Configuring a USB Mass Storage Device of FRITZ!Box as a Network Drive

All computers in the FRITZ!Box network can access a USB mass storage device of the FRITZ!Box via the Server Message Block protocol (SMB). On Windows operating systems the USB mass storage device can also be configured as a network drive and is then available as a local data storage in the "My Computer" Windows workspace.
Here we describe how you can configure the USB mass storage device of the FRITZ!Box as a network storage and how to access it from a computer within the FRITZ!Box network.

Preparations

  1. Install the current version of the firmware for your FRITZ!Box.
  2. Open the FRITZ!Box user interface.
  3. Firstly, click "Settings", then "Advanced Settings".
  4. "USB devices" > "Mass Storage Devices" or "Storage (NAS)"
  5. Ensure that the USB mass storage device is formatted with the file system FAT or FAT32.
    6. NOTE:
    Please contact the manufacturer of the USB storage device on queries referring to the file system.
  6. Connect the USB mass storage device to the port for USB devices of the FRITZ!Box.
    Anschluss-USB-Host_7270
    Illustration: Connecting USB mass storage device to FRITZ!Box

Now the network access of the USB mass storage device from within the FRITZ!Box network is possible.

Accessing the USB mass storage device via the network


Network access under Windows 7:
  1. Open the Windows Start Menu.
  2. In the entry field "Search programs and files", enter \\fritz.box and press the ENTER-key.
    3. smb-access_W7
    Illustration: SMB access of USB storage (Windows 7)

A new window will open and list all partitions of the connected USB storage as folders. By right-clicking a folder and selecting "Map Network Drive..." the respective partition can be saved.
NOTE:
If password protection is enabled, the user name is ftpuser.

Network access under Windows Vista:
  1. Open the Windows Start Menu.
  2. In the entry field "Start Search", enter \\fritz.box and press the ENTER-key.

A new window will open and list all partitions of the connected USB storage as folders. By right-clicking a folder and selecting "Map Network Drive..." the respective partition can be saved.
NOTE:
If password protection is enabled, theuser name is ftpuser.

Network access under Windows XP / 2000 / Server 2003:
  1. Open the Windows Start Menu and select "Run".
  2. In the entry field "Open", enter \\fritz.box and klick "OK".

A new window will open and list all partitions of the connected USB storage as folders. By right-clicking a folder and selecting "Map Network Drive..." the respective partition can be saved.
NOTE:
If password protection is enabled, the user name is ftpuser.

Network access under Mac OS X:
  1. Open the Mac OS X Finder.
  2. Select "Go" and "Connect to Server...".
  3. In the entry field "Server Address", enter smb://fritz.box and click "Connect".
A window will open that displays all file sharings of the computer.
NOTE:
If the password protection is enabled, the user name is ftpuser.

Linux and other Operating Systems:
  • Access the USB mass storage device of the FRITZ!Box by the means of the SMB protocol and the host name (fritz.box) or the IP address of the FRITZ!Box.
NOTE:
On questions referring to the network access of file sharings by means of SMB, please contact the manufacuturer of the operating system.
If the password protection is enabled, the user name is ftpuser.