Buffalo Forums

I am a US Expat living in Japan. I would like to purchase a LS-XHL locally and use it here until re-assigned. I have not used this hardware before and am not really familiar with the firmware/software relationship other than what I have been able to learn reading the forums.  I would like to use the Windows interface which I believe may support serveral languages. I see references to other languages in the changelogs for the v1.20 firmware. Would it be possible to just install the Windows software from the US support website and use the NAS?  Is it as simple as selecting the English language in preferences?   Will the US software with English UI access the unit and give full functionality or will I need to re-flash the unit with US firmware separately?  The documentation with the Windows updater leads me to believe that it will flash the hardware during the installation. Are there any measures put in place to prevent  flashing a Japan version LS-XHL with US firmware?  Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

"Would it be possible to just install the Windows software from the US support website and use the NAS?"

That may work, but because different regions have different firmware and hardware, this is not supported and will void the warranty.

"Is it as simple as selecting the English language in preferences?"

Most likely. I can't say for sure, though.

"Will the US software with English UI access the unit and give full functionality or will I need to re-flash the unit with US firmware separately?"

Again, it may, but it might not.

"Are there any measures put in place to prevent  flashing a Japan version LS-XHL with US firmware?"

As far as i know, yes. The updater will check the product ID string, and only update a compatible device.

I hope I'm not hijacking this thread. I am in a similar situation. I want to flash a Japanese WZR-HP-G300NH with the US version of the firmware (or the Singapore or the Australia version). I know and accept that this will void my warranty, but will the flash work?

I also want to flash the firmware again later with DD-WRT, OpenWRT, or Tomato. Again, accepting that this will void the warranty, will this work? 

Thank you.

Greg

Flashing the device to the US firmware probably won't work. Most of the time, the router firmwares are keyed to the region the device was purchased in.

As far as I know, none of the 3rd-party firmwares yet support that router. The best place to find out would be on their community's forum.

Thanks. I decided to go with a Planex MZK-W04NU. It has trilingual menus (Japanese, English, and Chinese) and it supports alternative ROM's.

Greg