My router has USB3 ports. I hooked 18 TB hard disk to it and I run FTP and media server on it. Have been doing for years. This is a very cheap yet high quality media set up.
I’m planning to do this with a single external hard drive with my music FLACs saved to it. I was considering making this available over internet also, so I can stream music to my phone in FLAC quality.
I doubt you succeeded with 18TB Hard Drives! Either 2.5'' or 3.5" sucks a lot of current so I've bet that aggregating USB hub(should you be using one) most be powered with a power adapter, otherwise you wouldn't have succeeded! Moreover the router itself would need a higher Amperage adapter - that you mentioned nothing about it - for being able to handle all 18TB of storage!
@@vla2uv There are a lot of high capacity hard disks in market that comes with dedicated power supply. I didn't need to provide all the details earlier but yes, it has a dedicated power supply and a single disk.
@@vla2uv My 18TB drive is a 3.5" (full-size, these days) drive in an enclosure that has its own (12v) power supply. I could plug it into my phone if I wanted to.
I’m glad you found this video useful! Believe it or not that was actually natural light coming through a window and it was a cloudy day. I never noticed that before though thanks for pointing it out. It looks like I need to close the blinds 😆
@@network-from-home I doubt you succeeded with 4 Hard Drives! Either 2.5'' or 3.5" sucks a lot of current so I've bet that aggregating USB hub most be powered with a power adapter, otherwise you wouldn't have succeeded! Moreover the router itself would need a higher Amperage adapter - that you mentioned nothing about it - for being able to handle all 4 Hard Drives!
@@vla2uv this hub has individual on/off buttons for all ports and you can easily turn on one HDD at one time. Obviously no one uses all 4 HDD simultaneously.
A splendid video, thank you for it. You didn’t mention one other function. I don’t have a power socket on my side of the bed so I’ve run a lead from the USB port of our router to my side of the bed and find it supplies enough juice to charge my phone overnight. It’s a very basic ISP provided router, but it works in this mode quite well. Previous routers also had powered USB which I used like this too. So just another option that might be of interest to some.
Thank you very much! You are correct, you can use your router for charging your phone (or other devices) as well. For some people, their router is not in a convenient place to connect their phone, but it’s definitely a great use of the ISB port if it works for you. Thank you for sharing!
That was really informative. Wish I'd know this stuff earlier. I have an old computer that I set up as a server to stream my movies to the other's on my network. This would certainly have saved a lot of time.
When they first put them in there, I set up my own server on it using an old Mac Mini I had and 4 Raided HDD's plugged into that port... until someone outside of the family trashed it one day on me because I stopped allowing them access to it, because they kept trying to block me from it. I've never used it since.
Depends on all the relevant hardware, of course, but chances are your old computer can stream movie files a lot faster than a USB on your router so you probably did not waste any time, after all.
I don't know about other routers, but the 2 TP-Link routers didn't have the usb printer work like plug and play. I had to install a utility/driver that would actually make a connection between the pc and the print server, but that was really clunky, it sometimes didn't find the printer or didn't agree with the printer driver and it barely worked half the time. I ended up just connecting the printer to a media server and printing from there when needed.
Ugh, that's a pain. I guess it makes sense why a lot of routers no longer have USB ports. It doesn't sound like they were very effective with printers at least. Thank you for sharing!
another use for USB port in the router is for a 4G modem to act as a backup (or main) connectivity solution. also some routers allow installing additional applications to the connected flash stick
The 4G modem as a backup is a great use case for your router’s USB port! Honestly I didn’t think that was a popular use case but I’m learning that more people use it than I thought! Is that something you utilize in your home network?
Not all routers have the software for it, but if your device can run OpenWRT, it's possible to set up an auto fail-back 4/5G connection if it detects that the Internet is absent on your fiber connection. Some routers that claim to be 4G actually come with a stick and a cable (perhaps to be able to place it for better reception), but since they're basically regular routers with a different firmware, many of them still has the WAN RJ45, and it's possible to set it to be preferred. At least that's the case with my dads TP-Link 4G router... he just doesn't have any wired Internet, so I haven't been able to test how well it works. Also makes it easy to upgrade to 5G, just get a new stick.
I've been looking everywhere on my rudder for a USB. It looks nothing like yours. I then continued your video where you jumped back to talking about a router. Thank you for the info it was super helpful to update my crap old router. 😂
Thank you very much! I can add it to the list of future videos. Full disclaimer here is that I may not be able to get to it for quite some time with all the other videos I still need to create
Yo you seem pretty educated on this so let me ask you this. I'm in an apartment, and my PC only works with Ethernet unless I have an external USB adapter. Luckily, there is an Ethernet port in the wall of my apartment bedroom so I plugged it into my PC. Here's the kicker: the Internet works fine, like surfing the web and what not. However, when I try to play online games, or even log in to a discord call, it doesn't work. I can't connect to servers. EVEN MORE WEIRD, sometimes it does work!! I've found that at like 1-2 p.m. is when it works the most, though honestly it's completely random and hasn't ever worked when I try it (after praying that it would) nowadays. I literally have been connecting my PC up to a mobile hotspot through USB WiFi adapter. Oh, yeah, if I try to connect to the apartment WiFi through said WiFi Adapter, same thing. Internet can be used, but no servers. Any suggestions?
What about network access to the USB through a smart TV. I know that works fine but can I still use password protection of files and folders since access is not from a computer??
This is a great question! I think you might be able to, but this isn’t something I have tested. Feel free to give it a shot and let us know how it goes. Good luck!
This is a great point. Thanks for pointing this out! I wanted to hit the most popular use cases but it sounds like cellular failover might be used more than I thought. Thanks again ☺️
I can definitely make a note to make a video about this in the future! I know a lot of people have issues with printing on a printer that's connected to their router, however.
Interesting! If I wanted to create a weird NAS-like type of storage, could I attach an old USB hub to it, and connect my old 2, 3 and 4 TB disk drives to it and have multiple drives show up? Yes, I’m aware it may need to be a powered hub as the drives draw power.
A simple answer to your question is "yes" it can be done but then again you mention "old" USB hub. If your hub is old and of USB 2.0 read write speeds then using it as a network drive for a 4TB HDD will cause serious buffering it you plan to stream 4k movies off of it. I'm speaking from experience here as I did use Kodi with a USB 2.0 drive (2 HDDs) and it was painful. I finally bought a USB 3.0 hub and it fixed the problem. Also powered USB hubs are great as they draw less power from the router and keep your harddrives and router safe. I know of cases where people have mentioned their routers would unexpectedly reboot (perhaps due to too much power being drawn from the USB connected harddrives).
This is true that some routers still have USB ports (and some have multiple). With that said, many newer routers that I have seen, especially mesh routers, don't seem to have USB ports
I tried the file sharing on my TP-Link router 2 or 3 years ago but gave up. Would this be a good way to file large batches of files when doing backups? Thanks - great/clear instruction.
I’m glad you found this video useful! If you want to use the USB port on your router for backups, you will want to verify what version of USB port you have on your router first. My router only has a USB 2.0 port on it, so it would be really slow if I transferred a lot of files from my computer to the drive connected to my router. I hope this helps!
TP-Link has been banned in the US due to purportedly China's hacking and spying ops. I have one and was going to add ethernet ports since theirs were cheaper but when I received articles on Google about this I'm now looking for a new router and ethernet ports add in.
Honestly I don't see why not. OpenWRT writes over the firmware on the device, so as long as OpenWRT offers that functionality I think you should be able to do it. Thanks for sharing!
Another use albeit one which may require reflashing the firmware with OpenWRT on consumer grade devices as these typically lack network fallover features by default. But with the right open source firmware devices with a USB port can be configured to use USB connected device as a backup internet connection. Commonly this would be used with a cellular device like a USB tethered smartphone or dongle to use the local cellular network as a backup route to the internet if your landline ever fails for some reason. Lots of enterprise routers have this feature enabled by default in the manufacturers firmware but it is less common in consumer grade firmware, if OpenWRT is available for your router model it can be configured to do this however since fundamentally it is simply another network device that traffic can be sent to under specified conditions, it is just the ability to set those conditions to use it the consumer firmware isn't exposing for you.
Great Video! Would you know if this would work on an Asus Chromebox? I have the NewTP Link WiFi 7 router in AP mode (which may be another issue) because I'm using Firewalla as my Main router. Only network Options I see are Samba for Windows and Local FTP as choices. The Network shows Media Server TP-Share and that's it. Yes I have a Windows system also but use the Chromebox 99 % of the time and really wanted to see if I could access the USB drive on my router. Also the router does recognize the Sandisk USB drive. Nothing I do will bring up the USB drive .Thanks again for your video
Thanks for the feedback! Is the USB you are connecting attached to your main router, or your TP-Link router that you are using as a wireless AP? My thought here is if the USB is plugged into the access point router, it may not work because routers in access point mode have a lot of their functionality disabled because they aren’t functioning as the main router. I hope this helps. Good luck!
@network-from-home Thank you so much for your quick reply. Yes the USB used was the one on the AP router, and I agree, probably the cause of the problem. The funny thing was the AP router process to set up the USB stick gave it a name Sandisk G:, but no such drive could be found. Thank you so much again for your informative video and your time in replying. Back to the drawing board lolo.
Have tried this on my TP-Link AX-50 router. I can see it in the network as a media player, but not as an accessible drive that I can write to or read from. Also, folder sharing option appears to not be available. Is this just another wrinkle in the on-going saga of TP-Link not doing what they say it can do?
My Asus router has a USB3 port. I have connected a Samsung T5 SSD filled with movies and TV shows. I run a NAS on the cheap using Roku media player over my network.
This is a great call! Honestly I didn’t think that was a popular use case, but I’m learning it might be more common than I thought. Thanks for sharing!
@network-from-home I have seen a tech from Comcast query and subsequently push fw/sw to the appliance using the USB port. I will have to test this out later today.
Hmm ill have to try to hook up an old ricoh color laser printer i bought (brand new in a sealed box for 39.00 , google shows it was 1500.00 when new). It connects to my wifi but has no app and is overcomplicated. . I have a couple original "nighthawk" routers i beta tested a few years ago and got to keep. Thanks for the video, ill give it a try this week.
These are great uses for the ISB port on your router! I also like that idea of tethering your iPhone, although couldn’t you just use the phone’s cellular connection when WiFi isn’t available? Or are you trying to limit data usage?
Using the options I laid out in the video, there is an option to make the files on the USB drive accessible from the internet. I would be very careful about doing this though, because it opens it up to hackers or other people accessing these files if they are not properly secured. The setting I'm referring to is under the "Sharing Settings" section, you would need to select FTP (Via Internet) and configure it that way. I hope this helps!
I wonder if I can run my magic jack on that usb port. Im talking about the computer type. Before magic jack computerless kind. just a thought. voip is becoming a come back with security issues with cell phones. 73
That's an interesting thought. I have never heard of this use case before, but feel free to give it a shot and let us know how it goes. Thanks for sharing!
@@network-from-home I will if I find my log in information I don't even know which email I used and whether I know the password to that email. I don't know if magic Jack can reset my dongle I have three but the last one is computer less or can be used on the computer. That's how I dialed numbers when using pulse phones or as known as rotary dial phones. 73
My router is less than a year old and it does have a USB PORT but it is used to add on a cellular backup link via a USB wireless cellular adapter to the network. This router is supplied to me by my service provider since it also provides me with two POT's lines for my conventional phones. The wired network here has issues with loss of service since the backbone system is constantly failing. I have been tempted to tether my iPhone wireless network by using the USB cable to tether the phone. Disconnect the fiber coming into the system and technically there should be a switchover to the cell phones data provider. We will see….
This is very interesting. That seems like a pretty useful way to use the USB port. I would recommend testing it out to make sure the failover works correctly because it sounds like you might need it on occasion if the wired network is spotty. Thanks for sharing!
@ planning on using my iPhone tethering usb cable to see if it works, do not want to purchase their USB cellular drive just for the test, it would be a waste of money.
I have an older lader printer and my regular router doesn't have a USB outlet. I do have an old router that has printer share option. I was wondering if I can use the second router to convert my USB only printer to wireless?
This might be an option here, but I'm wondering if there is an easier solution. Does your printer have an ethernet port? If so you could connect your printer directly to your router with an ethernet cable. I hope this helps!
If you have devices in your home that only connect to the 2.4G wireless network, can you just have them connect to the 2.4G WiFi network that your router broadcasts? If your router only has one WiFi channel being broadcast, it might have “Smart Connect” turned on. You will need to disable this feature to do this. I hope this helps!
Yes! This is a good option as a backup when the internet goes down. I didn't think this was a common use case, but it seems to be used more often than I thought. Thank you for sharing
@@network-from-home In our situation, we use it as the only connection in an area where a physical data network is not available. The old router and old 4G stick were repurposed as a 4G router to serve a small network.
I use the usb port in my router to power my gas and electric smart meter. It's the 7th item and I have a 6 gang socket, just made perfect sense to abandon a usb brick, utilise an unused port and hide the wires.
Seems to me that older printers get hooked up with ethernet. I'm trying to hook up a new computer that does not have ethernet but USB and hdmi. My printer only has ethernet. Having trouble figuring this out.
I think what you are looking for is a USB to ethernet adapter. Check out this video that I made on this topic, it might help you out: th-cam.com/video/BdaRc2EgPHc/w-d-xo.html I hope this helps. Good luck!
Some necessary additions: to access the folders/files internally/in your LAN only, didn't your Windows OS needs to activate the Samba features?! And, you can also access the folders/files in your LAN, not necessarily typing the TP-Link suffix, but by typing the router's configurations IP, instead. And, since you can individually give access to different folders and files I don't see any reason - which somehow defies the purpose of sharing an external storage attached to the router's USB port - to set access from the Internet, as well, that being doable by activating the remote administration to your router and setting that of accessing it remotely to the "https" feature! Then again some other very important feature that these USB ports provided with is for using them for Internet connection is Tethering a mobile Internet connection being leastwise as important like all other features!
Thank you for sharing! To answer your question, I did not need to activate Samba features on my PC in order to utilize file sharing via my router. Great point about including a mobile internet connection as a backup in case your router loses an internet connection. I didn't think this was a common use case, but it is more common than I thought!
I had an Epson WiFi printer that would sometimes print quickly and other times take forever. Switched to a Brother printer with ethernet and it's far better.
I have a tp-link router with a USB PORT. I connected my printer "Xerox" to the router via USB port, but nothing happened. I accessed router settings, and there were no printer provisions to configure for my printer!
I use one of the USB ports on my router to power a network switch that runs off 5v because the router itself doesn't have enough network ports for all of my wired devices.
As the government considers a ban on TP-Link due to security exposures, I've already tossed my aging Archer C7 and replaced it with Asus BE-88U. How about a video on easy ways to transfer settings from old router to new router?
This is a great idea, thank you for mentioning this. I'm not totally sure how easy it is to transfer settings from two routers that are different makes/models (you might not be able to), but I can look into this and see if it would make a good video. Thanks again!
Yes! You are correct. Some people use the ISB port for a cellular backup in case they lose their internet connection from their ISP. Thank you for sharing!
Damn both my laser B&W and laser color printers are the big printer port cables running off a 20 yr old tower... funny still seems to work every time I choose one or the other to print from my laptops or tablets.
while mine can support data, i never plugged one to it. in fact other than earlier days when i hooked printers to it, any other routers i've had over the years have always been used to power a 120mm or 80mm fans
@@network-from-home So I played around with it for a bit, and what I learned was... NOTHING! My router has no settings related to USB or external devices or anything like that - other than those with are connected by either wi-fi or ethernet. That's it. It seems like the intention is for small devices, probably that connect by wi-fi, and require USB power. That's it.
Is gone now because *1.* Yes, most never use it or may try but most only had USB2 and very slow at NAS or printing. *2.* Added License and Parts Costs to offer this by the manufacturer. Just print any USB logo on the package needs a License from USB🔴Org as Logos are Trademark and/or Copyrighted Worldwide and every Products must Pay to be Certified too. *3.* USB3 may not play well with some WiFi setups that causes weird problems or stops working at all until whatever is disconnected so Router makers don't want support call for USB. Some may even has USB3 hardware but disable 3 in software because of this so get USB2 on Blue Ports. While some may support this No router requires USB to update firmware. All can update thru download first by a PC connected to it, later Direct DL thru Admin Menu on it. Worse, many now Default auto update without notice and can cause many problems but they did that because most SOHO routers never get updates from the owners.
A side benefit of saving files was saving logs. Most of these routers have zero space to save permanent logs. If the router saved logs, it would be in RAM which would disappear when the router was rebooted.
I would agree that most routers should allow for this capability. When researching routers, it should detail this Feature in the technical specifications so you can be sure. I hope this helps!
@ I know only certain higher end ASUS routers like RT-AX59U has the personal cloud feature with apps for Android & IOS. But wish to know if there are other brands and models not as expensive that has this feature?
USB ports are useful for those who want to update to OpenWRT firmware. BTW, how are you feeling about running a TP-Link router now that TP-Link has been called out as a potential national security risk by the US government?
OpenWRT still has issues with Broadcom chips. If your modem or wireless router has Broadcom chips, you are most likely going to experience slow or inconsistent speeds or inactive radios with OpenWRT.
@ - Or maybe, Broadcom chips still have issues with OpenWRT? 😜 Seriously though, OpenWRT is no universal panacea, it is just an option for a select number of use-cases.
@gearboxworks Currently there are headlines that the government is thinking about banning TP-Link devices. The problem here is I don't think there are many quality options out there for home networking devices that aren't made in China. With that said, I will continue to monitor this situation and if they are officially banned, I will make a change. At this point no action has been taken by the government, so I will need to see some more concrete evidence before throwing out the router that I love. Conversely, the government has put a ban in place for Huawei equipment, so I definitely wouldn't use that equipment. I hope this helps!
@@network-from-home - Yeah, thanks for your thoughts. I think there are other things the US Government could do besides just banning as TP-Link has really been a boon for consumers. The problem is, I haven't heard anyone on TH-cam (or elsewhere) promote alternatives. Would love to see you and others do that. What might be alternatives? 1. The US government could require TP-Link to hire U.S. auditing firms to review all their products before release and have that firm also control the process by which firmware is loaded inside the US. The details could be worked out but this should not add too much cost since their market share is so big, and it would also create a template for how US companies could benefit from Chinese products that are deemed security risks, and almost everything will eventually become. 2. In addition, they could create incentives for US companies to achieve price parity with TP-Link. The incentives could be many and as I am not a policy specialist I won't try to ad-hoc here, but they could explore this avenue. 3. I am sure people more creative than me could envision other ways to keep the prices of network technologies low for US consumers. Anyway, would love to see you noodle on this and then promote alternatives instead of hoping it won't happen and then all of us taking it on the chin if it does. 🤷♂️
Yes, there’s quite a bit of functionality with these USB ports. You are definitely not alone here: many people don’t even think about using the USB on their router
host a pihole there so no ads across entire network. Yt, hulu, internet, free services, etc, etc. What i did with my old amazon tablet from yrs ago and never looked Back. Adblocker, vpn, etc.
This is another great idea! It is a bit technical, but I know there are lots of resources out there for anyone that would like to implement this. Thank you for sharing.
This is a great use case! I didn’t think this was very common but it sounds like quite a few people use their router’s USB for this. Thank you for sharing!
Sorry about that! I actually didn't even notice that when I was filming. It is actually natural light coming through a window and the clouds kept blocking the sun. I will put my blinds down next time. Thanks for making me aware of that!
My router has USB3 ports. I hooked 18 TB hard disk to it and I run FTP and media server on it. Have been doing for years. This is a very cheap yet high quality media set up.
Wow that’s a lot of storage capacity! That’s an awesome setup. Thank you for sharing!
I’m planning to do this with a single external hard drive with my music FLACs saved to it. I was considering making this available over internet also, so I can stream music to my phone in FLAC quality.
I doubt you succeeded with 18TB Hard Drives! Either 2.5'' or 3.5" sucks a lot of current so I've bet that aggregating USB hub(should you be using one) most be powered with a power adapter, otherwise you wouldn't have succeeded! Moreover the router itself would need a higher Amperage adapter - that you mentioned nothing about it - for being able to handle all 18TB of storage!
@@vla2uv There are a lot of high capacity hard disks in market that comes with dedicated power supply. I didn't need to provide all the details earlier but yes, it has a dedicated power supply and a single disk.
@@vla2uv My 18TB drive is a 3.5" (full-size, these days) drive in an enclosure that has its own (12v) power supply. I could plug it into my phone if I wanted to.
Thanks. I’m sure many people will appreciate this. The light going on and off was an interesting twist in your video….haha
I’m glad you found this video useful! Believe it or not that was actually natural light coming through a window and it was a cloudy day. I never noticed that before though thanks for pointing it out. It looks like I need to close the blinds 😆
I have hooked up usb hub and 4 hard drives. Works perfect
4 hard drives?! That’s awesome. It sounds like you have a pretty robust setup connected to your USB port. Thanks for sharing!
@network-from-home i have router asus rt-rx88u pro. One of the drives is even 20TB, the other 3 have 4 TB each.
Yep, use it as a NAS point.
@@network-from-home I doubt you succeeded with 4 Hard Drives! Either 2.5'' or 3.5" sucks a lot of current so I've bet that aggregating USB hub most be powered with a power adapter, otherwise you wouldn't have succeeded! Moreover the router itself would need a higher Amperage adapter - that you mentioned nothing about it - for being able to handle all 4 Hard Drives!
@@vla2uv this hub has individual on/off buttons for all ports and you can easily turn on one HDD at one time. Obviously no one uses all 4 HDD simultaneously.
I use the USB 3.0 on my router to do automatic Windows image backups for 3 computers on my network. Works very well.
Nice, except for media storage I'd never find a use case for USB port on the Router. This is a very good idea. 👌🏽
This is an awesome use case! Thank you for sharing!
It was informative and reminded me of something I have postponed for too long, thanks 🙌🏻
I’m glad this was helpful for you! Thanks for checking out the video 😊
now i know about the USB on the back on my old wifi router, thank you for this
Excellent! I’m glad you found this video useful. Thanks for watching!
A splendid video, thank you for it. You didn’t mention one other function. I don’t have a power socket on my side of the bed so I’ve run a lead from the USB port of our router to my side of the bed and find it supplies enough juice to charge my phone overnight. It’s a very basic ISP provided router, but it works in this mode quite well. Previous routers also had powered USB which I used like this too. So just another option that might be of interest to some.
Thank you very much! You are correct, you can use your router for charging your phone (or other devices) as well. For some people, their router is not in a convenient place to connect their phone, but it’s definitely a great use of the ISB port if it works for you. Thank you for sharing!
Good tutorial, well structured, well explained. By far not all the printers have wifi and many that do have it only to make a user angry 😊.
So THAT’S why they have it! Should have known ….
Thank you very much! Thanks for watching.
I think you’re onto something with the WiFi printers 😂
@SchoolforHackers 😂😂
i put a usb fan on the router. now it never overheats hahahah
good idea , but the router don't need that
@Mo7madEr maybe in ur place, in our place its hot so router go overheat
This is definitely a smart move if you find that your router gets hot! Thanks for sharing
😂😂⚡⚡
thank You very much
i have this device and did not know what to do with the port
now i do know how to use it
You’re welcome! I’m glad the video was useful. Thanks for watching!
That was really informative. Wish I'd know this stuff earlier. I have an old computer that I set up as a server to stream my movies to the other's on my network. This would certainly have saved a lot of time.
When they first put them in there, I set up my own server on it using an old Mac Mini I had and 4 Raided HDD's plugged into that port... until someone outside of the family trashed it one day on me because I stopped allowing them access to it, because they kept trying to block me from it. I've never used it since.
No problem, I’m glad you found this video useful! Thanks for watching!
Depends on all the relevant hardware, of course, but chances are your old computer can stream movie files a lot faster than a USB on your router so you probably did not waste any time, after all.
I don't know about other routers, but the 2 TP-Link routers didn't have the usb printer work like plug and play. I had to install a utility/driver that would actually make a connection between the pc and the print server, but that was really clunky, it sometimes didn't find the printer or didn't agree with the printer driver and it barely worked half the time. I ended up just connecting the printer to a media server and printing from there when needed.
Ugh, that's a pain. I guess it makes sense why a lot of routers no longer have USB ports. It doesn't sound like they were very effective with printers at least. Thank you for sharing!
another use for USB port in the router is for a 4G modem to act as a backup (or main) connectivity solution. also some routers allow installing additional applications to the connected flash stick
The 4G modem as a backup is a great use case for your router’s USB port! Honestly I didn’t think that was a popular use case but I’m learning that more people use it than I thought! Is that something you utilize in your home network?
Not all routers have the software for it, but if your device can run OpenWRT, it's possible to set up an auto fail-back 4/5G connection if it detects that the Internet is absent on your fiber connection.
Some routers that claim to be 4G actually come with a stick and a cable (perhaps to be able to place it for better reception), but since they're basically regular routers with a different firmware, many of them still has the WAN RJ45, and it's possible to set it to be preferred.
At least that's the case with my dads TP-Link 4G router... he just doesn't have any wired Internet, so I haven't been able to test how well it works.
Also makes it easy to upgrade to 5G, just get a new stick.
I've been looking everywhere on my rudder for a USB. It looks nothing like yours. I then continued your video where you jumped back to talking about a router.
Thank you for the info it was super helpful to update my crap old router. 😂
You’re welcome! I’m glad you found this video helpful. Thank you for watching 🙏
thanks for this wonderful video! could you please show us how to share it through FTP as well? thanks
Thank you very much! I can add it to the list of future videos. Full disclaimer here is that I may not be able to get to it for quite some time with all the other videos I still need to create
Yo you seem pretty educated on this so let me ask you this. I'm in an apartment, and my PC only works with Ethernet unless I have an external USB adapter. Luckily, there is an Ethernet port in the wall of my apartment bedroom so I plugged it into my PC. Here's the kicker: the Internet works fine, like surfing the web and what not. However, when I try to play online games, or even log in to a discord call, it doesn't work. I can't connect to servers. EVEN MORE WEIRD, sometimes it does work!! I've found that at like 1-2 p.m. is when it works the most, though honestly it's completely random and hasn't ever worked when I try it (after praying that it would) nowadays. I literally have been connecting my PC up to a mobile hotspot through USB WiFi adapter. Oh, yeah, if I try to connect to the apartment WiFi through said WiFi Adapter, same thing. Internet can be used, but no servers. Any suggestions?
Could you use a fire stick for the household to access?
Thank you so much for explaining slowly what a USB port is! I can finally sleep now!
Haha no problem! I’m glad you found this video useful
thank you for sharing..!!
What about network access to the USB through a smart TV. I know that works fine but can I still use password protection of files and folders since access is not from a computer??
This is a great question! I think you might be able to, but this isn’t something I have tested. Feel free to give it a shot and let us know how it goes. Good luck!
You forgot cellular failover. Some routers are designed to use a usb cellular modem as a second wan for failover or load balancing.
This is a great point. Thanks for pointing this out! I wanted to hit the most popular use cases but it sounds like cellular failover might be used more than I thought. Thanks again ☺️
please share more info on printing using router
I can definitely make a note to make a video about this in the future! I know a lot of people have issues with printing on a printer that's connected to their router, however.
Interesting! If I wanted to create a weird NAS-like type of storage, could I attach an old USB hub to it, and connect my old 2, 3 and 4 TB disk drives to it and have multiple drives show up? Yes, I’m aware it may need to be a powered hub as the drives draw power.
Yes, I believe you are able to do this. Other people in the comments section have had success with similar setups. Good luck!
A simple answer to your question is "yes" it can be done but then again you mention "old" USB hub. If your hub is old and of USB 2.0 read write speeds then using it as a network drive for a 4TB HDD will cause serious buffering it you plan to stream 4k movies off of it. I'm speaking from experience here as I did use Kodi with a USB 2.0 drive (2 HDDs) and it was painful. I finally bought a USB 3.0 hub and it fixed the problem. Also powered USB hubs are great as they draw less power from the router and keep your harddrives and router safe. I know of cases where people have mentioned their routers would unexpectedly reboot (perhaps due to too much power being drawn from the USB connected harddrives).
Wait a minute. Some of the latest most expensive most powerful wireless routers have two USB ports.
This is true that some routers still have USB ports (and some have multiple). With that said, many newer routers that I have seen, especially mesh routers, don't seem to have USB ports
I tried the file sharing on my TP-Link router 2 or 3 years ago but gave up. Would this be a good way to file large batches of files when doing backups? Thanks - great/clear instruction.
I’m glad you found this video useful! If you want to use the USB port on your router for backups, you will want to verify what version of USB port you have on your router first. My router only has a USB 2.0 port on it, so it would be really slow if I transferred a lot of files from my computer to the drive connected to my router. I hope this helps!
Get rid of the TP Link router. They're being banned for future sale in the US, because they have vulnerabilities that TP Link won't fix.
@@JeffreyGroves Yes! i read that news too.
TP-Link has been banned in the US due to purportedly China's hacking and spying ops. I have one and was going to add ethernet ports since theirs were cheaper but when I received articles on Google about this I'm now looking for a new router and ethernet ports add in.
@@robertlee8805 I am glad to hear that. We do not need to buy products from countries that wants to hurt us.
Hey you can install openwrt and then do whatever you want to do with that usb port
Honestly I don't see why not. OpenWRT writes over the firmware on the device, so as long as OpenWRT offers that functionality I think you should be able to do it. Thanks for sharing!
I used a external 1TB hard drive, worked perfectly.
That’s awesome! That’s a great use case for your router’s USB
Another use albeit one which may require reflashing the firmware with OpenWRT on consumer grade devices as these typically lack network fallover features by default. But with the right open source firmware devices with a USB port can be configured to use USB connected device as a backup internet connection. Commonly this would be used with a cellular device like a USB tethered smartphone or dongle to use the local cellular network as a backup route to the internet if your landline ever fails for some reason. Lots of enterprise routers have this feature enabled by default in the manufacturers firmware but it is less common in consumer grade firmware, if OpenWRT is available for your router model it can be configured to do this however since fundamentally it is simply another network device that traffic can be sent to under specified conditions, it is just the ability to set those conditions to use it the consumer firmware isn't exposing for you.
Great Video! Would you know if this would work on an Asus Chromebox? I have the NewTP Link WiFi 7 router in AP mode (which may be another issue) because I'm using Firewalla as my Main router. Only network Options I see are Samba for Windows and Local FTP as choices. The Network shows Media Server TP-Share and that's it. Yes I have a Windows system also but use the Chromebox 99 % of the time and really wanted to see if I could access the USB drive on my router. Also the router does recognize the Sandisk USB drive. Nothing I do will bring up the USB drive .Thanks again for your video
Thanks for the feedback! Is the USB you are connecting attached to your main router, or your TP-Link router that you are using as a wireless AP? My thought here is if the USB is plugged into the access point router, it may not work because routers in access point mode have a lot of their functionality disabled because they aren’t functioning as the main router. I hope this helps. Good luck!
@network-from-home Thank you so much for your quick reply. Yes the USB used was the one on the AP router, and I agree, probably the cause of the problem. The funny thing was the AP router process to set up the USB stick gave it a name Sandisk G:, but no such drive could be found.
Thank you so much again for your informative video and your time in replying. Back to the drawing board lolo.
The info is really helpful, thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome! I’m glad this was useful information. Thanks for watching!
I’ve thought about having a file backup on the router, haven’t done the investigation on how to do it
It's definitely worth giving it a shot! As long as you have media with the appropriate amount of storage, it shouldn't be too complicated. Good luck!
Have tried this on my TP-Link AX-50 router. I can see it in the network as a media player, but not as an accessible drive that I can write to or read from. Also, folder sharing option appears to not be available. Is this just another wrinkle in the on-going saga of TP-Link not doing what they say it can do?
usb fan for the win
This is a great use of the USB port! Thank you for sharing
I love the way u explained. New channel subscribed!
Awesome! I’m glad you found this video useful. Thank you for watching!
My Asus router has a USB3 port. I have connected a Samsung T5 SSD filled with movies and TV shows. I run a NAS on the cheap using Roku media player over my network.
I love this setup! It sounds like you are making the most out of your router's USB port. Thank you for sharing!
Mobile Dongle for fall back was not mentioned.
This is a great call! Honestly I didn’t think that was a popular use case, but I’m learning it might be more common than I thought. Thanks for sharing!
It was common in Australia until routers with built in 5G started being shipped. We have crappy infrastructure...
Could the USB port be used to communicate with the router using SPI or UART?
Use of a USB to TTY adapter etc.
This is a good question. I have never seen the USB used this way, but that doesn't mean it isn't possible!
@network-from-home I have seen a tech from Comcast query and subsequently push fw/sw to the appliance using the USB port. I will have to test this out later today.
Hmm ill have to try to hook up an old ricoh color laser printer i bought (brand new in a sealed box for 39.00 , google shows it was 1500.00 when new). It connects to my wifi but has no app and is overcomplicated. .
I have a couple original "nighthawk" routers i beta tested a few years ago and got to keep.
Thanks for the video, ill give it a try this week.
Excellent, good luck! I hope everything works out for you
If it's old, it will probably work on Linux.
Great video!
Thank you for the feedback!
I use my USB port for automatic backups for my Max as well as tethering to an iPhone to enable network internet access when no wifi available.
These are great uses for the ISB port on your router! I also like that idea of tethering your iPhone, although couldn’t you just use the phone’s cellular connection when WiFi isn’t available? Or are you trying to limit data usage?
@@network-from-home tethering means using the iPhone as WAN. In other words, replacing the Cablemodem with a cell tower.
Well, I may not know how to use it, yet - but I know I'm using that port for powering the fan so it cools down the router
Very helpful video.
Thank you very much. I’m glad it helped you!
Kinda wild to suggest filesharing on a tplink given the context of their continued security vulnerabilities
Interesting, I just use the usb for my fan i 3D printed a casing for a laptop fan and have it constantly cooling the router.
This is a cool idea! It’s nice to know you don’t have to worry about your router overheating. Thank you for sharing!
can we use it on mobile devices.
how can i use my router for file shareing from anywhere (as cloud) thanks!
Using the options I laid out in the video, there is an option to make the files on the USB drive accessible from the internet. I would be very careful about doing this though, because it opens it up to hackers or other people accessing these files if they are not properly secured.
The setting I'm referring to is under the "Sharing Settings" section, you would need to select FTP (Via Internet) and configure it that way. I hope this helps!
@@network-from-home That IP for FTP (Via Internet) is dynamic or fix IP? will this IP change if the router reboot? thanks!
Very informative!!!
Thank you very much!
I wonder if I can run my magic jack on that usb port. Im talking about the computer type. Before magic jack computerless kind. just a thought. voip is becoming a come back with security issues with cell phones. 73
That's an interesting thought. I have never heard of this use case before, but feel free to give it a shot and let us know how it goes. Thanks for sharing!
@@network-from-home I will if I find my log in information I don't even know which email I used and whether I know the password to that email. I don't know if magic Jack can reset my dongle I have three but the last one is computer less or can be used on the computer. That's how I dialed numbers when using pulse phones or as known as rotary dial phones. 73
Good video
Thank you very much! Thanks for watching!
My router is less than a year old and it does have a USB PORT but it is used to add on a cellular backup link via a USB wireless cellular adapter to the network. This router is supplied to me by my service provider since it also provides me with two POT's lines for my conventional phones. The wired network here has issues with loss of service since the backbone system is constantly failing. I have been tempted to tether my iPhone wireless network by using the USB cable to tether the phone. Disconnect the fiber coming into the system and technically there should be a switchover to the cell phones data provider. We will see….
This is very interesting. That seems like a pretty useful way to use the USB port. I would recommend testing it out to make sure the failover works correctly because it sounds like you might need it on occasion if the wired network is spotty. Thanks for sharing!
@ planning on using my iPhone tethering usb cable to see if it works, do not want to purchase their USB cellular drive just for the test, it would be a waste of money.
My printer has WIFI - but the security protocols are too old for the network. this could help
It’s definitely worth a try! I hope this works out for you
Great info!
Thank you very much! Thanks for checking out the video
I have an older lader printer and my regular router doesn't have a USB outlet. I do have an old router that has printer share option. I was wondering if I can use the second router to convert my USB only printer to wireless?
This might be an option here, but I'm wondering if there is an easier solution. Does your printer have an ethernet port? If so you could connect your printer directly to your router with an ethernet cable. I hope this helps!
Some items in my home will only work with 2.4 Wi Fi, can I change my 5 ghz wi Fi to 2.4 through my router by going through the usb. Thanks much
If you have devices in your home that only connect to the 2.4G wireless network, can you just have them connect to the 2.4G WiFi network that your router broadcasts? If your router only has one WiFi channel being broadcast, it might have “Smart Connect” turned on. You will need to disable this feature to do this. I hope this helps!
You can also connect USB 3/4/5G stick to it... Tested and in use.
Yes! This is a good option as a backup when the internet goes down. I didn't think this was a common use case, but it seems to be used more often than I thought. Thank you for sharing
@@network-from-home In our situation, we use it as the only connection in an area where a physical data network is not available. The old router and old 4G stick were repurposed as a 4G router to serve a small network.
I use the usb port in my router to power my gas and electric smart meter. It's the 7th item and I have a 6 gang socket, just made perfect sense to abandon a usb brick, utilise an unused port and hide the wires.
Oh wow, I’ve never heard of this use case before. Thank you for sharing!
Best home router i ever had was the WD my net central 900 2TB. Such a shame they discontinued it.
That's a shame that it isn't available anymore! Hopefully you are able to find a suitable replacement. Thanks for sharing!
Save some money for a media server, get an enclosure for a number of disks and connect it.
This is a good idea! Thank you for sharing!
huh, interesting
so this is basically a jerry-riggable NAS setup
thanks for sharing
No problem! Thanks for checking out the video
Need a video on how to exactly accomplish that.
I have a Raspberry Pi web server powered from the USB port on the router.
This is another great way to use the USB port on your router. Thank you for sharing!
@@network-from-home Also good for powering up Onn boxes and dongles and Led strip lights.
Seems to me that older printers get hooked up with ethernet. I'm trying to hook up a new computer that does not have ethernet but USB and hdmi. My printer only has ethernet. Having trouble figuring this out.
I think what you are looking for is a USB to ethernet adapter. Check out this video that I made on this topic, it might help you out:
th-cam.com/video/BdaRc2EgPHc/w-d-xo.html
I hope this helps. Good luck!
Some necessary additions: to access the folders/files internally/in your LAN only, didn't your Windows OS needs to activate the Samba features?!
And, you can also access the folders/files in your LAN, not necessarily typing the TP-Link suffix, but by typing the router's configurations IP, instead.
And, since you can individually give access to different folders and files I don't see any reason - which somehow defies the purpose of sharing an external storage attached to the router's USB port - to set access from the Internet, as well, that being doable by activating the remote administration to your router and setting that of accessing it remotely to the "https" feature!
Then again some other very important feature that these USB ports provided with is for using them for Internet connection is Tethering a mobile Internet connection being leastwise as important like all other features!
Thank you for sharing!
To answer your question, I did not need to activate Samba features on my PC in order to utilize file sharing via my router.
Great point about including a mobile internet connection as a backup in case your router loses an internet connection. I didn't think this was a common use case, but it is more common than I thought!
do you feel safe using a tp link router?
Yes! I love my TP-link router. I have never had any issues with them
Yes, of course
- FBI
I have one: I use OpenWrt on it.
Some printers with WiFi are horrible and only seem to work half of the time.
I definitely know the feeling. I feel like it depends on the printer you get
My two network printers are 'hard wired' with Ethernet cables to the router. They are very reliable.
This is definitely a good approach. Hard wired connections are the way to go as long as the Ethernet cables don’t get in the way. Thanks for sharing!
I had an Epson WiFi printer that would sometimes print quickly and other times take forever. Switched to a Brother printer with ethernet and it's far better.
@@Kevin-mx1vi That's because of the Ethernet.
Use it for charging/powering devices ;)
Yes! This is a great use of the USB port. Thank you for sharing!
I have a tp-link router with a USB PORT. I connected my printer "Xerox" to the router via USB port, but nothing happened. I accessed router settings, and there were no printer provisions to configure for my printer!
What about adding an external SSD and access it from all permitted users.
I think it's the same thing, as long as it's a storage device.
You are correct! You can definitely connect and SSD instead of a thumb drive
Interesting. One alternative usage was to plug in a LTE/4G/5G dongle. It can be used as a backup to the primary link for your ISP.
This is really interesting (and creative)! Thanks for sharing!
My VODACOM ZLT S90 4G router has a usb type-c port. Haven't utilized it yet, though.
You should definitely check it and see if there is anything useful you can use the USB port for!
@network-from-home yiiip. Plugged an external 2.5inch hdd, nothing happened.. even a usb via otg, still nothing...
Thank you for showing me how to find the USB port and what it looks like.. 🙏
You’re welcome! I’m glad you found the video helpful. Thank you for watching!
I use mine with a multi USB splitter hub and share lots of random size USB hard drives - and the USB socket on my Apple TimeMachine tower too.
This is a great use case! Thank you for sharing!
I use it for midia server with Kodi.
This is a great use case! Thank you for sharing!
I do the same with 2 Portable harddrives connected via an externally powered USB hub.
can you add and delete file via the PC
Yes, you should be able to do this as long as you give yourself permissions to do so when setting up the USB file sharing on your router
@@network-from-home ok great....could you plug in an external hard drive?
I use one of the USB ports on my router to power a network switch that runs off 5v because the router itself doesn't have enough network ports for all of my wired devices.
This is a great use of your router’s USB port! Thanks for sharing!
As the government considers a ban on TP-Link due to security exposures, I've already tossed my aging Archer C7 and replaced it with Asus BE-88U. How about a video on easy ways to transfer settings from old router to new router?
This is a great idea, thank you for mentioning this. I'm not totally sure how easy it is to transfer settings from two routers that are different makes/models (you might not be able to), but I can look into this and see if it would make a good video. Thanks again!
that's great. thx Sir
You’re welcome! I’m glad the video was useful. Thanks for watching
I think some routers also support usb 4g/5g dongle
Yes! You are correct. Some people use the ISB port for a cellular backup in case they lose their internet connection from their ISP. Thank you for sharing!
backup internet via sim card usb holder
My router from youfibre has no extra ports on it but it does have lots of flashing lights on it.
This must be one of the types of routers I was referring to that don’t have a USB port. I’m sorry to hear that!
Damn both my laser B&W and laser color printers are the big printer port cables running off a 20 yr old tower... funny still seems to work every time I choose one or the other to print from my laptops or tablets.
Haha it sounds like the older technology might be more reliable than newer tech! Thanks for sharing!
with a custom firmware like OpenWrt you can do pretty much anything, like it was a normal linux "computer"
Yes, this is very much the case. Thank you for sharing!
The manual for my router claims that its USB port is for power only
That's interesting! I imagine a USB drive would work fine, but this might be worth testing out with an "empty" flash drive just to make sure
"Power Only" ie, use for recharging. Cheers
while mine can support data, i never plugged one to it. in fact other than earlier days when i hooked printers to it, any other routers i've had over the years have always been used to power a 120mm or 80mm fans
@@helmutkrahn9337 I tried a few other things just to see if I could get it to work, but nothing but power so far. I may have to admit defeat 😅
@@network-from-home So I played around with it for a bit, and what I learned was... NOTHING! My router has no settings related to USB or external devices or anything like that - other than those with are connected by either wi-fi or ethernet. That's it. It seems like the intention is for small devices, probably that connect by wi-fi, and require USB power. That's it.
Is gone now because *1.* Yes, most never use it or may try but most only had USB2 and very slow at NAS or printing. *2.* Added License and Parts Costs to offer this by the manufacturer. Just print any USB logo on the package needs a License from USB🔴Org as Logos are Trademark and/or Copyrighted Worldwide and every Products must Pay to be Certified too. *3.* USB3 may not play well with some WiFi setups that causes weird problems or stops working at all until whatever is disconnected so Router makers don't want support call for USB. Some may even has USB3 hardware but disable 3 in software because of this so get USB2 on Blue Ports.
While some may support this No router requires USB to update firmware. All can update thru download first by a PC connected to it, later Direct DL thru Admin Menu on it. Worse, many now Default auto update without notice and can cause many problems but they did that because most SOHO routers never get updates from the owners.
This is really good insight. Thank you for sharing!
Means that you can seller the router for less and still make more profit.
A side benefit of saving files was saving logs. Most of these routers have zero space to save permanent logs. If the router saved logs, it would be in RAM which would disappear when the router was rebooted.
This is very interesting. Are you able to configure your router so it saves log files to a USB? I’ve never tried that before. Thanks for sharing!
Which brand and model router can turn a USB drive as cloud drive?
Probably most of them, just google and do some research. Sigh
I would agree that most routers should allow for this capability. When researching routers, it should detail this Feature in the technical specifications so you can be sure. I hope this helps!
@ I know only certain higher end ASUS routers like RT-AX59U has the personal cloud feature with apps for Android & IOS. But wish to know if there are other brands and models not as expensive that has this feature?
This gorgeous and handsome young man can fix my internet needs anytime 😍😍😍😍😍
Thanks for watching!
I used my router usb port to power my Desk Lamp to have a better look at the back of my PC.
This is a great way to use the USB port on your router. Thanks for sharing!
Mine has 2, filled with movie and TV program filled memory sticks, so any device on the network can access them.
It sounds like you’re making the most of both USB ports. Great work, and thank you for sharing!
mine connected to portable HDD as personal ftp. and connected to USB 5v cooling fan
This is a great use of your USB port! Thanks for sharing!
I like the usb because I connect my external hard drive to them so I don’t have to have the iPad port taken up by it
This is a great use case for the USB port on your router. Thank you for sharing!
USB ports are useful for those who want to update to OpenWRT firmware.
BTW, how are you feeling about running a TP-Link router now that TP-Link has been called out as a potential national security risk by the US government?
OpenWRT still has issues with Broadcom chips. If your modem or wireless router has Broadcom chips, you are most likely going to experience slow or inconsistent speeds or inactive radios with OpenWRT.
@ - Or maybe, Broadcom chips still have issues with OpenWRT? 😜
Seriously though, OpenWRT is no universal panacea, it is just an option for a select number of use-cases.
@gearboxworks Currently there are headlines that the government is thinking about banning TP-Link devices. The problem here is I don't think there are many quality options out there for home networking devices that aren't made in China. With that said, I will continue to monitor this situation and if they are officially banned, I will make a change. At this point no action has been taken by the government, so I will need to see some more concrete evidence before throwing out the router that I love.
Conversely, the government has put a ban in place for Huawei equipment, so I definitely wouldn't use that equipment. I hope this helps!
@@network-from-home - Yeah, thanks for your thoughts.
I think there are other things the US Government could do besides just banning as TP-Link has really been a boon for consumers. The problem is, I haven't heard anyone on TH-cam (or elsewhere) promote alternatives. Would love to see you and others do that.
What might be alternatives?
1. The US government could require TP-Link to hire U.S. auditing firms to review all their products before release and have that firm also control the process by which firmware is loaded inside the US. The details could be worked out but this should not add too much cost since their market share is so big, and it would also create a template for how US companies could benefit from Chinese products that are deemed security risks, and almost everything will eventually become.
2. In addition, they could create incentives for US companies to achieve price parity with TP-Link. The incentives could be many and as I am not a policy specialist I won't try to ad-hoc here, but they could explore this avenue.
3. I am sure people more creative than me could envision other ways to keep the prices of network technologies low for US consumers.
Anyway, would love to see you noodle on this and then promote alternatives instead of hoping it won't happen and then all of us taking it on the chin if it does. 🤷♂️
🙄
I use usb cam on my router usb3 port and setup as a temporary cctv to check my toddler even when i go outside 😅.
I didn’t even realize it was for printers but it was also used for drives
Yes, there’s quite a bit of functionality with these USB ports. You are definitely not alone here: many people don’t even think about using the USB on their router
@@network-from-home Like my parents have no use for those usb ports and I used to have a comcast routrer with those but it wasent realy useful
I just use that USB port as a phone charger if I happen to be doing some work near the router.
This is a great use for it! You might as well put it to use. Thanks for sharing!
host a pihole there so no ads across entire network. Yt, hulu, internet, free services, etc, etc. What i did with my old amazon tablet from yrs ago and never looked Back. Adblocker, vpn, etc.
This is another great idea! It is a bit technical, but I know there are lots of resources out there for anyone that would like to implement this. Thank you for sharing.
A guy i knew used the port to provide Internet connectivity with a 4G USB modem.
This is a great use case! I didn’t think this was very common but it sounds like quite a few people use their router’s USB for this. Thank you for sharing!
what doesnt have USB-Type C port nowdays? I am confident that i were to look hard enough, even my neighbours cat has one somehwere
😂😂😂
No idea, and I tried to find out.
What did you try to find out?
Any chance we can keep the light in the back from turning off and on? A bit distracting.
black tape...?
Every router model is different. But almost certainly not. Yes, black tape.
Sorry about that! I actually didn't even notice that when I was filming. It is actually natural light coming through a window and the clouds kept blocking the sun. I will put my blinds down next time. Thanks for making me aware of that!
Who is that person sitting in the left and corner in the window and never moving