ORBI - USB Hard Drive support

[PikerFlinn]

It is singly the most disapointing issue with the router - NO USB Hard Drive Support. Sadly this means I will not be purchasing any more of these products unless and until this is rectified. Expensive, yes, so I would have expted that this was part of the fnuctionality.

[AlexeiReyes]

Orbi should provide USB HD support so that I can just connect my 4TB USB HD into the satellite or the router itself.   I don't understand why they can't do this considering all Netgear has to do is make an app that will support this!  I'm getting impatient and frustrated.

[FURRYe38]

It's going on 2+ years since Orbi has been out. If NG hasn't included USB as of yet, I may not be forth coming. 

Might try a USB to LAN adapter to see if this helps as a alternative solution. 

[michaelkenward]

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

Might try a USB to LAN adapter to see if this helps as a alternative solution. 

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Unlikely to work. Anything that needs drivers or software in Windows is likely to fall over when attached to a switch.

Better just buy an NAS device that can use Ethernet natively.

[FURRYe38]

Ya I prefer NAS as well. However some already have USB drives so USB to LAN can be an alternative. 

Theres nothing like native NAS Though. 

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@michaelkenward wrote:

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

Might try a USB to LAN adapter to see if this helps as a alternative solution. 

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Unlikely to work. Anything that needs drivers or software in Windows is likely to fall over when attached to a switch.

Better just buy an NAS device that can use Ethernet natively.

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[michaelkenward]

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

However some already have USB drives so USB to LAN can be an alternative. 

Go the whole hog. Buy an NAS that supports USB!

[FURRYe38]

I just pig out on NAS only. USB is for temporary or mobile storage for me. 

Have two DNS-345 loaded with 4Tb drives. I'm set. 

[michaelkenward]

Don't ask why, I can't remember, but I have four NAS (three ZyXel and one D-Link)with a total of near on 10 TB. (I've lost count.) Then there is the 4TB USB drive attached to the R7800, for stuff that I need to move around.

Which, coming back to the subject, is why I have the R7800 as a router and the Orbi stuff in AP mode.

[FURRYe38]

Thats a good setup too. I have the XR450 for a main router and Orbi as main WiFi in AP mode too. 

[Bambooken]

What do I need to do in order to simply plug a 4TB Harddrive into my RBR50 as a shared drive between the various household computers?

It's looking like the USB port is not going to do it.

What if I connect the drive to the RBR50 via a USB to Ethernet adapter?

Apologies if this has been covered but the USB issue is hard to cut through to get a direct answer to my question.

TIA!

RBR50 + 2 satellites

Firmware Version V2.3.5.30

Mostly Mac ecosystem

[FURRYe38]

You can try a USB to Ethernet adapter and see if this helps any. 

For the most part. Orbi doesn't support Storage media at all. Its been asked about since Orbi first came out by everyone. We presume since NG hasn't done anything, that it won't be seen. Even the new Orbi AX doesn't have a USB port so kind of tells me that NG doesn't want to support USB drives on Orbi at all foing forward. 

Let us know if the USB to ethernet adapter works for you...

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@Bambooken wrote:

What do I need to do in order to simply plug a 4TB Harddrive into my RBR50 as a shared drive between the various household computers?

It's looking like the USB port is not going to do it.

What if I connect the drive to the RBR50 via a USB to Ethernet adapter?

Apologies if this has been covered but the USB issue is hard to cut through to get a direct answer to my question.

TIA!

RBR50 + 2 satellites

Firmware Version V2.3.5.30

Mostly Mac ecosystem

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[Bambooken]

I replaced my Airport Extreem with the ORBI system.

Has anyone tried to attach an Airport Extreem in bridge mode to the ORBI via ethernet then attach a harddrive to the Airport Extreem? Perhaps this would be a work around of sorts?

 - Have any viable workarounds been discovered?

[ETavis]

I am going to try it out soon. I was able to create a new network using my extreme. I think you can acess that network some how. But I dont know. I want to see if I an bridge it. I will let you know if it works.

[ETavis]

I was able to connect a hardrive to the Orbi. I had an apple extreme laying around (old router) with a USB port. I conected the Apple Extreme to the router's ethernet port. I set the Apple Extreme to bridge mode.  Conected a hardrive to the Airport Extreme. Enabled my computer to see the attached hardrive.

[ETavis]

It works

[Bambooken]

@ETavis thank you for letting us know. I'll give it a try myself. 

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@ETavis wrote:

It works

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[edstrait]

Thanks, THis just changed my mind and tales the orbi off my selection list

[Phipps25]

https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/product/HMYD2VC/A/netgear-orbi-whole-home-tri-band-mesh-wi-fi-system-2...

this Orbi has a USB port on it 

[Phipps25]

https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/product/HMYD2VC/A/netgear-orbi-whole-home-tri-band-mesh-wi-fi-system-2...

this one has USB

[edstrait]

USB 2.0 as I can see. Not anywhere good enough. USB 3.0, that I currently have on my older netgear router, is 10 times faster than usb 2.0. USB ports on a router make a good place to plug in a portable drive for backups accessable to all PC's on the network. You'll just want to have a USB 3  to get the speed out of it.

[CrimpOn]

The Orbi with USB 2.0 port was "version 1", which may no longer be in stock.  Version 2 of the Orbi has no USB port at all. Neither does the new AX model.  AND.. if the point is to attach a USB drive to the WiFi router, no Orbi has ever supported it.  Other Netgear routers may, but not the Orbi.

[FURRYe38]

USB Hard Drive support has been asked about since Orbi first came out. NG doesn't seem to want to support it being now Orbi AC is going on 4 years old. NG has removed the USB port from Orbi 50 series v2 and the new Orbi AX doesn't even have a USB port included. So NG seems to be taking the stance of not wanting to support USB drives period. Just because it has USB connector doesn't mean it supports USB Hard Drives.

As mentioned, USB2.0 is not really fast and is slow compared to USB 3.0. I've done file xfers off full drives with 3.0 and gotta say, it's damn fast. Very Impressed with it. I still prefer LAN NAS though. Always will. 

Users need to look into other alternative means for USB storage and NAS. USB is good for somethings however if you want to stream and have ease of network access of your content, then stop wasting time with USB storage and look into NAS. Into NAS isn't that expensive and in the long run, will be more effective. NAS has been a standard for a while now and doesn't change. 1Gb is standard connect rates. You'll be so much happier.

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@Phipps25 wrote:

https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/product/HMYD2VC/A/netgear-orbi-whole-home-tri-band-mesh-wi-fi-system-2...

this one has USB

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