I'm looking for a small device that accepts a microSD card and lets me transfer photos from my phone to the card over Wi-Fi. I'd like to use it as simple external backup storage without plugging the card directly into my phone. Is there a specific product category or search term for this, or does a practical solution require using a router, computer, or small single-board computer?
4 Answers
If Wi-Fi isn’t essential, a USB-C card reader is much simpler and cheaper: put the microSD card in the reader and connect it directly to the phone. Otherwise, you could connect the card to a laptop and transfer the photos over the network.
A Raspberry Pi could do this pretty well. Add a USB microSD card reader, configure the Pi as a small Wi-Fi file server, and copy photos to the card from your phone. It’s DIY, but flexible and probably the closest match to what you described.
Check whether your router has a USB port. With a USB microSD reader plugged into it, the router may be able to share the card over your home network. You’d then use a file manager or backup app on your phone to transfer the photos.
Some travel routers and older wireless storage devices support file sharing over Wi-Fi. You may also find products described as wireless portable storage or wireless SD card readers, although they’re less common than they used to be. The SSK SSM-F200 is one example of this type of device.
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