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How can I sign in to DSM/SRM with root privilege via SSH?

Last updated:Jul 12, 2022

How can I sign in to DSM/SRM with root privilege via SSH?

Purpose

This article guides you through how to sign in to DSM (DiskStation Manager) and SRM (Synology Router Manager) as root via SSH.

Warning:

  • Enabling SSH service may bring security risks to your system. Please enable it only when necessary and avoid making changes to system configurations.

Contents

Resolution

Enable SSH service

  1. Go to the terminal setting page on your Synology device:
    • Synology NAS: DSM Control Panel > Terminal & SNMP > Terminal
    • Synology Router: SRM Control Panel > Services > System Services > Terminal
  2. Tick Enable SSH service.
  3. Specify a port number for SSH connections and save the settings. To ensure system security, we suggest replacing the default port 22 with another one.1

Sign in from Windows 10, macOS, or Linux

For DSM 6.0 / SRM 1.3 or later

  1. Launch the terminal application on your computer:
    • Windows 10: Windows PowerShell
    • macOS: Terminal.app
    • Linux: Terminal
  2. Type the following command and press Enter:
    Command Example
    ssh DSM/SRM admin account@DSM/SRM IP address -p SSH port number ssh myadmin@10.17.2.6 -p 22
  3. Enter the password of your DSM/SRM's administrator account.2
  4. Type sudo -i and press Enter.
  5. Enter the password of your DSM/SRM's administrator account again, and press Enter.
  6. You are now signed in to your DSM/SRM with root privilege via SSH.

For DSM 5.2 / SRM 1.2 or earlier

  1. Launch the terminal application on your computer:
    • Windows 10: Windows PowerShell
    • macOS: Terminal.app
    • Linux: Terminal
  2. Type the following command and press Enter:
    Command Example
    ssh root@DSM/SRM IP address -p SSH port number ssh root@10.17.2.5 -p 22
  3. Enter the password of the default account "admin".
  4. You are now signed in to DSM/SRM with root privilege via SSH.

Sign in from earlier versions of Windows

Earlier versions of Windows (e.g., Windows 7) require a third-party software to establish SSH connections to Synology devices. We take the software PuTTY as an example in the following steps.

For DSM 6.0 / SRM 1.3 or later

  1. Launch PuTTY on your computer.
  2. Enter "DSM/SRM admin account@DSM/SRM IP address" in the Host Name (or IP address) field, e.g., "myadmin@10.17.2.6".
  3. Enter the SSH port of your DSM/SRM in the Port field, e.g., 22.
  4. Click Open.
  5. Enter the password of your DSM/SRM's administrator account.2
  6. Type sudo -i and press Enter.
  7. Enter the password of your DSM/SRM's administrator account again, and press Enter.
  8. You are now signed in to your DSM/SRM with root privilege via SSH.

For DSM 5.2 / SRM 1.2 or earlier

  1. Launch PuTTY on your computer.
  2. Enter "root@DSM/SRM IP address" in the Host Name (or IP address) field, e.g., "root@10.17.2.5".
  3. Enter the SSH port of your DSM/SRM in the Port field, e.g., 22.
  4. Click Open.
  5. Enter the password of the default account "admin".
  6. You are now signed in to your DSM/SRM with root privilege via SSH.

Notes:

  1. To enhance the security of SSH connections, you can also avoid the ports listed in this article.
  2. The following accounts are available for SSH logins with root privilege:
    • DSM 6.0 / SRM 1.3 and later: Users in the administrators group
    • DSM 5.2 / SRM 1.2 and earlier: root
Purpose
Contents
Resolution
Enable SSH service
Sign in from Windows 10, macOS, or Linux
Sign in from earlier versions of Windows