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Accessing files and printers over VPN

Computers can only automatically detect other computers and display their names within the FRITZ!Box home network. To access shared libraries, files, and printers in the remote network over a VPN connection, use the IP addresses of the respective computers.

1 Preparations

  1. Determine the IP address of the computer in the remote FRITZ!Box network with the shares you want to access.

    Note:When the DHCP server is enabled, you can find the IP address of the computers under "Home Network > Home Network Overview > Network Connections" in the user interface of the remote FRITZ!Box.

2 Accessing shared files and printers in a remote network

Windows 11

  1. Click the search symbol in the Windows task bar.
  2. In the search box, enter \\ followed by the IP address of the remote computer (for example \\192.168.10.20) and press Enter.
  3. If you are asked for a username and password:
    1. Enter the name and password of a user who is authorized to access shares and devices.
    2. Enable the option "Remember me" and click "OK".
    • Now a window displaying all of the shares on the remote computer opens.
  4. If you want to configure a folder as a network drive, right-click the folder, then select "Show more options" and then "Map network drive..." from the context menu. If the option "Map network drive..." is not displayed:
    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.

Windows 10

  1. In the search box in the Windows taskbar, enter \\ followed by the IP address of the remote computer (for example \\192.168.10.20) and press Enter.
  2. If you are asked for a username and password:
    1. Enter the name and password of a user who is authorized to access shares and devices.
    2. Enable the option "Remember me" and click "OK".
    • Now a window displaying all of the shares on the remote computer opens.
  3. If you want to configure a folder as a network drive, right-click the folder and select "Map network drive..." from the context menu. If the option "Map network drive..." is not displayed:
    1. Click "This PC" in the navigation area of the Windows Explorer and then click "Computer" 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.

macOS

  1. Open the Finder.
  2. From the "Go" menu, select "Connect to Server...".
  3. Enter the IP address of the remote computer in the "Server Address:" field and click "Connect". If Windows is installed on the remote computer, add smb:// in front of the IP address.
    • Now a window displaying all of the shares on the remote computer opens.

      Example:
      To access shares on a computer running macOS, enter: 192.168.10.20
      To access shares on a computer running Windows enter: smb://192.168.10.20

  4. If you want to permanently add a folder to the Finder:
    1. Select the folder, and then select "Make alias" from the Finder menu "file".
    2. Drag the alias you made to the "places" 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. In the field "Connect to Server", enter smb:// followed by the IP address of the remote computer (for example smb://192.168.10.20), and then click "Connect".
    • Now a window displaying all of the shares on the remote computer opens.
  4. Open the folder you want to permanently add to the file manager.
  5. Right-click the corresponding folder in the sidebar and select "Add Bookmark" from the context menu.