You may have found a USB port at the back of your router. This can either be used to connect storage devices or share different devices like printer etc. Computer connected to that network will be able to access it. This Linksys technical support article will explain Connecting a storage device to your Linksys router.

Do note that before using the disk on the network, you will need to format it in either FAT32 or NTFS file system as only these two file systems are supported. Linksys support suggests that you should use NTFS instead of the old FAT32 file system as NTFS file system is new and improved file system with no 4GB file size limit unlike FAT32.

After formatting and connecting the drive to the router, follow following steps:

1. Launch a web browser from the computer which is connected to the router and enter the router’s IP address to access the web-based setup page.
2. Go to Storage tab.
3. In the format section, check mark for the storage device and click on format disk button.
4. A warning window will appear. Click OK.

It may happen that your drive may not get detected. If this is the case, re-format your drive or restart the router. If the problem persists, upgrade your router’s firmware.

After the format completes, you will be redirected to the storage page. If not, then go to Storage tab.

Now you need to setup the folders/shares for the drive. To set up shares, follow these steps:

1. Click on Create Share.
2. A window will pop-up and will be displayed where you need to fill the details as you want them to be. You can give name to your drive, create new folders, set up partitions etc.
3. Tick the checkbox Share Entire Partition to share the whole partition. You can also set the specific folders you want to share.
4. After selecting what you want to share, click on Save Settings.

You can also set the users you want to access the drive. Anonymous Disk Access is enabled by default on some routers which means that anyone can access and change files in your disk. You can disable the feature and give access to some specific users only by turning it off and Linksys Technical Support recommends you to do it as it is a much safer way to protect your files.

To disable Anonymous Disk Access, go to Storage tab > Administration and click on Disabled on Anonymous Disk Access.

To add more users, follow these steps:

1. Click on Create New User.
2. Enter the details of the user like name and password.
3. Click save/create button.

You will now be then able to access the drive simply by mapping the network drive on your computer.

If you are having any trouble about Connecting a storage device to your Linksys router, please contact to Linksys Technical support on Linksys customer support number at +1 888 808 1303 (Toll free).

If you want to know “How to setup Linksys WIfi Router” Click here

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