FritzBox: Set up USB hard drive as network storage

You can use USB hard drives connected via your FritzBox as a network drive within your home network. The drive is then selectable and usable via Windows Explorer or even macOS Finder like a local disk. With the appropriate settings, you can even access the storage over the Internet.

How to set up a USB hard drive as network storage

To make sure everything works in the end, you need to make some preparations.

1. Install or enable the SMB1 protocol (Server Message Block protocol), this will allow you to access the drive later via Explorer or Finder.
2. The connected disk must also not be larger than two terabytes and must be formatted in the FAT/FAT32 file system.
3. To allow multiple devices to access the hard drive at the same time, you must disable the "USB Remote" in the FritzBox. This works via the user interface of the FritzBox. There you will find in the category "System" under the item "USB Devices" the option to disable the remote port.

Enable network storage

If this is done, you can connect the USB disk to the FritzBox and set it up. Make sure that this is also supplied with sufficient power.

1. Call the user interface of the FritzBox via the browser and activate the advanced view.
2. Click in the navigation on "Home Network" and there in the submenu on "Storage NAS".
3. Set the check mark at "Storage (NAS) active".
4. Set the read and write permissions and a password for access.
5. Save the settings by clicking "Apply".

In the category "Storage (NAS)" you can edit and manage the settings and access rights at any time.