Newest Quantum Router and USB ports
surSoi
Enthusiast - Level 1

I'm a bit confused as to why Verizon's people are insisting that the latest Quantum Router, which goes for $199, will have its USB ports ready and working for external drives/storage with ugraded firmware on it as soon as I get it?

In the same discussion he contradicted himself by citing the manual:

"in the future , with a firmware upgrade, the USB host functionality may be available for other devices such as external storage and cameras" 

By the same token, everywhere I look on within this forum I find repeated mention that the USBs are NOT operable the way most of us would like.

Can anyone shed clearer light on this?

Mind you, I'd chatted with the same exact person yesterday who'd tried to convince me of getting this Quantum Router because the USB ports supposedly worked.

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Re: Newest Quantum Router and USB ports
gs0b
Community Leader
Community Leader

I've got a 4T WD My Cloud and it works great.  I use it primarily to backup all the computers in my home using a combination of the WD backup software, Arconis True Image and Windows Backup.  It's fast, reliable and works well. Everything I expect a NAS to be.

I've used some of the remote access features from time to time.  I've remotely accessed photo libraries using iThings and it's worked.  Sometimes the connection is slow, but I've chalked that up to the quality of the internet link at the places I've used.  I tested the media server and it talks to iTunes and iThings, but I don't use it as that's not how media is consumed in my home.

Remember that when reading online reviews you'll always hear more from unhappy people than happy people.  That's just human nature.

You can certainly attach another router to the Quantum and use whatever features it has.  There are many ways to do this with various tradeoffs.  This FAQ has great info on the different ways to use a non-Verizon router.

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/16077

By the time you purchase a router and a USB drive, you'll probably spend as much or more than you would for a NAS box.  And you'll likely have less features than a NAS box.

Good Luck.

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Re: Newest Quantum Router and USB ports
gs0b
Community Leader
Community Leader

Welcome to the forums.  You're talking to other customers here.

Currently, the USB ports on the Quantum router are not enabled.  In the past, Verizon has not announced firmware upgrades until they happen.  So, we users really have no idea when or if the USB ports will be enabled for anything.

If you're looking to add NAS to your network, I suggest you take a look at the WD "My Could" NAS devices.  They cost slightly more than a bare NAS hard drive(*) and provide lots of great features including remote access to your data and acting as a media server.  If Verizon ever does enable the USB ports I doubt the router will have any where near the functionality and performance of a true NAS device.

Good Luck.

(*) Note that a NAS hard drive is designed for 24/7 operation.  They may cost more than a desktop drive because of this.  Regardless of if you get a NAS device or a USB drive, you should consider a NAS rated drive if you plan to leave it on all the time.

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Re: Newest Quantum Router and USB ports
surSoi
Enthusiast - Level 1

Thank you for your reply. Sad how their folks try to rush a person to purchase their product(s) without having properly and completely answered one's questions. That person I mentioned wasn't the only one I'd chatted with over the past 36 hours but they've all tried to steer me towards purchasing the router.

On another note, I've had a look at so many NAS device options and the forums and product reviews I've come across regarding the WD's appear to be rife with complaints. If not with how slow they are then how imcompetent the device works. 

But then I'm seeing that with so many other products as well.

Was wondering about being able to make use of an external drive via a secondary router (like a linksys) with USB capabilities. That is, by bridging the FIOS router. Any thoughts about that?

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Re: Newest Quantum Router and USB ports
gs0b
Community Leader
Community Leader

I've got a 4T WD My Cloud and it works great.  I use it primarily to backup all the computers in my home using a combination of the WD backup software, Arconis True Image and Windows Backup.  It's fast, reliable and works well. Everything I expect a NAS to be.

I've used some of the remote access features from time to time.  I've remotely accessed photo libraries using iThings and it's worked.  Sometimes the connection is slow, but I've chalked that up to the quality of the internet link at the places I've used.  I tested the media server and it talks to iTunes and iThings, but I don't use it as that's not how media is consumed in my home.

Remember that when reading online reviews you'll always hear more from unhappy people than happy people.  That's just human nature.

You can certainly attach another router to the Quantum and use whatever features it has.  There are many ways to do this with various tradeoffs.  This FAQ has great info on the different ways to use a non-Verizon router.

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/16077

By the time you purchase a router and a USB drive, you'll probably spend as much or more than you would for a NAS box.  And you'll likely have less features than a NAS box.

Good Luck.

Re: Newest Quantum Router and USB ports
surSoi
Enthusiast - Level 1

Thanks again for your input and insights.

I hear what you're saying about folks complaining online; and likewise, not everyone goes on about how great their experience is with the product; or how their problem was resolved after having already complained. Yep.  

Regarding the costs, I've already got numerous external drives from a couple to several TB so the cost won't be the same. 'and it'd just occurred to me that I wouldn't even have to bridge the drive if I'm not interested in using it as an extension of my wifi. Hooking up directly/physically to the newer router would be fine with me...'and thus I suppose it could all still work separately of my current setup. With the exception of a tweak or two I guess.

Anyhow, thank you ver much for your time. 😉

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Re: Newest Quantum Router and USB ports
surSoi
Enthusiast - Level 1

 Thought to post an update regarding my solution.

Had ordered the ASUS (RT-AC68U) Wireless-AC1900 Dual-Band Gigabit Router the other and received it this morning. 

I'd very little trouble setting it up for a home network to which I'd attached my biggest external drive and it's all working out beautifully. Although I admittedly had to tweak Adobe Bridge a bit so's to speed things up on that media software...it's all going rather smoothly and access from my laptop and desktop is without a hitch. 

Mind you, I'm talking about accessing my huge libraries of RAW files of which not a single one is smaller than 10mb in size. 

On another note, my wifi is working even faster than before; not that there were any previous problems. 

For anyone interested, the Asus is set up as a secondary router from which the Wifi is being broadcast whilst using the Actiontec as the primary router.

Hope this helps any others out there looking for a 'private cloud'-type solution. 

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