We have different connections on the back of our router and one of them might be a USB port. Not all routers have it, but it is becoming more common to find it and it has different advantages. You may wonder what this USB port is for when the point is that it gives us a WiFi connection. Again, USB port on router can be very useful.
Here we explain the different uses and devices that we can connect to the home router. Some may not work on all routers as they often come with limitations, especially carriers’ routers. In any case, remember to check if your router has a USB port and you can usually get more than what’s given to it.
If you don’t have a socket nearby, you can charge other devices.
It is easy for us today to have many connectors scattered around the house, but it is also common for many ports to be occupied. depend on the current, USB ports of routers also serve to charge devices. Let’s move from a smart watch to a headset or even a cell phone.
We don’t expect the power to be very high, but it’s a good idea to keep the router’s USB port in mind as an emergency if we don’t have another port. Not forgetting the organizational factor, this USB port is generally better protected than the others.
Connect an external hard drive and turn it into an emergency NAS
To access files in the cloud, we can upload them to a server like Google Drive or have our own Network Attached Storage (NAS). And the router’s USB port will help us create one easily. We only need an external hard drive or a USB stick. By connecting it to the router, we can access it through the WiFi network itself.
We can do it from the router configuration page Access external memory files via FTP. We can also set the security level with read and write permissions from this page. If we don’t want to spend a lot of money on a more complete and faster NAS, with the router’s USB, this trick is as simple as it is practical.
And who says a NAS, says a multimedia server
Having a hard drive in the cloud also gives us access to multimedia content, from photos to videos. On some routers you can also connect an external hard drive and watch movies or videos in that memory on another device connected to the home WiFi network, ideally the TV.
De facto, we are turning the NAS connected to the USB of the router into a multimedia server. Here we suggest you to install apps like Kodi on the TV and choose this external hard drive connected to the router so that you can have an interesting multimedia library in the cloud in a few steps.
Or a data recovery system
Another option with an external hard drive is to use it as a data recovery system. By connecting a USB or hard disk we can automatically create a backup copy and install it on this drive. For this we can use a USB that we do not use and configure the system to make periodic backups.
On Windows we can do this via the ‘Backup with File History’ function, on MacOS we can do it with Time Machine.
Use a 4G dongle
Not all routers can take advantage of this idea, but one 4G dongle can connect to many. A USB modem with a data connection that can replace a WiFi network. For example, if our internet company is having problems, we can connect a 4G modem via the USB port and create a home network from it. We only have to be careful with the data consumed, but this can save us from a big bottleneck.
Connect a printer directly
Of the USB devices we can connect to a router, perhaps the most common beyond the hard disk is a printer. It is a very common function as it allows have a wireless printer even if the base station doesn’t have this option.
By connecting the printer via the USB port, we can access it from the software configuration page, and it will be as if we had connected it directly to the computer, with the difference that we could send the files to print wirelessly.
Download firmware and update router
Routers usually update automatically, but sometimes we can do it manually to install the firmware we want via a USB stick. well useful if we want to revert to a previous version or install a specific version. At this point, it is important to be careful and careful not to install software that causes incompatibilities, as this may render the router unusable.
on Xataka | Router buying guide in 2022: top recommendations and 12 models under 100 euros
Source: Xataka
I’m Sandra Torres, a passionate journalist and content creator. My specialty lies in covering the latest gadgets, trends and tech news for Div Bracket. With over 5 years of experience as a professional writer, I have built up an impressive portfolio of published works that showcase my expertise in this field.