Nighthawk RAX48 STOPS WORKING when HD connected to USB

[maxman76]

Whenever I plug my external SSD into this POS, the WiFi totally stops working. Can't connect to it at all!

WTH, Netgear!? I paid good money for this thing, and it fails completely with a USB drive connected to it for NAS! And now it's out of warranty so I can't even contact your support team about this issue?!

So sad. Good customer service is about the only thing that separates the quality brands from the dozens of cheap garbage brands these days. I thought Netgear was better than this. I guess next time I might as well just spend less money on a competitor's product.

[maxman76 · Accepted solution]

I figured it out. My SSD is 4TB. I found something that basically said the router can only handle up to 2TB partitions.

After adding a second partition (so that both are set to equal size - 2TB), it is working, and I can access my files on the drive via readyshare!

[maxman76 · Accepted solution]

I figured it out. My SSD is 4TB. I found something that basically said the router can only handle up to 2TB partitions.

After adding a second partition (so that both are set to equal size - 2TB), it is working, and I can access my files on the drive via readyshare!

[FURRYe38]

Glad you got it working. Be sure to save off a back up configuration to file for safe keeping. Saves time if a reset is needed.
https://kb.netgear.com/24231/How-do-I-back-up-the-router-configuration-settings-on-my-Nighthawk-rout...
Enjoy. 📡

[michaelkenward]

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@maxman76 wrote:

I figured it out. My SSD is 4TB. I found something that basically said the router can only handle up to 2TB partitions.

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The usual issue is not the size of the partition, but that there is more than one.

I have drives with 8TB partitions. ReadySHARE cannot handle more than one partition on a drive.

The fact that the router fails completely when a drive is connected also points to a different problem that probably has nothing to do with the size of the partitions.

[michaelkenward]

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@maxman76 wrote:

I figured it out. My SSD is 4TB. I found something that basically said the router can only handle up to 2TB partitions.

After adding a second partition (so that both are set to equal size - 2TB), it is working, and I can access my files on the drive via readyshare!

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Most routers can handle larger USB drives. I have one at 8TB.

Netgear's KnowledgeBase piece in drives is inaccurate and incomplete.

ReadySHARE USB Drives Compatibility List | Answer | NETGEAR Support

What they do not like is partitioned drives. They can't see separate partitions.

On the other hand, it is hard to see how that would wreck the wifi.

[maxman76]

Yeah. now even after partitioning it, the router still just stops working completely if the drive is connected. It's a Samsung 4TB SSD, NTFS formatted. Maybe a problem with the router, or the drive takes too much power to run from the USB port (it uses a USB A to USB C cable)?

[michaelkenward]

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@maxman76  wrote:
Maybe a problem with the router, or the drive takes too much power to run from the USB port (it uses a USB A to USB C cable)?

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Sounds like a logical assessment. My 4 TB WD Elements has its own power supply.

I have run smaller drives off the USB ports.

The RAX48 does have USB3, but it could be on the edge of the power supply.

[maxman76]

I wonder: would it be possible to use a powered USB hub, plug the drive into the hub for power, then the output of the hub connects to the USB port on the router?

[michaelkenward]

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@maxman76 wrote:
I wonder: would it be possible to use a powered USB hub, plug the drive into the hub for power, then the output of the hub connects to the USB port on the router?

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Worth trying.