Home > Consumer Reviews > Seagate FreeAgent DockStar Network Adapter STDSA10G-RK (White)

We bought this device because we had some USB drives we wanted to share on our home network (but had no interest in being able to access these drive outside or home).

The DockStar setup was easy enough, and in minutes we were accessing our drives. But when we started considering the ramifications of depending on the PogoPlug software for drive access, we were concerned, so we consulted Seagate's tech support website.

#1. There is nothing about the DockStar on their support website, beyond a couple of well-hidden FAQs (I only found them through a helpful user on the community forum).

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#2. You CAN access the device even if your internet connection (to the world) is fubarred. You have to use the 'web interface' (rather than the pogoplug software) to do this ( this is stated in one of the FAQs). Unfortunately, I can't find any instructions on how to actually access the web interface. Downside: you lose drive letter access to the connected USB drives (see my next point).

#3. Pogoplug software is free for the 1st year. After that it's $[...] a year. If you don't subscribe, you can't access the attached USB drives as drive letters -- only the web interface is available (and don't forget - the instructions for doing this have proved elusive, for me at least). That means you can't use the device for anything requires a drive letter/directory setting (e.g. iTunes).

#4. When the pogoplug software is working, performance is flaky depending on what you're doing with the files on the drive. For example, previewing photos or working with documents, on the pogoplug drives seems to work OK. But when I tried viewing video (even small files of a couple minutes of video), the player ground to a halt (I'm assuming because the file was being sent from Dockstar to pogoplug and back to my machine - quite the lengthy round trip).

We are sending our device back, and this has left a bad enough taste in my mouth, that I'll probably never buy another Seagate product again.

I travel often and wanted a device that would allow me access to my files (download and streaming) when I was gone. I tried Orb and Log-Me-In but they required my home computer to be on 24/7, and also a few NAS units. Each had drawbacks though and I was ready to give up until I stumbled on this jewel.

First off, I knew about the $30/yr (first year free) prior to purchase so that is a non-issue. I bought a Seagate product, not a Pogoplug product so I am fairly confident about future support and availability. This product is so unique that if Pogoplug can't make it in the long run Seagate will simply buy them and be done with it.

Now, onto the product itself. In a word, unbelievable (and I am not easily impressed). Setup truly is a no brainer. Plug it into your router and plug your drives into it. Done. No software to install. Log into Seagates website, register it and you are good to go. The web interface is OK and usable but I would only use it in a pinch, perhaps at a Starbucks or library if I needed something. The true genius of this is the tiny program you download (optional) to create drive icons on your computer. I'm using Windows 7 and have had no issues. The unit can handle up to 4 USB drives simultaneously and you have the choice to combine all of them into one "Pogoplug" drive icon or a separate drive icon for each one. They look and work exactly as if they were physically attached to the computer you are working on, no matter where you are.

For example, I backup my DVD's as ISO files and store them on my local (California) hard drive. From a Texas I can get on my laptop, click the "Pogoplug" drive icon and my USB drive in CA will wake up and show me all my files. I then double click on the Pogoplug drive and select a movie. I then right click on the movie (yes, right click works just like you would expect!) and mount the file (using Virtual CloneDrive) to make it appear as a genuine DVD on my laptop. I fire up Windows Media Player and the movie streams straight to me, couldn't be easier. If I need a file or document I just drag and drop it. Truly, it works just like you were sitting next to it, no learning curve involved.

The fact that it can hold 4 drives simultaneously makes it infinitely expandable. I would have given it 5 stars but knocked one off because of the yearly fee. At $100/ea they are making enough money on the unit itself and in an era of tons of ways to access your media remotely for free it seems like kind a slap in the face. That said, I will gladly pay it as this is positively the easiest and most natural way to access your files over the web that I've found.

For those who travel often (or have family members that do) and have easy access to wide bandwidth, this is a a great product to consider. The uses for it are unlimited from both a personal and professional perspective. I am not qualified to comment on the security offered by Seagate for this device and their service and thus can not make any recommendations. For those sharing sensitive/proprietary information, I would strongly encourage you to do your own homework and satisfy yourself that the privacy and security offered equals or exceeds your own needs.

Installation is simple. The device offers 3 USB ports (these charging ports that will recharge your device while it is plugged in) and a proprietary port designed specifically for the Seagate Freeagent Go. It is not necessary to own the Freeagent but those buying this device will no doubt want to consider it for the future in order to get the most out of this device. A one year subscription comes with the device. Future fees could influence future decisions to keep using this device or search for other alternatives. The device allows for easy streaming of music files and the easy sharing of documents and pictures. Videos do not stream but can be downloaded.

I was quite surprised by how easy it is to setup the Dockstar. It's so easy, I was looking for the instructions when I noticed it's really small on the sheet and just requires you to go to a web address. The device installs within seconds, and works as intended for local file sharing. I do like the idea of having multiple USB ports on a network device so I can switch them as needed. I don't have a Seagate Go drive to use with it, though I may eventually purchase one when my current network drive goes dead. I only have a few complaints about the device, and they may be more due to my background than other consumer wishes.

Pros
+ Easy to setup and install
+ Convenient ports for USB Drives
+ USB Ports are powered so I can charge my Kindle or IPOD as well
+ If you are already using a Seagate GO Drive, this will make it networkable
+ Easy device for occasional Internet Access when away from home.

Cons
- Future subscription cost may make Internet Access too expensive
- Security is questionable in my opinion
- Not many options for configuration

I think many people will be able to use the device to their satisfaction, I just would rather have more control over the device as far as security and configuration is concerned.

This product does exactly what it's supposed to do -- it allows you to access stored files through your home network or across the Internet from virtually any PC that has an Internet connection. Unfortunately, that access comes at a price. Additionally, although the device can be used "out-of-the-box" with little-to-no networking knowledge, enabling it as a more flexible device is a bit more challenging.

The device is easy to setup. Connect it via an ethernet cable to your router, plug it in, and it's ready to go in minutes. You need to access a special website to "activate" it. Here, I had trouble. For me, the registration process failed. However, I contacted customer support via email and received a response within minutes -- yes, minutes! The problem was solved -- all via email -- within 30 minutes and I was ready to go.

You can plug in any USB-enabled storage devices or the proprietary Seagate drives as storage solutions. When you navigate to the webpage and login, you can see all of the files that are stored on the devices. From this webpage, you can also manage permissions -- which include who can download and upload files, in addition to sending invitations to people so that they can do the same. This feature-set is quite rich -- for example, you can provide access to somebody to download files, but they will be unable to change and upload files.

It's important to point out that my home ISP is an extremely fast fiber connection, with an incredibly fast upload speed. So, in my experience, uploads and downloads were extremely quick. I've never experienced any delays with the upload or download. However, download performance will vary based on the speed of your Internet connection at home, combined with the speed of the Internet connection at the PC you are using.

Problems? In one instance after a power failure, the device could not be accessed from the Internet. I had to manually restart the device in order to clear this issue. Therefore, I'd be hesitant to rely on this because, quite honestly, there are numerous networking issues that could cause the device to become disconnected from the Internet. And if you're remote, you're basically "out of luck" and can't access your data.

There is an annual fee to maintain the Internet service after the first year following activation.

From within your home network, you can actually access the device without using the webpage. However, this requires you to first register the device, then go to the webpage, and then change the "home group" so that it matches your network name that is shared among all PCs on your home network. Once I did this, I was able to access the drive through the "My Network Places" icon on the Windows desktop. Since we have multiple PCs in my home, this functionality provides us with a common location to store files, without having to leave a PC running all the time (in the case of a "shared" PC drive), while also bypassing the manufacturer's special webpage. However, enabling this feature is not documented.

The remaining issue I have is with security. Since you are accessing this device through a website -- a third-party service -- I suspect that your data is passing from the device, to the third party, to your PC (when using the webpage on the Internet). I would not store personal/confidential information on this device. Additionally, the device is visible to the Internet. It's possible that it is creating a secure connection to the service provider, but again, there's no documentation explaining this. I'm also slightly concerned that the service provider can access the device remotely. Call me paranoid -- yes -- but without fully understanding exactly how this device works, I won't be storing any confidential information on it without encrypting it myself.

However, all of these technical issues aside -- the device actually works perfectly. If you're looking for an easy-to-use, always-on, network storage device, this is a great alternative to higher-priced devices. It's a great storage solution for inside your home network, and quite handy to have if you want to access files remotely.