How to access my USB storage device on the TP-Link Routers from my Android and iOS phone

NOTE: If you failed to access the USB drive, please refer to the FAQ: Can't access my USB drive plugged into TP-Link router

This article tells you how to access the USB storage device on Android and iOS phone via Samba, FTP locally and remotely.

Router Settings

1. Plug the USB storage device into the USB port of the TP-Link router.

2. Log in to the router’s webpage. You may refer to the FAQ How do I log into the web-based Utility (Management Page) of the TP-Link wireless router?

3. Go to USB settings. (Advanced->USB->USB storage Device). If the router recognizes the USB storage device, it will show in the status.

4. Considering the safety, we suggest you enable the“Secure Sharing” option to prevent others from accessing your USB drive without login.

Access the USB drive on Android and iOS phones.

There are 2 options to visit the USB drive. Please make sure the corresponding services are enabled.

Option1. Access USB drive locally.

1). iOS

We recommend using a third-party APP like “ES file explorer” to access the USB drive. Here we take the “ES File Explorer” as an example.

Open the APP, and click “Services” at the bottom. Normally the APP will discover the smb services in the local network.

Click the “TP-SHARE” on available devices, and type the username and password.

If the APP is not showing available devices, please click “+” button.

Then type “tplinkwifi.net” in the URL option.

Type username and password to connect.

2). Android.

We recommend using a third-party APP like “ES file explorer” to access the USB drive. Here we take the “ES File Explorer” as an example:

Open the APP, and click “Network”.

Click the Scan button to detect the SMB server. Then click “TP-SHARE” in the scan result.

Type the username and password to log in.

If the app doesn’t detect it, we can also add it manually.

Then type “tplinkwifi.net” in the URL option. Type username and password to connect.

Option 2. Access USB drive remotely.

Please attention that only FTP is supported to access the USB drive remotely.

Check “Internet FTP”, then click save to enable the Internet FTP service.

Using the address in the screenshot to visit the USB remotely.

Android/iOS

We recommend using a third-party APP like “ES file explorer” to access the USB drive. Here we take the “ES File Explorer” as an example:

Click the “+” button to add the FTP server.

Type the IP address of the router’s WAN port. (Normally the IP address should be a public IP address).

Type username and password to log in.

If you need to access the USB storage device on the computer, please refer to the FAQ:

How to access USB storage device on the TP-Link Routers from Windows or MacOS?

To get to know more details of each function and configuration please go to Download Center to download the manual of your product.