With the new Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, you can now easily share more photos, music files, and documents within the network at a faster speed. You may also use the USB port or storage link to connect your hard drive or USB printer.
This article will help you configure shares and permissions for a hard drive connected to the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router.
Things to remember before you begin:
- There is no device installation required since USB storage drives are plug and play devices. It should be automatically detected once connected to the USB port on the router.
- Your Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router must already be configured and is working properly.
- The Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Routers with USB storage feature only supports FAT, NTFS and HFS+ format. Make sure to check your storage device’s format before proceeding with the steps below to prevent configuration issues. Your device may not be detected if it is in a different format other than what the router supports.
1. Connect your USB storage device to the router’s USB port.
2. Access the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router’s interface through a browser such as Safari® or Internet Explorer.
3. Click on the External Storage Tool on the left panel.
4. Once your hard drive is detected, it will automatically appear under the USB Storage section. When two hard drives are detected, a dual USB Tool will be shown on the screen.
IMPORTANT: Ensure that your storage device is properly attached to the USB port of your router. Otherwise, you may see the following message and you will not be able to configure any settings:
5. On the USB Storage screen, you can select among the four tabs to configure the hard drives.
Status
Folder Access
FTP Server
Media Server
The Status tab has a drop-down menu when two hard drives are detected. You can select the specific hard drive to get USB drive information.
NOTE: You can rename the drives on their computer by going to Properties to make it easier to identify if needed through the USB Tool. However, if you toggle between the router and the computer, any mapped drives on the computer may need to be remapped if the name of the drive is changed.
The Folder Access tab will give you the option to secure your hard drive files and give permissions to specific users of your choice. If you turn OFF the Secure Folder Access option, all content is accessible to all users on your network. Turning it ON lets you select the content available to specific users.
Follow the steps below to configure permissions of a user for a share:
1. Select the hard drive from the drop-down menu.
2. Create or edit a user.
3. Click on Shares or Select share.
4. On the new window, you can select an existing share or share the entire storage device.
The FTP Server option is global even if you have two hard drives.
The Media Server tab (UPnP/DLNA) lets you share media content across your network using a media-enabled device, such as a tablet or a network TV.
To do this, select the appropriate drive to configure the media server shares first.
NOTE: Scan Folders and Scan Now options are accessible for both drives.
After both drives have been properly configured, you will have access to both drives by entering the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router’s IP address via Windows Explorer.
