Asus Router USB Drive Password?

I have an Asus RT AC88U router and my PC uses Windows 11 with a hardwired internet connection to the router.

I put a USB stick in the router and have always accessed with through the SAMBA protocol. I honestly do not even know what that really is, but I'm able to get my files on and off the USB drive.

Anyhow, in the Asus router, I have to allow USB access with guest login enabled. I do not like that, but when I enable it to need a password, it never asks me for a password when I try to access the USB drive, Windows just says it can't access the drive. (I can get the actual text of the error window if needed)

It was like this in Windows 8.1 as well.. I could never get it to work with a password because neither the router or Windows would ever give me a place to enter credentials, it would just pop up an error window about not being able to access the drive.

What's going on?

@Murby

Here's what Copilot says:

Summary of likely cause​

Your PC is refusing an authenticated SMB connection to the router because of a protocol/authentication mismatch or Windows blocking the kind of guest/authenticated access the router offers. Windows will happily use a guest share, but when the router switches to “require a password” it presents an SMB configuration Windows doesn’t accept (no prompt shown), so Explorer just shows “cannot access \…”. The router firmware/SMB settings and Windows SMB client features (SMB1 vs SMB2/3; guest/insecure logons) are the typical culprits.

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Quick troubleshooting plan (ordered, try these in sequence)​

1. Confirm basic connectivity: open a command prompt and ping the router IP (example 192.168.1.1) and then try accessing the share by IP in Explorer: \192.168.1.1<sharename>.
2. Test explicit credentials with net use (forces a credential prompt/error you can read):
   • Open an elevated Command Prompt and run:
     net use \192.168.1.1\sharename /user:routerusername yourpassword
   • If it succeeds you can map the drive; if it shows access denied or network path not found, note the exact error text.
3. Check router SMB mode and user accounts: log into the ASUS admin UI, verify the SMB version the router is serving (some firmwares let you choose SMB1/SMB2/SMB3) and create a local share user (don’t rely on “guest”) then set that user’s password for USB sharing.
4. Ensure Windows has the right SMB client support: temporarily enable “SMB 1.0/CIFS Client” in Windows Features only to test (not recommended long-term); if enabling SMB1 fixes it, the long-term fix is to enable newer SMB on the router or update its firmware.
5. If the router requires authentication but Windows still won’t prompt, allow insecure guest logons only for testing: enable the policy “Enable insecure guest logons” or the equivalent registry setting to see whether guest/auth behavior is blocking the connection (test only; revert afterwards).
6. Update router firmware and reboot both router and PC. Newer firmware often improves SMB interoperability.

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How to collect useful diagnostic details (what to paste back)​

• Exact Explorer error text (copy the dialog).
• Output of ping 192.168.1.1 and arp -a (shows both router addresses if you have AP mode).
• Result and exact error text from the net use command above.
• Router firmware version and the SMB/USB sharing settings (SMB version option, whether you created a router user, whether guest access is on).
  Providing those will let me give a precise next step.

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Recommendations (safe, practical next steps)​

• Create a dedicated user on the ASUS USB share and use that account from Windows (net use with /user:). Avoid guest where possible.
• If the router only serves SMB1 and you must use it, enable the SMB1 client on Windows only as a temporary measure; better: update router firmware or replace with a router that supports SMB2/3 for security and compatibility.
• Use the router IP when connecting (\192.168.x.x\sharename) instead of the router name to avoid name-resolution or NetBIOS issues.

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If you want, paste the exact Explorer error and the net use output and I’ll interpret the error and give the precise command or registry change to try next.