USB Access Point

Not sure why you need USB on the can it does not do anything.

You are right about the can but I have a Netgear router connected to the can as an access point that has a USB port.  I use it to connect a USB external drive to our home network to back up computers

The Netgear doesn't work very well.  I need advice on something that I can use as an access point to my can that has USB that won't break the bank.  If the USB on the can would work that would solve everything but no way to make it work as I know of.

Gracias

MGM46 wrote:

You are right about the can but I have a Netgear router connected to the can as an access point that has a USB port.  I use it to connect a USB external drive to our home network to back up computers

The Netgear doesn't work very well.  I need advice on something that I can use as an access point to my can that has USB that won't break the bank.  If the USB on the can would work that would solve everything but no way to make it work as I know of.

Gracias

Ok well no funcion on the can USB so maybe a ethernet drive will work for you?

Pretty much any router running  WRT or similar firmware will have USB these days.  Question is whether it is the older USB2 or one of the newer USB 3.x specs.

Asus has had some pretty solid offerings the last couple generations.  But you may want to compare the cost of a basic NAS too... they have become way more affordable in recent years 

Keep in mind you may run ino bottlenecks at the network level... gonna be hard to saturate a SATA SSD (approaching 5-6gbps, 480-580 MB/s depending on hardware) with a home network.  Even at a wired 1gbbps, (just shy of 120MB/s) you may be hard pressed to saturate a 4TB or larger conventional  hard drive depending on the spin speed and controller limits.

You have options. Based upon the conversation it sounds as if you have the previous generation of home internet gateway. I would guess if you talk to T-Mobile you could get an upgrade to the newer Nokia gateway which has both 4G LTE and 5G capability. To know if you have 5G available in your area you can use the online verification and find out. Keep in mind the store fronts for the phones currently do not have any knowledge of the home internet gateway and will probably not be able to help you. OK so they know it is there but don't do that part of the business. 

The newer Nokia router with 1.2003.03.0178 software in operation does run the USB port on the back of the router. Will it meet your needs? Maybe The newer router also has 802.11ax WIFI so if you purchase a new shiny PC with an 802.11ax adapter you will be able to leverage it. If you requested the newer router you should expect 3-4 weeks before you might be able to get one given the available inventory and number of requests for these. I got mine back in early January as part of the BETA program and had to wait 3 weeks for it to arrive. I had no solution other than the coffee house. It is something to consider and look into. 

I would prefer to have a local NAS with a gigabit Ethernet connection hard wired vs USB but that is my preference. The bandwidth on the USB interface will be dictated by its version and the link to it via a client through the network. If the wireless connection used is slow well the fastest NAS will be a waste of money. Set your expectations accordingly and do your homework.

I have the new gateway also with firmware 1.2003.03.0178 and I have tested and confirmed it only provides a 5V DC power. It can not do USB-C PPS or QC, or any other protocols for USB-C to provide any more power then 5V. I was going to wire my fan to run a little faster at 9V with an inline circuit to use the PPS 9V, but my tester doesn't show it capable of any other voltage.

I also suspect it does not have any data capabilities either.  It is probably just for re-flashing firmware/boot-loader at this time. The manual states:
NOTA
The USB-C and RJ-11 voice ports currently are not functional.

If I was him I would invest in a NAS with a 1GB port, or update the netgear to another router that supports USB 3.0 like the Asus RT-AC86U or RT-AX86U. When you are talking about backing up devices in the house sometimes an investment is worth it. I would save up a little and get something that's will fit your needs and last a while. As stated above do your research and set your expectations accordingly.

I agree getting a NAS and putting it on a resource where you can leverage it is best. I would hard wire the unit to a gigabit port vs. using the wireless. That is just me. 

I use the USB port on the router to run a small laptop cooling fan I put under the router. I have no real indication to believe there is a heat issue with mine but I had the laptop fan just sitting in a drawer so I put it to work as the USB port powers it up just fine. It is more useful for this than for a laptop anyway. I had checked the USB port months ago on prior firmware/software and it was not working. When I more recently checked it with the 0178 upgrade I noticed it was working. I looked into the heat related issues as well but mine is a cool dude. So far.

iTinkeralot wrote:

I use the USB port on the router to run a small laptop cooling fan I put under the router. I have no real indication to believe there is a heat issue with mine but I had the laptop fan just sitting in a drawer so I put it to work as the USB port powers it up just fine. It is more useful for this than for a laptop anyway. I had checked the USB port months ago on prior firmware/software and it was not working. When I more recently checked it with the 0178 upgrade I noticed it was working. I looked into the heat related issues as well but mine is a cool dude. So far.

Yea, I did the same. I just took an old fan and wired a USB-C connector to the end of it a few days ago just to see if it makes a difference. Thats when I decided to check what the USB-C port can do with this firmware version. I also don't have a heat issue over the last 18 days with the house at 75F and I don't use the internal can WiFi since I have a Asus AX86U that does all my network management and NAS is plugged into the Asus. I am guessing it doesn't generate at much heat with the three WiFi radios off. But I am also only on week three of testing it, so far so good and not complaints.