Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973

RBR750 and RBS 750 Satellite

Cookinjh53
Follower

RBR750 and RBS 750 Satellite

RBR 750 Router and RBS 750 Satellite

 

The RBR 750 Router does not have USB ports so how do I connect a printer or an external hard drive with a USB connection or other devices which have USB connections.  There are Ethernet connections available.  I have tried to use USB to ethernet adapters, but for the external hard drive it will not power up the external hard drive even though it has its own power source, so it does not boot up. 

 

I also bought a Netgear 5 port PoE Gigabit Ethernet Unmanaged Switch, 300 Switch Series, Model Number GS305P.  This was to try and power up the external hard drive with a USB to Ethernet converter still no luck.

 

Any suggestions would be welcomed.

 

The Orbi Router with Satellite works well for all the devices connected for streaming, security cameras, etc.

 

Thanks,

John

 

Message 1 of 6
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBR750 and RBS 750 Satellite

If your looking to connect a USB printer to the system and network it for everyone, I recommend you try a USB Printer to Print Server device that you would connect the printer to then the Printer Server device would connect via ethernet to the system. 

 

Message 2 of 6
CrimpOn
Guru

Re: RBR750 and RBS 750 Satellite


@Cookinjh53 wrote:

The RBR 750 Router does not have USB ports so how do I connect a printer or an external hard drive with a USB connection or other devices which have USB connections.


The short answer is, "Can't be done."

 

Back in 2016, when Netgear announced the Orbi product, the hardware included a USB 2.0 port and Bluetooth radio. There was a clear expectation that the product would "soon" support Netgear's ReadyShare for USB hard drives and printers.  That was (and remains) a common feature of consumer routers.  However, that capability never materialized and subsequent Orbi products no longer include a USB port at all.

 

It remains a mystery why Netgear never included ReadyShare in their mesh product line.  The "latest and greatest" Nighthawk RAXE500 now has two USB 3.0 ports: https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RAXE500/RAXE500_DS.pdf 

 

This leaves consumers who purchased Orbi systems in a bit of a pickle.  Unlike printers, which have protocols for connecting across networks, USB hard drives rely on a host system for the "smarts" to make data storage work.  That is what host computers do when USB drives are connected.  The host computer knows how to allocate disk sectors to individual files, keep track of errors, etc. etc.  ReadyShare is the software that manages a USB hard drive when connected to a router.

 

My internet searches for "print server" never seem to come up with any indication of being used to connect hard drives.  I'm not claiming that it is impossible. Only that it looks doubtful.

 

People with desktop computers can connect the USB hard drive to the computer and then "share" the hard drive.  This is obviously impractical if there are only laptops and tablets available.

Message 3 of 6
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBR750 and RBS 750 Satellite

Message 4 of 6
CrimpOn
Guru

Re: RBR750 and RBS 750 Satellite

Perhaps for a printer, but what is the solution for a USB Hard Drive?

Message 5 of 6
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: RBR750 and RBS 750 Satellite

Share the out the USB drive on a PC or get into NAS. Once you go NAS, you'll never go back to USB drives. 

Message 6 of 6
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