What should I do if my TP-Link router does not detect my USB storage drive
Because of the varety of USB storage drives in the market, it is difficult for us to make our routers compatible with all them.
Before you begin troubleshooting, please make sure that the drive works correctly when it is connected directly to your computer.
Case 1
1. Format your hard drive.
2. Contact TP-Link support with information including model number of hard drive, capacity, partition table (MBR or GPT) and format type (FAT32, NTFS, EXT2, EXT3, etc.)
Case 2
1. Check hard drive format type
Currently, the FAT/FAT32/NTFS format is supported and some models like C8/C9/C2600/P5 also support exfat/hfs+. However, it does not support ext3, which is a Linux partition format.
2. Check Capacity
TP-Link router supports at most eight partitions in theory, if the hard drive has more than eight partitions, it just loads the first 8 partitions. (On the same drive, the total capacity of each partition cannot exceed 2TB for WR842N, WR1043N, WDR3500, WDR3600, WDR4300; If there are different hard drives connected via an USB hub, in theory the router can detects a maximum capacity of 8 * 2TB. Similarly, the other models with USB function like our archer series routers, the total capacity of each partition of usb drive cannot exceed 5TB).
3. Check Encryption
For hard drives encrypted by hardware, data can only be loaded after it is decryption.
4. Additional Power Adapter
Some drives require an additional power. If your hard drive needs more than 500mA of power, but it does not have an additional power adapter, then that drive is not compatible with our routers, since they can only provide up to 500mA power supply on the USB port.
5. Contact TP-Link support with information including model number of hard drive, capacity, partition table (MBR or GPT) and format type (FAT32, NTFS, EXT2, EXT3, etc.)
I will never buy TP-Link products ever again. Shoddy firmware, inferior execution, features not working correctly.
I am very upset that my 12TB HDD with ONE partition has been chopped up to 7 unrecoginzable partitions because TP-Link is in the past and wouldnt support GPT drives. I am shocked to find that my HDD have been converted to MBR and messed up with my data.....
AX6000 is not worth the pricetag. It is worth only $50 for shoddy development.
So is there a fix/update to allow larger than 2TB partition HDDs to work with USB/USB3 ports on Archer C4000 routers?? Can I share my older USB printer (HP Laserjet 4100) utilizing the USB ports on Archer C4000 router??
I have a 64GB Flash Drive that is recognized but does not show any volumes so it cannot be shared. I'm using a TL-WR902AC v3 with TL-WR902AC_US_V3_220804 firmware.
I see that the flash drive is formatted using exFAT and not FAT32. I assume that is the issue. If it is, that is not very good. FAT32 is quite old. exFAT should be supported. I suspect that is why so many people are having an issue. I need to use a special tool, MiniTool Partition Wizard, to format FAT32 as Windows does not provide FAT32 as a format option in Windows 11.
Yes, exFAT is the reason that the flash drive was not recognized. When I reformatted it to FAT32, the volume showed up properly. The FAT32 limits the file size to 4GB and I have a few files that I was planning to add, that are over the 4GB limit. I will need to find another solution. At least I know what the issue is and can work around it.