NETGEAR ReadyNAS 104 4-Bay Network Attached Storage 8TB (RN10442D-100NAS)

This is my first experience with such a device - I am somewhat technical but not a guru by any measure. The device was easy to setup and get going. My initial use was to place all of My laptop files on the device and automatically upload any file changes from my laptop to the NAS. It took quite awhile to initially load all of the data (approx. 400 GBs). I received numerous blue screens during that process. Also I ran into an issue that files in excess of 2 GBs would not upload - I did not see this in the documentation. So for those files (all of mine were videos) I needed to split them into multiples. Since that time the blue screens have subsided (still occur but infrequently - my laptop is Vista and perhaps that is a factor). I have successfully stored and accessed files from ipads and iPhones. Overall I am satisfied with the uses of the device and its operation. One more item is that access from the Internet works well albeit large video files are slow not because of the device but because of the nature of large files being accessed over the internet. Accessing those files locally in the home via the router works well.

Hats off to Netgear!I have a video security system and it's a constant struggle to open the right ports and enable off site access through my router and firewall. Netgear has made it ridiculously simple. It took 5 minutes max to plug it in, power it up, create the connections and execute a remote access. My only "complaint" was that the Netgear folks seem to want to use Google Chrome as their preferred browser. It won't allow drag and drop to Firefox but it's not big deal.I also downloaded the iPhone app and connected immediately and I was able to download files. This app allows easy backup of photos - basically one click. Very cool.Very impressive!

This is a good inexpensive storage device. Performance is just ok. However, it says it supports Plex. However, it doesn't have enough processing power to encode/decode movies, so it really can't be a Plex Server, just store your movie files. But I've had it for a year and it seems rock solid so far. No issues.

The box arrived in good condition. The direction are written wrong. The sparsely written directions assumes you already have one of their networks. It claims 15 minutes installation, that is a laugh. There is no phone number anywhere on the directions. I connected the box easily enough, I was directed to a website whose screen is different than the one illustrated. It discovered the box but then gave me an error message saying no Internet connection. I test the connection and the wire provided and both were good. I then used another site, Amazon.com and hit the return button which worked fine and solved the problem.I think a geek or IT professional would have no problem with this unit, but I strongly believe in plug and play, my feeling is that if you have problems with installation and the company doesn't list a phone number it's time to hit the return button.

Product didn't deliver on the Dropbox piece, then when you call they keep you on hold and defer to someone else...Here's an idea, "Do what you say, or just don't say it." Of course I sent them back.

ALLCAPS WAS ADDED ON MARCH 31, 2017: IS IT POSSIBLE TO SUBTRACT TWO STARS FROM A ONE-STAR REVIEW? IS IT POSSIBLE TO GIVE A PRODUCT A NEGATIVE ONE-STAR REVIEW? SINCE I WROTE THE REVIEW BELOW, MY OPINION OF THIS PRODUCT AND ESPECIALLY OF NETGEAR'S TECH-SUPPORT IS NOW IN SUBZERO TERRITORY. IT IS A VILE HORRIBLE COMPANY AND IF THERE WERE ANY JUSTICE IN THE WORLD, IT WOULD BE OUT OF BUSINESS BY NOW! I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ACCESS MY FILES FOR MORE THAN TWO DAYS AND ALL OF THE CUSTOMERS' COMPLAINTS ON THE COMPANY WEBSITE HAVE RESULTED IN NOTHING BEING DONE TO RESTORE CONNECTIVITY. I love this product, but that comes with a catch! Netgear issues faulty firmware and software upgrades that can knock out your system and the idiots at customer support don't know their hind quarters from their elbows. If you're lucky, your service contract will still be in effect and you can get some incompetent help, which will eventually figure out what's wrong. (by the way, I strongly suggest you call when you're first setting up your drive.) If you're unlucky, some idiot will tell you that there's no problem with your system, that your service contract has expired, and that you need to subscribe to get the company's incompetent help. Sometimes, the problem will be fairly easy to straighten out, but you'll spend many frustrating hours communicating with the morons at tech support before you go hunting on your own and find the solution buried on a forum page. Other times, the problem won't be so easy to straighten out. If you're lucky, some idiot at the company will get permission to waive the fee to help you -- and they will take forever to figure out the solution -- if you're unlucky, you'll have to pay. Again, paying for service wouldn't be a bad thing, if it wasn't Netgear that caused the problem in the first place by issuing faulty upgrades! I honestly don't know whether I would ever buy another Netgear product. My only possible reason for doing business with the company again is that the competition is probably just as incompetent!

I was looking for my own cloud for backing up data, this is hard to use and hard to transfer and find data... not what I was hoping for

excellent product.