Router THG 3000

[Donsfan47]

This router has two usb ports that I thought I could use to add external hard drives to my network, but they dont seem to work. I had a "chat" with vodaphone and he said they should be used with a dongle in a more expensive package.??? I was then cut off!

I saw a video where the dongle was plugged into a laptop ( not the router) All very confusing.

I joined Vodafone 3/2/22 from Talktalk. Both companies have the same poor communications problems.

Can anyone shed any light on this

[Jayach]

The USB ports will handle low powered devices such as USB sticks and should be O.K. with hard drives if they have their own PSU. The most likely problem is with how you have them formatted. I use NTFS with no problems.

They are only USB2 so will never be very fast.

[Jayach]

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@Donsfan47 wrote:

I had a "chat" with vodaphone and he said they should be used with a dongle in a more expensive package.??? I was then cut off!

I saw a video where the dongle was plugged into a laptop ( not the router) All very confusing.

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The dongle that comes with Pro should definitely be plugged into the router, and will automatically be brought into action should the DSL(FTTC) or WAN(FTTP) fail. (at least, that's how it should work)

[Donsfan47]

So, the usb ports cant be used for adding a HD or flash drive to be accessed on a network?

Why two usb ports?

The  usb port use should be explained on the leaflet that comes with the router.

I have used other routers in the past with usb ports and I used them for adding  portable hard disks

[Jayach]

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@Donsfan47 wrote:

So, the usb ports cant be used for adding a HD or flash drive to be accessed on a network?

Yes they can 

@Jayach wrote:

The USB ports will handle low powered devices such as USB sticks and should be O.K. with hard drives if they have their own PSU. The most likely problem is with how you have them formatted. I use NTFS with no problems.

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USB sticks are flash drives.

[Donsfan47]

Hd is NTFS and flash drive is Fat 32.

I saw these devices in router settings and enabled "sharing". However, they are not seen on on my pc.

I use Kaspersky to protect pc, maybe that has something yo do with it?

(Overprotective)

Any thoughts?

[CrimsonLiar]

You can format USB flash drives with a variety of file systems - not always in situ though.  In most cases, NTFS is preferable, though ExFAT/FAT32 may be more compatible if you are sharing the drives between devices.

There may be differences between how the drivers work for different types of USB drives, so it's often better to keep to really vanilla drives, and nothing too massive.  This goes for most consumer targetted routers, not just ISP supplied ones.

*I have a 32GB USB drive plugged into my own ASUS router, formatted to ext4.  I does not like real HHDs even with their own power, or any drives that rely on USB to SATA, or USB to SCSI controllers!

[Jayach]

I explained how I did it on an earlier query, take a look here:

https://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Other-broadband-queries/Latest-black-router-USB-file-share/m-p/26679...

Edit: My stick is 64GB, not tried anything bigger.

[Donsfan47]

Thanks Jayach. I will give this a try.

[Donsfan47]

Your solution did not work for me. My aim, was to share the hd content on my smart phone and using the method below I managed it!

21/2/22

By using smb protocol (google it) I have now managed to share the contents of my western digital hd with my motorola smart phone via VLC media player. Method:-

1. Plug hd (ntfs)into usb port at rear of router THG3000
2. Go into 192.168.1.1
3. Select "sharing"  and apply (the hd is visible there)
4. Click on the hd for more details

Mine were - \\VODAPHONE.BROADBAND\WD_ExtHDD1021_1_2b0c. Write this down carefully paying attention to upper and lower case letters and underscores.

1. Open VLC media player. Tap "browse". Look for an orange coloured circle with a white plus sign in the middle. 
2. Tap this to open a menu and use the orange "button" to select smb.
3. In the box "network share name" enter VODAPHONE.BROADBAND (ignore the slashes)
4. In the box "folder path" enter WD_ExtHDD1021_1_2b0c
5. In the box "server name" enter any name you like. I used "mum"
6. Press OK
7. You should then see a folder "smb mum" in  "Favorites" 

Opening any of the files is a bit slow, but it does work.( music and photos) 

I found it helpful to use the arrow "bottom left" on my phone keyboard

after typing in each of the boxes.

You require a Wifi connection to see the contents of "mum"