Your Wi-Fi router’s secret trick: Easy file sharing between PCs

An easy way to share files between PCs in your home is to set up a share drive using your router’s USB port. You can set up a share drive with just a few easy steps.

What to do:

Share your router IP settings

• Pick a USB flash drive or hard drive and stick it into the USB port in the back of your router. Then on your PC, open a browser and type in your router’s IP address and enter the password to enter the settings screen.
• In the router settings, look for a menu called drive storage or file sharing and click on it. You should see your drive appear on screen. Now create a share folder if that’s an option in your router settings.
• If that’s not an option, you can use Windows to set one up.
• In File Explorer select Network and type in your router’s IP address in the format \\routerip. For instance, “\\198.168.2.1”, and then hit enter.
• Your drive should show up in File Explorer as a shared drive. You might want to create a shortcut to it on your desktop.

Map the drive on another PC

If you want to use the drive on another PC on your network, you’ll need to map the drive. Here’s how to do that:

• Open File Explorer by double clicking on the File Explorer folder or press Windows Key + E. Now select This PC in the left-hand navigation pane.
• Click the three dots in the command bar at the top and select Map network drive….
• Choose a letter from the drop-down list for your new share drive. Now enter the network path of the share folder. It could look similar to this: \\198.168.2.1\sharedfiles.
• Click the Reconnect at sign-in box so that your PC will connect to the drive each time you log in. Now click Finished to end the mapping.

Dominic Bayley / Foundry

Once you’ve mapped the drive, you’ll be able to use it on that computer too. Just be aware that the drive is open and accessible to anyone who has access to your network so be sure not to store sensitive files in it.