TechGremlin
Update 16th January 2010: 1.33b01NA has been released.
Update 2nd November 2009: All users having issues with SharePort, check out this post for the latest information.
Update: Make sure you read the comments below to find out anything new about this feature, many bugs has been fixed since the original release, as of August 2009 Firmware 1.32NA FINAL is the latest firmware, read about it and download it here.
I have owned a D-Link DIR-655 router for the past year and it is by far the best router that I have ever used, although I did pay $150 more than what I have paid for a router before, so I’ve gotten what I have paid for.
Starting with the version 1.21 Beta 04 of the DIR-655 firmware there is now SharePoint functionality available. SharePoint as the media and other sites partially call it or SharePort as it is called everywhere else including the software itself is a way for D-Link products to share a USB device over the LAN, i’m going to try to not confuse you any further so I will refer to it only as SharePort from now on.
SharePort is an interesting feature that I actually wanted to be able to do a few years ago, by sharing USB devices from a computer so they can be used on another PC as if the device was actually plugged into your PC. D-Link have finally brought this technology to life in a limited fashion with SharePort.
This is how SharePort works, I will use my DIR-655 and Brother DCP-150C MFC as an example.
The DIR-655 has a USB port on the back, tests seem to indicate it is a USB 1.1 port, up until now the port was used for wireless settings that could be stored on a USB key.
After installing the new firmware however the USB port has found more use, we’re greeted with a new menu under Setup that controls the use of the port.
As you can see there is not much to the setup of this USB port, WCN Configuration is the default, this is used for the wireless configuration key, choose the dropdown box:
Choosing Network USB puts the router in SharePort mode, choosing 3G USB Adapter is a bit of a mystery to me, I’m not sure what devices are compatible with this yet, however as most people do, I have a 3G service and using it as a backup by only connecting the device up to the USB port and choosing 3G USB Adapter would be very handy.
Once you have chosen Network USB the device is automatically shared, however in order to connect you must install the SharePort software from D-Link, this is still in Beta it appears so use with caution etc etc, I haven’t had a problem with it yet and it seems fairly polished. once it is installed make sure you allow it to run at startup and run it straight away, otherwise you won’t be able to use the device without manually running the SharePort software each time, it only uses 2MB of ram so it’s not a resource hog.
If your USB device is on and connected then the SharePort utility should display like this once you double click on the icon in the system tray. It will then allow you to run through a wizard for installing the device, you will need your device’s driver cd or the latest driver for their website, at the end you will be asked if you want to automatically connect to the device when you print if it is a printer, this is a good idea otherwise you must manually choose to connect.
Once that is all set up on each computer that uses the device, you will notice that each device states that the printer is paused and offline, print to the printer anyway, the SharePort software detects that a print has been sent to the printer and it automatically assigns the printer to your computer and while the printer is communicating with your PC it will show as connected, once the print job has been finished it will then return back to offline, paused.
The limitation of this feature is that it will only work on one PC at a time, USB devices simply aren’t designed to be connected to 2 PCs at once so it makes sense why this is the case.
I have not tried such things as webcams however they have been known to work, however at a slower rate than normal, the scanner feature of my printer works fine, however you must manually connect using the SharePort software to use it, make sure you disconnect after you are done.
As I stated at the start of this article the SharePort software is something I have been waiting a long time for, it’s a great feature considering my router is not the latest out there now and it almost seemed like D-Link had given up adding new features to it, it also shows how well the device can work if it can handle a USB device while it is performing all it’s other duties.
I connect Buffalo Drive Station external usb harddisk to my DIR-655. Before I use Network USB Utility to access the harddisk, the router is working fine (no disconnection when surfing internet). However, after I connect to my external harddisk via Network USB Utility and then try to copy files to the harddisk, every time after a few seconds, the connection to the router is broken. I have to reboot my computer.
Does anyone encounter this problem? How can I solve this? Thank you.
I had a problem with Shareport (1.14) not detecting my Seagate 1 TB USB HDD connected to my DIR-855 (1.12EU)
It would only detect if i connected my laptop (Vista) to the DIR-855 through cable, not wireless.
Problem was resolved after disabling my ethernet adapter, keeping only the wifi adapter enabled, then rebooting.
So it seems like Shareport “locks” onto the initial adapter used for connecting.
Now it works like a charm, with no noticeable delay r/w on the HDD vs connecting directly to the laptops usb-port.
Hello
I have read the dfferent posts but not seem people having a similar problem…
FW : 1.32NA
1 computer with Vista, 1 with XP
Bought the router last week.
Globally it works fine but I have problems using the shareport utility frequently.
If I want to print :
When I switch the router on, it connects to the printer (Samsung ML2510) and everything works fine. The page prints.
If the router is up for a few hours and I want to print, the router sees the printer, shows it as “available” but is not able to connect to the printer. It always tries (can see the trying to connect to samsung ML2510, please wait). The message stops and comes back 2 seconds after and even after 10 minutes it is still not able to connect to the printer.
If I reboot the router, everything works fine.
If I wait a few more hours, same pattern, not able to connect to the printer except if I reboot the router.
Do you have any ideas ?
Thank you !
GG
Same problem here, works fine and dandy after install but a day or two later you try to connect, it says connecting, times out in a refresh to available status, and nothing. I’m so frustrated with this shareport utility and every time I call customer svc some Indian person with the thickest accent I’ve heard answers the phone. I bought this router specifically for this feature and it’s very broken. It’s a huge oversight on an otherwise excellent router. Anyone have any ideas?
Same problem here on a dgl-4500, not very happy worked well for the first 2 days then nothing. All PC’s are XP.
All users having issues with SharePort, check out this post I have made about a possible newer version of the software.
Hi, I have a DLink DIR-628 router and I acctually buy it for the shareport application… Like some of the people here it worked fine for maybe two days, the its doesnt find anything that I connect to the port. Recently I download a shareport update to see if that would fix the problem but it didn’t. I hope someone can help me
Did you try rebooting the router? Just disconnect the power, wait a minute and reconnect. See if that helps.
I have done that, but again you will have to do it every 2 days. If I reboot the computer it sometimes shows 2 of the same usb device. I will have to scrap the whole idea and share the damn thing through a networked PC. What a joke, get it right the first time…Is it that hard to fix it? While I am on this topic ever scince I have updated the frimware the router just periodically shuts down? It was a great router before not sure what is happening now?
The router is shutting down?
As in off completely or a reboot?
If it’s turning off then you may have a much bigger but slightly less common problem with it, if it’s rebooting then I’d still suggest to give D-Link a call/email and see if you can get it replaced with a new one.
It just reboots periodicaly, I will call but I don’t think it is under waranty
Some people have luck when calling the manufacturer (in this case D-Link) directly when out of warranty but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Spoke with DLink tech support yesterday, and after an HOUR of trying to get the SharePort to work, I was transferred to a 4th support agent who actually knew what he was talking about. Within seconds, he informed me that not all devices are supported, and that DLINK will not publish a list of devices that are. My 250GB Western Digital USB drive will not work, which defeats the purpose of paying extra for the SharePort feature.
i bought this router for the shareport feature and after readings hours of the above and trying numerous tweaks i still cannot get my external drive connected. i love the performace of the 655 but feel a little ripped off by our D-link bros – as it just isn’t worth anymore effort to try to get this puppy to work ‘as advertised’.
Dear D-LINK – please get your sh$t together. xoxox
Currently have two laptops connected to my DIR-655. However, only one can detect the printer though the router’s USB port. The other one has “No USB device is detected” message. Would appreciate assitance from anyone. Thanks!
Bonjour,
I had similar Shareport issues two weeks ago. I wrote to DLink and their answer solved my problem. I take the liberty to show it below in the hope it will help somebody. IN my case I was not using the proper version of the Shareport utility.
With the firmware 1.32NA make sure that the shareport utility that you using is version 1.10. This can be downloaded from the following link http://www.dlink.ca/products/?pid=530
Having the same problem as jimmey above.
Got a DIR-655 V1.21 and shareport V1.15, running on a vista laptop. I use a Dynex 7port USB hub on the router.
Seems like I can use 2 Lexar thumb drives fine and can use my IPOD hook up fine as well as my HP printer, all @ once if i wanted but if i hooked up my 500GB lacie external HD it sends windows explorer into (not responding) after i try to connect. tried the same HD just into slots on laptop and no problems.
WTF!
Thinking maybe this HD is incompatible as well.
Any idea’s of which HD’s will work?
There are many usb storage devices that don’t work at all and more that don’t work properly, I haven’t heard anything from D-Link about any reasons why.
Is the hub self powered? The hard drive may be after more power than the router can supply to it, a hub with it’s own power source may be able to provide enough power instead.
QUOTE from Author: Denis Galipeau Date: October 1, 2009 Time: 7:55 am, you wrote : “With the firmware 1.32NA make sure that the shareport utility that you using is version 1.10. This can be downloaded from the following link http://www.dlink.ca/products/?pid=530 ”
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Dear Sir/Madame
It took me two days to search, read, install, reboot… and messed up with DIR-655, finally I got the FW upgrade to 1.32NA + SharePort 1.15 just after I bought the 655 3 days ago (I returned the 825 Dual Bands to exchange for this 655) and your post makes my day. I uninstall the 1.15 Share Port and install V1.10 as you said http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2541/3983347534_0b8a0cc795_o.jpg
Thank you, et al.
hi here is jean from germany…
i have trouble setting up my printer to the router above and i really need some help on it.
first at all im using the dlink dir-655 router (Version A2). the first thing i did was updating the firmware up to the latest 1.32NA. after that i configured my internet and all the network settings. it works just fine but here is my problem: i cant setting up my printer (a canon pixma ip4500). under the setting usb-settings i just dont have the possibility to choose usb, only shareport or wcn configuration. i already installed the sharport utility (version 1.15) on my computer. the printer drivers are installed too.
before i used a separate printserver. but i cant use it anymore because i switched to wpa2 and draft-n in my whole network. the printserver doesnt work with it so i need the usb port on the router.
i also tried to change the connection type to an ip-port on my computer. i did all the settings (ip-adress of the router, lpr with byte counting and stuff) but it doesnt work. my printer doesnt get shown online on the shareport utility. how can i make my printer work???
very thanx for your help.