Easily share media over Wi-Fi with the whole family
Internet Routers
[MUSIC]
Like many of you, I have a bunch of photos from a resent trip I took.
And I wanna be able to share them on all of my computers and devices at home without actually uploading the photos on to every single one.
The solution is to use a networked hard drive.
Once it's set up, I'll be able to use photos, videos and any other file stored on the drive from any device that's connected to my wi-fi network.
There are a few ways to go about this.
One is by using a network attached storage drive, or a NAS drive.
For the power user, they're great.
But, if you're more of a casual user who only wants to share media, there's a better and more affordable solution.
On the back of most current routers, you've got all of your standard networking ports.
Plus a USB port.
When a hard drive is plugged in here, you can share whatever is on it with any other device connected to your network.
Here's how to set it up on Windows.
First, choose your storage drive.
It can be as small as a thumb drive, or you can attach a bigger, external hard drive.
Plug it in and head to your computer.
Launch your browser and go to your router's IP address.
In my case, it's 192.168.10.1.
But you can find yours in the device manual, unless you changed it yourself.
Every router's interface will vary.
But if it has a USB port, you'll likely find a File Sharing option under the Administrator setting.
Here, be sure to enable the File Sharing Server.
Apply the settings and get outta there.
Now, you're ready to access the drive.
So, head back to your Desktop, launch an Explorer window, and go to the Network folder.
At the top, clear out the path and enter Backslash, Backslash followed by your IP Address.
With that, your drive will appear.
You can double click it to access it like any other folder.
You'll be asked to enter your login, which is the same one you use to access your router.
Once I'm in, I can see all of my vacation photos, and so can anyone else on the network.
The process is the same for all other Windows computers as well as my Android tablet.
At this point, you might want to map your drive so that it always appears in the sidebar for easy access.
To do that, just right click the drive and select Map network drive.
And there, all my photos from my trip whenever and wherever I want.
And the best part is, that if I ever need to take my drive with me somewhere, it's as easy as unplugging it, and stashing it in my bag.
