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problem with r6300 external hard drive in access point mode
Running firmware V1.0.4.6_10.0.7, current AFAIK. I've tried repeatedly to connect a 1TB hard drive to the router with little or no success. It's a WD Blue drive in a Sabrent enclosure. It worked fine with my ASUS wireless N router that I used as an access point previously. I've tried both USB 2 and USB 3 enclosures--both Sabrent. I was able to get a partial recognition with USB 2 and none with USB 3. Flash drives work fine in both the USB ports. So far I've tried power cycling the router with the drive plugged in and unplugged, resetting to factory defaults with the drive plugged in and unplugged. I've tried all combinations of the previous. I went through this with a different brand of router and eventually returned it after about a month of going around in circles with tech support. I've submitted a ticket via email with Netgear. I'm hoping to solve the problem or know that it can't be solved within Amazon's 30 day return window. The router works well as an access point and I'd like to be able to use it for DLNA. Any help would be appreciated.
I returned the router to Amazon. It was obvious that Netgear was not interested in solving the problem. The idea that a USB device that doesn't require a driver is incompatible with the router firmware strains even the most flexible credulity. This is clearly a situation where bits is bits and the router's only job is to forward them. I could understand the DLNA software not being up to the job. This is true with some routers. I'm guessing not enough resources allocated to manage the database. The inability of the router to deal with SMB indicates a serious design defect. The reason I want to use the router is to have a source that's available at any time without the need to have a computer on. I'm back to my aging wireless N router and it works flawlessly for the media. It doesn't have the wireless signal strength of the Netgear router but it's OK as a wired access point. I wanted to improve the wireless part but not at the expense of the media serving.
6 Replies
I may be going against the grain, but my advice is to not use the router as a NAS. It's not very good at it and robs the router of significant amount of CPU. Invest in a dedicated NAS. It will run circles around most routers.
I'm not using this as my primary router. I use it as a wired access point and DLNA server. No data, just media. My old ASUS wireless N router worked perfectly well with the drive and served up music and video without a problem. I wanted wireless AC in the access point. If I had large amounts of data that I needed to work on, e. g. a database, I'd use NAS. Given my prior experience, I expected a router to do the job.
Got a "fascinating" response from Netgear about the problem. The drive is not on the compatibility list. I looked at the list and it's actually a "list of USB drives have been reported to work with R6300v2," in other words drives that have been tested and work, nothing about drives that don't work. It appears that the drive hasn't been tested. Since the list also appears to include only drives sold as USB drives and mine is a standard WD desktop drive in an aftermarket enclosure I'm not surprised that it's not there. Since USB drives almost always contain standard desktop drives in a box with a USB interface my drive may actually be in one of the WD drives on the compatible list. I've tried the drive in 2 different enclosures and it works fine with the computers in my house. It also works with the router I was hoping to replace, an ASUS wireless n model that's been out for at least 5 years. Fortunately I'm within the Amazon return window. I'm disappointed with the bad faith customer service has demonstrated in this case.
I returned the router to Amazon. It was obvious that Netgear was not interested in solving the problem. The idea that a USB device that doesn't require a driver is incompatible with the router firmware strains even the most flexible credulity. This is clearly a situation where bits is bits and the router's only job is to forward them. I could understand the DLNA software not being up to the job. This is true with some routers. I'm guessing not enough resources allocated to manage the database. The inability of the router to deal with SMB indicates a serious design defect. The reason I want to use the router is to have a source that's available at any time without the need to have a computer on. I'm back to my aging wireless N router and it works flawlessly for the media. It doesn't have the wireless signal strength of the Netgear router but it's OK as a wired access point. I wanted to improve the wireless part but not at the expense of the media serving.
nippy_katz wrote:
I wanted to improve the wireless part but not at the expense of the media serving.
You could deploy an 802.11ac router as an access point, and continue to use your current router as the router/storage device.
