP2800 — ai.ugreen.com
- UGREEN support: installing Immich (article 577) — support.ugnas.com
- Marius Hosting: Immich on a UGREEN NAS — mariushosting.com
- Marius Hosting: Immich with GPU acceleration on UGREEN (model notes) — mariushosting.com
- Immich: mobile backup — docs.immich.app
- Immich: automatic backup — docs.immich.app
- Immich: mobile app (iCloud, Free Up Space) — docs.immich.app
- Immich: requirements — docs.immich.app
- Immich: remote access — docs.immich.app
- Immich: hardware transcoding — docs.immich.app
- Immich: machine-learning hardware acceleration — docs.immich.app
- Immich 3.0 release (iOS background sync) — immich.app
- SparkBox: Immich setup on an N100 NAS (import rates) — sparkbox-site.pages.dev
- hometechops: Immich not backing up (Background App Refresh) — hometechops.com
- Synology DS225+ — www.synology.com
- QNAP TS-264 — www.qnap.com
Published 2026-11-03; figures for other brands read on 2026-11-03; our prices verified 2026-11-07. Corrections welcome at [email protected] or /feedback.