can NAS be accessed from anywhere there is internet or just a home wifi network?

Hey guys, I’m interested in getting a network drive, specifically western digital live drive. My Book Live

Is it possible to access the files from the drive over the internet? I don’t mean a wifi network, I mean wherever there is internet . It is advertised that it can do that but do I need to have a computer on in my home WITH the network drive on in order to access it from anywhere? If anyone actually has this product and uses their included software to do this ( supposedly mionet ) I would like to hear your experience

Also, if it can be done, are there any limits to what I can access when using their software? Like could I watch movies streaming ? Any lag, buffering

 

If the software/firmware on the NAS support FTP or SFTP yes. What you need to do is setup a domain using DynDNS for your domain name. This will allow you to access it via domain name and not a floating IP address. Then setup your router to redirect to your NAS. I do this on a regular basis but I would recommend using a non std port above the >1024 range. If you do not, you will be pounded by someone trying to hack into you NAS. Also use very strong PW on the NAS and your router admin.

 

Reviews I've seen suggested that the device was too slow to video stream over the internet (though I have no idea what download speeds the reviewer's get from their ISPs).

If you don't get any answers from anyone who's actually used the device and you test the WD drive out yourself, could you post back your results?

I'm trying to set up a similar system myself.

 

actually, I'm thinking of getting one also but still deciding because depending on the reviews on it. Where did you see where it said that it slow to stream movies ? Do you know of any other alternatives in the same price range ?

 

The stream speed will be limited by your upload speed from ISP, which typically is really low unless you have some kind of fiber optics internet.

 

The poor reviews were from best buys website I think though I can't remember anymore. what baii said may very well be the reason those reviewers had issues - don't know.

Best Buy let's you return routers and NAS drives within 30 days even if the package is opened if you just want to try it out (ask them to make sure before you buy though). I've returned opened packages to Fry's too with no problems.

I'm going to pick up the WD drive myself and test out the remote features this weekend. Might try the WD my net central router too if that drive doesn't work out.

Already tried ASUS router with aicloud. Don't recommend for people who aren't tech gurus.

 

thank you, is there any special black friday deal going on at best buy ? I checked the website and might get the 2 TB my book live there just to try it, is it the 160.00 price ?

 

Tiger Direct has it on sale Fri for $129.99 and Best Buy (in my area at least) will match price
WD My Book Live WDBACG0020HCH-NESN Personal Cloud Storage 2TB - NAS, Shared Storage for Computers, Tablets, Cell Phones at TigerDirect.com
You should probably ask Best Buy directly about both their return policy and price match. I'd be surprised if you can't do both but you never know if the Best Buy in your area has different policies than in mine.

FYI, I read this on western digitals website:

Can I stream video to my laptop when I am out of my home network?
No. The current technology uses WebDAV to provide a remote connection to your My Book Live, and WebDAV does not support media streaming across the remote connection.

WD 2go FAQ

Website could be outdated but I've decided not to test out the WD Live because of it. If you still test it out or find some other product that does work, could you post what you found? I'd really appreciate it cause I'm trying to set up the same system as you.

The ASUS routers with aicloud definitely advertise that they can stream video remotely. I'm just not tech savy enough to get it to work.

Good luck.

EDIT: someone on the WD forum said the Duo live can stream video (maybe firmware was updated). I guess I'll give it a shot.

 

Got the WD My Book Live and it's remote video streaming does work well (at least with my internet connection of 30 mbps). Overall I think it's worth trying so long as the drive is returnable if you don't like it. I like it well enough to keep it.

It does seem to have some bugs though (at least I had some issues). It also won't automatically backup ipads and mobile phones (needs to be done manually). I'm going to get around this issue by auto back ups of android phones using google plus's free 5 GB cloud storage and then adding the google drive to my computer. The NAS can then backup the attached google drive if you want everything stored in one place.

Best buy wasn't matching price over Thanksgiving but they should now. Here it is for $119 at Buydig.com if you still want to get one.

BuyDig.com - Western Digital 1 TB My Book Live Personal Cloud Storage