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Configuring storage (NAS) on the computer as a network drive

You can configure USB storage devices connected to the FRITZ!Box as network drives on all of the computers in the home network. The USB storage devices can then be used as local storage in the Windows Explorer or macOS Finder.

Requirements / Restrictions

  • Computers with Apple macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later are not supported.

    Note:The SMB1 protocol, which is no longer supported by macOS 10.15 and later, is required for configuration as a network drive. You can still use http://fritz.nas or the FTP protocol, for example with Cyberduck, to access the storage.

1 Preparations

Configuring a USB storage device for use as storage (NAS)

Installing the SMB1 protocol for Windows 11 / 10

Starting with Windows 10 version 1709, the network protocol SMB1 required to access storage (NAS) of the FRITZ!Box is no longer installed by default. Therefore, make sure that SMB1 support is installed on your computer:

  1. Click the search symbol in the Windows task bar.
  2. Enter Control Panel in the search field and press Enter.
  3. Click "Programs" and then "Programs and Features".
  4. Click "Turn Windows features on or off".
  5. Enable the option "SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support" or "SMB1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support" in the window "Windows Features" and click "OK".
  6. Click "OK".
  7. Click "Restart now" to complete the installation procedure.

2 Configuring storage (NAS) as a network drive

Windows 11

  1. Click the search symbol in the Windows task bar.
  2. Enter \\fritz.box in the search box and press Enter. If the FRITZ!Box is configured as a wireless repeater, enter the IP address of the FRITZ!Box instead, for example \\192.168.178.20.
  3. If you are asked for a username and password:
    1. Enter the name and password of a FRITZ!Box user who is authorized to access NAS contents.

      Note:You can edit the account information and access rights of users under "System > FRITZ!Box Users" in the user interface.

    2. Enable the option "Remember me" and click "OK".
    • Now a window with the network folder "FRITZ.NAS" opens; this folder displays all of the partitions on the connected USB storage devices as folders.
  4. If you want to configure the entire FRITZ.NAS as a network drive:
    1. Right-click on the folder "FRITZ.NAS" and select "Show more options" and then "Map Network Drive..." from the context menu.
    2. Click "Finish".
  5. If you want to configure a subfolder (for example a partition of a USB storage device) as a network drive:
    1. Click "This PC" in the navigation area of the Explorer, and then click (More info) in the menu bar.
    2. Click "Map network drive". In the "Folder" field, enter the path to the folder you want to map as a network drive.

      Example:
      To map a USB storage device named "JetFlash-32GB" as a network drive, enter \\fritz.box\FRITZ.NAS\JetFlash-32GB.

    3. Click "Finish".

Windows 10

  1. Enter \\fritz.box in the search box in the Windows taskbar and press Enter. If the FRITZ!Box is configured as a wireless repeater, enter the IP address of the FRITZ!Box instead, for example \\192.168.178.20.
  2. If you are asked for a username and password:
    1. Enter the name and password of a FRITZ!Box user who is authorized to access NAS contents.

      Note:You can edit the account information and access rights of users under "System > FRITZ!Box Users" in the user interface.

    2. Enable the option "Remember me" and click "OK".
    • Now a window with the network folder "FRITZ.NAS" opens; this folder displays all of the partitions on the connected USB storage devices as folders.
  3. If you want to configure the entire FRITZ.NAS as a network drive:
    1. Right-click on the folder "FRITZ.NAS" and select "Map Network Drive..." from the context menu.
    2. Click "Finish".
  4. If you want to configure a subfolder (for example a partition of a USB storage device) as a network drive:
    1. Click "This PC" in the navigation area of the Windows Explorer.
    2. Click "Computer" and then "Map Network drive" in the menu bar.
    3. Enter the path to the folder you want to map as a network drive in the "Folder" field.

      Example:
      To map a USB storage device named "JetFlash-32GB" as a network drive, enter \\fritz.box\FRITZ.NAS\JetFlash-32GB.

    4. Click "Finish".

macOS

  1. Open the Finder.
  2. Click "Go" and then "Connect to Server" in the menu bar of the Finder.
  3. Enter smb://fritz.box in the "Server Address:" field and click "Connect". If the FRITZ!Box is configured as a wireless repeater, enter the IP address of the FRITZ!Box instead, for example smb://192.168.178.20.
  4. If you are asked to enter a username and password, enter the name and password of a FRITZ!Box user who is authorized to access NAS contents.

    Note:You can edit the account information and access rights of users under "System > FRITZ!Box Users" in the user interface.

    • Now a window with the network folder "FRITZ.NAS" opens; this folder displays all of the partitions on the connected USB storage devices as folders.
  5. Double-click the folder "FRITZ.NAS".
  6. Select the folder you want to permanently add to the Finder.
  7. In the Finder menu "file", select "Make alias" and drag the alias you made to the "Favorites" area of the Finder.

Linux (using Ubuntu 20.04 LTS as an example)

  1. Open the file manager.
  2. Click "Other Locations" in the sidebar of the file manager.
  3. Click on "FRITZ-NAS". If "FRITZ-NAS" is not displayed, enter smb://fritz.box in the field "Connect to Server" and click "Connect". If the FRITZ!Box is configured as a wireless repeater, enter the IP address of the FRITZ!Box instead, for example smb://192.168.178.20.
  4. Enter the name and password of a FRITZ!Box user who is authorized to access NAS contents and enable the option "Remember forever".

    Note:You can edit the account information and access rights of users under "System > FRITZ!Box Users" in the user interface.

    • Now a window with the network folder "FRITZ.NAS" opens; this folder displays all of the partitions on the connected USB storage devices as folders.
  5. Open the folder you want to permanently add to the file manager.
  6. Right-click the corresponding folder in the sidebar and select "Add Bookmark" from the context menu.