Readyshare Question

Question

I have a RS280 router that I attached a 1TB hard drive to via the USB port. The router recognises the hard drive and I can get it to show up in Windows 11 Explorer (most of the time!). However, I cannot write new files or folders to it. I do have permissions set to read/write with no restrictions in the router's GUI. I have two questions:

Any idea why I can get the hard dribe to show up in Windows Explorer - but only periodically. The share name is the default i.e. "\\readyshare\USB_Storage". I have attached a screenshot of the ReadyShare Basic settings screen.
More importantly, does anybody know why I CANNOT write to the hard drive?? I tried mapping the network drive and connecting with no user or password - still can't write. I tried mapping the drive and connecting with the user name and password of the router - still can't write.

I'm thinking I'm missing something pretty simple but just can't figure it out.

Thanks for any help or advise . . .

FURRYe38 · Answer

Any progress on this?&nbsp;
&nbsp;
How do you have Windows privacy settings set for?&nbsp;

Carole1 · Answer

Hi gandalf_1369, this is a common ReadySHARE issue and usually comes down to a few settings. First, check the file system of your 1TB drive — if it’s formatted as NTFS, some Netgear routers only allow read access. Reformatting it to exFAT or FAT32 (after backing up your data) often fixes write issues. Next, clear any saved ReadySHARE credentials in Windows Credential Manager and remap the drive using \readyshare\USB_Storage with your router’s admin login. Also, note that ReadySHARE depends on SMB 1.0, which is disabled by default in Windows 11, so you may need to temporarily enable it under Control Panel → Programs → Turn Windows features on or off. Finally, ensure your router’s firmware is up to date, as older versions sometimes have unreliable USB write support. After checking these, you should be able to access and write to the drive consistently.

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