Many people have noticed that their routers have USB ports. However, in most cases they were not given much importance. Of course, what we can do varies greatly depending on the model. However, generally speaking, the Wi-Fi Router’s USB port is very useful for a wide variety of functions. See what you can do right now! In some it will be really very useful!
Wi-Fi Router: Attention, you can do this with the USB port!
Before we look at the different things you can do with your router’s USB port, it’s important to understand that just because your router has a USB port doesn’t mean it can be used for all the functions we’re going to talk about. This largely depends on the manufacturer’s options. However, in the case of the most recent versions, it is likely that you will be able to activate many features.
Configure the Router’s USB Functions
The things we can do with the router’s USB port are varied. That said, we’ll tell you which are the main functions and which are really worth it.
Share a USB drive
While the best way to share a hard drive with everyone on your home network is to use a dedicated NAS (Network-Attached Storage) device, this is also an alternative. Furthermore, it is a very cost-effective solution.
That said, within your router’s menus, you likely have one or more options for sharing the drive. One possibility is that you can map the drive in your operating system. Another is that you can add the unit as FTP.
The router’s USB information page should provide all the information needed to access the unit from other devices.
In addition to serving to share files, it can be very useful as a backup device.
Create a media server
Some routers can function as a media server. In this way, we can connect a pendrive with different contents and they can be reproduced in other equipment connected in a network. Like on a TV or Box.
share a printer
Wi-Fi or ethernet printers are not particularly expensive or rare. However if you have one that is USB only, your router may have the ability to act as a print server, allowing anyone on the network to print from your device.
Additional internet access
Your modem eventually uses a fiber connection. However, sometimes it can go downhill. If you have a 4G or 5G modem in the form of a pendrive connected to the router, it could be your salvation in these cases.
The Router’s USB ports can add some really useful possibilities to your network, so it’s really worth using.
