Five minutes after setting up a router share, do the step most people skip: put a password on it. An open share is an open cupboard — everyone on your network, guest or not, can take and delete what they like.
✍️ Technical Anshu📡 Router USB Sharing⏱️ 5 minute setup
🎥 Full video — user permissions are part of the router storage setup shown live
In the video, user permissions are part of the router setup — and for good reason. Your router share sits inside your home network, but "inside" includes every phone, every visitor on your Wi-Fi, a neighbour who once got the Wi-Fi password, and any infected device that joins the network. Ransomware on one PC actively hunts open shares to encrypt. A username and password on the share, with sensible permissions per person, closes that door in minutes.
Router Admin — USB Sharing user accounts (typical layout)
Secure Sharing: Enabled
User 1: admin-family Access: Read and Write
User 2: kids-tv Access: Read Only
Guest / Anonymous access: Off
The goal state — named users, least access each, and anonymous access switched off.
1
Turn On Secure Sharing in the Router
Open the router admin page and go to the USB Storage / USB Sharing section
Enable Secure Sharing (some brands call it Authentication or User Access Control)
If the router asks whether to use the admin account for sharing or create separate sharing users, choose separate users — the router admin password should never double as the file password you hand to family
Save, and let the router restart the sharing service if it asks
2
Create One User Per Person or Device Group
Create a user for yourself with read and write access. Create a second, read-only user for the TV and the kids — they can play and copy files but cannot delete or overwrite anything, even by accident. Use passwords that are different from your Wi-Fi password and different from the router admin password. If one leaks, the others still hold.
3
Connect from Windows and Save the Login Properly
In File Explorer type \\192.168.0.1 in the address bar
Windows will ask for credentials — enter the sharing username and password you just created, not your Windows login
Tick Remember my credentials so Windows stores it in Credential Manager and stops asking daily
If Windows keeps rejecting a correct password, open Credential Manager → Windows Credentials, delete any old entry for the router address, and connect again fresh
4
Connect Phones and the TV with Their Own User
In the phone file manager, add the SMB server with the read-only user if the phone only views files, or your write user if you back photos up to the drive. On the TV, sign in with the read-only account. Never type your main write password into shared devices — a read-only leak costs you nothing.
5
The Few Rules That Keep This Safe Long-Term
Anonymous access stays off — always
When a guest needs a file, send it to them; do not create a guest login "just for today"
Change the sharing passwords if a device with saved credentials is sold or lost
Windows 11 24H2 and later actually require this setup — password-less shares are blocked by default, so this step also future-proofs your access
🔴 Never reuse the router admin password as the share password. The admin password controls the whole network — port forwarding, DNS, everything. The share password should open one cupboard, not the whole house.
🎥 Watch the Full Video
User permissions are demonstrated as part of the full setup in the video — watch that section again while you create your accounts.
Windows does not ask for a password and just says access denied. What now?
Windows may be silently trying a saved or guest login. Open Credential Manager, remove any stored entry for the router, then reconnect to the share address — the credential prompt should appear.
How many users can a router share have?
It varies by model — typically a handful up to around 8-16 accounts. That is plenty for a family: one write user for you, read-only users for everyone else and the TV.
I forgot the sharing password. Can I see it anywhere?
No, routers do not display it back. Log in to the router admin page and set a new password for that user, then reconnect your devices with the new one.
This guide is based on the Technical Anshu router storage video • Stuck on any step? Ask in the video comments — you will get a reply there 🙏