Top 4 Ways to Access External Hard Drive Remotely on a Network

Here in this post, we will introduce how to access external hard drive remotely. If you want to manage or access the files on the external hard drive attached to your remote computer, please keep reading to get the detailed steps.

Hester

By Hester / Updated on April 7, 2023

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How can I access my home hard drive remotely?

 

I want to be able to remotely access an external hard drive that I have. How can I access external hard drive remotely? Thanks everyone for your will to help.”

- Question from a user

Access External Hard Drive Remotely

How to access external hard drive remotely [4 options]

Accessing files remotely from anywhere means you never have to stress about forgetting something important. However, it could be challenging to access files stored on a connected external hard drive remotely. This article will show you how to access external hard drive remotely.

Option 1. Use the professional remote access tool AnyViewer [easy setup]

AnyViewer is easy, secure, and free remote access software for Windows, iOS, and Android devices. It supports unattended remote access, which means you can remotely access and manage your hard drive without needing others to grant permission. If you only want to access the files, AnyViewer has an independent file transfer option to transfer files between devices without taking the remote control.

You can download and install AnyViewer for free and follow the next simple steps to start a session.

Download Freeware Win 11/10/8.1/8/7
Secure Download

Here is how to remotely access the drive via unattended remote access:

Step 1. Start AnyViewer on the host computer, and click Sign up to register a personal account.

Log in Anyviewer

Step 2. Start AnyViewer on the client computer, and log in to the same account you just registered.

Free Editions

Step 3. Go to the Device interface, select the remote device you want to connect, and click One-click control.

Connect to My Devices

Now you can access your external hard drive remotely. You can also transfer files by using the “Files”option from the toolbar or dragging and dropping the file.

Access External Hard Drive

If you only want to access PC files remotely, click File transfer.

File Transfer Anyviewer

A File Transfer window will appear then. The left is the client device, while the right is the host device. Select the files, and click the arrow to perform the file transfer. For example, if you want to access files from remote hard drive to the local computer, locate your hard drive on the right panel, select the files, and click the left arrow.

Choose Files

Tips: A free account enables transferring 100 files at once. We recommend you use the cost-effective Professional or Enterprise account to transfer unlimited large files with higher speed.

Option 2. Use a remote access hard drive

An external hard drive is great for backing up your computer or saving files from one device to another. But if you have more than one computer or do not carry the external hard drive, it can be difficult to access files from anywhere. In this case, a remote access external hard drive is an excellent approach to overcome this problem. It enables access and transfer files from any Internet-connected computer.

There are many available remote access hard drive on the market, and you can select one according to your demand for brand, security, ease of use, file storage, etc.

NAS Device

Option 3. Use the external hard drive shared software FlexiHub

FlexiHub allows you to remote access your USB devices over a network. However, it only offers a demo version for free, and you need to pay for a subscription plan.

Step 1. Download and install FlexiHub from its official website on both computers.

Step 2. Start FlexiHub on your client computer and click Sign Up.

Sign Up

Step 3. Sign up on the website, activate your email account, then log in.

Step 4. When you log in, find your external hard drive in the list and press Connect.

Connect

Once the connection is established, the drive will appear in your remote system as if attached to it physically.

Option 4. Map your drive over a network

Nowadays, a number of routers come equipped with USB ports that can be used to share external hard drives with other computers on your network. Attach your USB external hard drive to the router's USB port, then you can map and share it as a network drive via the same network.

Step 1. Plug your external hard drive into your router's USB port.

Step 2. Open your web browser, type in your router address, and press Enter.

Login Router Address

Step 3. Log in to your router, and you can check your router's user manual to get the login details.

h3c Router Login

Step 3. Locate to your external drive, and you can change its drive letter and name and set up a password for accessing it.

External Hard Drive Setting

Step 4. Open This PC on your computer, and click Map network drive.

Click Map Network Drive

Step 5. Choose the drive letter you want to use. Then click Browse and locate the drive you want to map.

Note: Check Reconnect at sign-in if you want to map the drive every time you log into Windows. Check Connect using different credentials if you put up a different username and password for the drive than you do for your Windows account.

Select the Drive You Want to Map

Step 6. Click the new drive in File Explorer to access the network folder.

Network Folder

The bottom line

That’s all for how to access external hard drive remotely. Among the above options, AnyViewer is the best due to its multiple features that can fit your flexible demands.